Surah No. 75

Introduction
Merits of the Surah

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ لَا أُقْسِمُ بِيَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ (1)

(75:1) I do swear1 by the Day of Standing.

1. The starter “laa” has been variously understood. Some say it is “laa” of “sila” (conjunctive), while others that it is for emphasis. There have been other explanations too and it could be translated as “nay” also; or, “the affair (of the Hereafter) is not as you think” (Ibn Jarir, Zamakhshari, Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir). However, Qurtubi points out that this kind of “laa” occurs only at the beginning of a sentence.

وَلَا أُقْسِمُ بِالنَّفْسِ اللَّوَّامَةِ (2)

(75:2) And I do swear by the reproachful soul.2

2. Hasan al-Basri said: “A believer’s inner self keeps reproaching him saying, ‘What did I intend when I said those words?’ or, ‘What was I aiming at by eating this food?’ or, ‘What was my objective in thinking out this way?’, and so on, while a corrupt person moves forward, hardly ever reproaching himself” (Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir).
But perhaps even a corrupt Muslim, indeed, an unbeliever too, finds his inner self reproaching them. But they ignore the reproach (Au.).
Another possible meaning is that every soul will reproach itself on the Day of Judgment for not having done enough in the world to earn rewards in the Hereafter (Razi).
Alusi has a short note on three kinds of “nafs”, which we reproduce here slightly expanded. The three kinds, characteristics, and stages are:
النَّفس الأمَّارة ، النفس اللَّوَّامَة ، النفس الْمُطْمَئِنَّة
“Al-nafsu al-ammarah” (Yusuf: 53), commands evil, unless disciplined, so that, after a certain level of righteousness is achieved, it does not command but good and virtue. However, in most cases, and with the majority of the people, it commands evil, pulling them down by making them indulge wholly in worldly affairs. Above it comes “al-nafs al-lawwamah” which reproaches after both good and evil deeds. If it is a good deed, it reproaches why the man did not do better, and if it is an evil deed, it reproaches why he did it at all. It grows weaker if evil deeds are piled up, and stronger when good deeds are overwhelming. Then comes “al-nafs al-mutma’innah” (al-Fajr: 27). This characteristic or level of the “nafs” is obtained when there is no room left for the “al-nafs al-lawwamah” to reproach. This is the highest degree. Depending upon how a man succumbs to the two kinds of “nafs” below it, he earns peace and tranquility in proportionate measures.
This is observable in everyday life too. Never will the “nafs” say, after a man has come out of a mosque after Prayers, “Why did you go in at all?” Never will a man light a cigarette because of the strong urge but with the first puff his “nafs” will tell him, “you made a mistake.” In fact, psychologists point out that never does a man buy a commodity (a refrigerator, a piece of furniture, a toy, anything), but as soon as he unpacks it he has a sense of regret. Realizing this function of the “nafs al-lawwamah”, products now carry a folder within the package, which assures the purchaser that he did not make a mistake. It says, “Rest assured, you have purchased the right product.” It might also be pointed out that no “holy” literature has listed these three kinds of “nafs” (Au.).

أَيَحْسَبُ الْإِنْسَانُ أَلَّنْ نَجْمَعَ عِظَامَهُ (3)

(75:3) Does man think We will never assemble his bones?

بَلَىٰ قَادِرِينَ عَلَىٰ أَنْ نُسَوِّيَ بَنَانَهُ (4)

(75:4) Nay, We are able to shape together the very tips of his fingers.3

3. Ibn `Abbas, `Ikrimah, Hasan and others took a meaning other than in the translation saying, had Allah willed He could have made a man’s fingers joined together like a hoof, in which case he would have been forced to pick his food with his mouth (Ibn Jarir).
Indeed, the fetus in the womb has the five fingers joined together until the 6th week of pregnancy. They split apart and the paw-like shape becomes fingers by the 8th week of pregnancy. And, as is well-known, each man’s finger tips are peculiar to him, which no other human shares with him, and hence a successful and widely used method of identification by the finