(Revealed before Hijrah)
General Remarks
All competent authorities, including Ibn 'Abbas and Ibn Zubair agree that, like the preceding Chapter this is a very early Meccan Surah. In that Surah, the Muslims were promised power, prosperity and predominance in the world. In the present Surah light is shed on the ways and means by which they could achieve these things, as well as on the signs and marks that point towards the imminent fulfillment of that promise. The Surah opens with a description of some of the special traits of character of the Holy Prophet's Companions and of other groups of righteous men who, by bringing into play these characteristics, achieved glory, power and victory.
The Surah then points out that power will come to Muslims as a result of wars which will break the power of the enemies of Islam. The case of Pharaoh is cited to show that opposition to Truth never goes unpunished. Next, we are told that in the extremely weak condition of early Muslims, prophecies about a glorious future of Islam seemed impossible of fulfillment, but the Great God Who created the vast heavens and earth and Who placed on it rivers and mountains and highways, had the power to make the impossible possible, and also that He can give a new life to the dead in the next world.
Towards the close of the Surah it is stated that when the great Event-the complete triumph of Islam or the Final Resurrection-takes place, the guilty will burn in the fire of Hell, but those, who had lived a life of righteousness, will enjoy the blessings of Paradise.
 بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيم
[79:1] In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful.
 وَالنَّازِعَاتِ غَرْقًا
[79:2] By those beings who draw[3236] people to true faith vigorously[3237],
 وَالنَّاشِطَاتِ نَشْطًا
[79:3] And by those who tie their knots firmly[3238],
 وَالسَّابِحَاتِ سَبْحًا
[79:4] And by those who glide along swiftly[3239],
 فَالسَّابِقَاتِ سَبْقًا
[79:5] Then they advance and greatly excel others,
 فَالْمُدَبِّرَاتِ أَمْرًا
[79:6] Then they manage the affair[3240] entrusted to them.
 يَوْمَ تَرْجُفُ الرَّاجِفَةُ
[79:7] This will happen on the day when the quaking earth shall quake[3241],
 تَتْبَعُهَا الرَّادِفَةُ
[79:8] And a second quaking shall follow it[3242].
 قُلُوبٌ يَوْمَئِذٍ وَاجِفَةٌ
[79:9] On that day hearts will tremble
 أَبْصَارُهَا خَاشِعَةٌ
[79:10] And their eyes will be cast down[3243] —
 يَقُولُونَ أَئِنَّا لَمَرْدُودُونَ فِي الْحَافِرَةِ
[79:11] They say, ‘Shall we really be restored to our former state?
 أَئِذَا كُنَّا عِظَامًا نَخِرَةً
[79:12] ‘What! even when we are rotten bones?’
 قَالُوا تِلْكَ إِذًا كَرَّةٌ خَاسِرَةٌ
[79:13] They say, ‘Then that indeed would be a losing return.’
 فَإِنَّمَا هِيَ زَجْرَةٌ وَاحِدَةٌ
[79:14] It will only be a single cry,
 فَإِذَا هُمْ بِالسَّاهِرَةِ
[79:15] And behold! they will all come out in the open.
 هَلْ أتَاكَ حَدِيثُ مُوسَى
[79:16] Has the story of Moses reached thee?
 اذْهَبْ إِلَى فِرْعَوْنَ إِنَّهُ طَغَى
[79:17] When his Lord called him in the holy Valley of Tuwa, saying,
 اذْهَبْ إِلَى فِرْعَوْنَ إِنَّهُ طَغَى
[79:18] “Go thou to Pharaoh; he has rebelled.
 فَقُلْ هَلْ لَكَ إِلَى أَنْ تَزَكَّى
[79:19] “And say to him, ‘Wouldst thou like to be purified?
 وَأَهْدِيَكَ إِلَى رَبِّكَ فَتَخْشَى
[79:20] ‘And I will guide thee to thy Lord so that thou mayest fear Him.’”
 فَأَرَاهُ الآيَةَ الْكُبْرَى
[79:21] So he showed him the great Sign,[3244]
 فَكَذَّبَ وَعَصَى
[79:22] But he rejected him and disobeyed.
 ثُمَّ أَدْبَرَ يَسْعَى
[79:23] Then he turned away from Moses, striving against him.
 فَحَشَرَ فَنَادَى
[79:24] And he gathered his people and proclaimed,
 فَقَالَ أَنَا رَبُّكُمُ الأَعْلَى
[79:25] Saying, ‘I am your Lord, the most high.’
 فَأَخَذَهُ اللَّهُ نَكَالَ الآخِرَةِ وَالأُولَى
[79:26] So Allah seized him for the punishment of the Hereafter and the present world.
 إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَعِبْرَةً لِمَنْ يَخْشَى
[79:27] Therein surely is a lesson for him who fears.
 أَأَنْتُمْ أَشَدُّ خَلْقًا أَمِ السَّمَاءُ بَنَاهَا
[79:28] Are you harder to create or the heaven that He has built?[3245]
 رَفَعَ سَمْكَهَا فَسَوَّاهَا
[79:29] He has raised the height[3245A] thereof and made it perfect.
 وَأَغْطَشَ لَيْلَهَا وَأَخْرَجَ ضُحَاهَا
[79:30] And He has made its night dark, and has brought forth the morn thereof;[3246]
 وَالأَرْضَ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ دَحَاهَا
[79:31] And the earth, along with it, He spread forth.[3247]
 أَخْرَجَ مِنْهَا مَاءَهَا وَمَرْعَاهَا
[79:32] He produced therefrom its water and its pasture,
 وَالْجِبَالَ أَرْسَاهَا
[79:33] And the mountains, He made them firm.
 مَتَاعًا لَكُمْ وَلأَنْعَامِكُمْ
[79:34] All this is a provision for you and for your cattle.
 فَإِذَا جَاءَتِ الطَّامَّةُ الْكُبْرَى
[79:35] But when the great disaster comes,
 يَوْمَ يَتَذَكَّرُ الإِنسَانُ مَا سَعَى
[79:36] The day when man will call to mind all that he strove for,
 وَبُرِّزَتِ الْجَحِيمُ لِمَنْ يَرَى
[79:37] And Hell will be made manifest to him who sees.
 فَأَمَّا مَنْ طَغَى
[79:38] Then, as for him who rebels,
 وَآثَرَ الْحَيَاةَ الدُّنْيَا
[79:39] And who chooses the life of this world,
 فَإِنَّ الْجَحِيمَ هِيَ الْمَأْوَى
[79:40] The Fire of Hell shall surely be his home.
 وَأَمَّا مَنْ خَافَ مَقَامَ رَبِّهِ وَنَهَى النَّفْسَ عَنِ الْهَوَى
[79:41] But as for him who fears to stand[3248] before his Lord, and restrains his soul from evil desires,
 فَإِنَّ الْجَنَّةَ هِيَ الْمَأْوَى
[79:42] The Garden shall surely be his home.
 يَسْأَلُونَكَ عَنِ السَّاعَةِ أَيَّانَ مُرْسَاهَا
[79:43] They ask thee concerning the Hour: ‘When will it come?’
 فِيمَ أَنْتَ مِنْ ذِكْرَاهَا
[79:44] But what hast thou to do with the mentioning thereof?
 إِلَى رَبِّكَ مُنتَهَاهَا
[79:45] The ultimate knowledge of it rests with thy Lord.
 إِنَّمَا أَنْتَ مُنذِرُ مَنْ يَخْشَاهَا
[79:46] Thou art only a Warner unto him who fears it.
 كَأَنَّهُمْ يَوْمَ يَرَوْنَهَا لَمْ يَلْبَثُوا إِلاَّ عَشِيَّةً أَوْ ضُحَاهَا
[79:47] On the day when they see it, they will feel as if they had not tarried in the world but an evening or a morn thereof[3249].
3236. Nazi'at is derived from Naza'a and means, those beings or groups of people that pluck a thing; depose high officials; resemble; draw with vigour; invite others to truth (Aqrab), the root-word possessing all these senses.
3237. Gharq is used here in the sense of lghraq which signifies the sending of the arrow to the utmost extent, or falling upon a person and overcoming him; or exerting oneself to the utmost extent (Lane).
3238. Nashitat means, those beings or groups of people who exert themselves vigorously in the discharge of their duties (Aqrab).
3239. Sabihat means, ( I ) those beings or groups of people who go far into the country in the pursuit of their quest. (2) Who try to excel one another in carrying out their mission (Lane).
3240. Mudabbirat means, those beings or groups of people who plan, manage and conduct the affairs entrusted to them in an excellent manner.
The verses (2-6) are taken to apply to angels by some scholars and Commentators of the Qur'an and have been understood to signify that angels bear witness to the occurrence of the great event mentioned in vv. 7, 8. But the evidence of angels is beyond human knowledge or comprehension. The verses, therefore, as the context shows; seem to refer to the Companions of the Holy Prophet and may be taken as embodying a prophecy about the spread of Islam far and wide through their selfless and vigorous efforts and a further prophecy that they would be entrusted with the responsibility of conducting and administering public affairs of great importance with ability and justice. Briefly, the qualities of the Holy Prophet's Companions.
3241. The verse means that the prophecy, proclaimed in the foregoing verses, will be fulfilled as a result of fighting that will take place between God's righteous servants and the forces of evil in which the latter shall be routed, Rajafa meaning to prepare for war (Lane).
3242. Once the fighting starts between Muslims and infidels, it will not cease till the forces of evil are fully and finally crushed as a result of the successive blows they will receive.
3243. When disbelievers will suffer defeats in quick succession and will see Islam prevailing and predominating, then will a feeling of disquietude seize them, and apprehension about the possibility of the Resurrection will begin to assail their minds.
3244. 'The great Sign' was the Sign of the Rod, which had precedence over all other Signs shown by Moses (20:21).
3245. The complex, but flawless and consummate, creation of the solar system, does indeed constitute an invincible argument in support of Life after death, viz., that the Great God, Who could bring into being from nothing such a vast universe. could also give man, who is but a mere speck in it, a new life after he is dead. This is the purport of the present and the following six verses.
3245A. Samk means; the rooc the ceiling of a house; height, depth and thickness of a thing (Lane).
3246. The phenomenon of night and day, which pertains to the earth, has been attributed to the heaven in this verse because it is due to the working of the solar system that we have day and night.
3247. Besides the meaning given in the text, the verse signifies that the earth became castaway from a bigger mass.
3248. (1) Who fears to stand before his Lord as a guilty person; or (2) who fears the Majesty of his Lord.
3249. It is not the time, the place, the manner or the form of the punishment that matters. What matters is that disbelievers should realize that when Divine punishment comes, it will be so swift, sudden and severe that they will feel as if the period of their prosperity and enjoyment in the world was of a very short duration-only an evening or a morning.
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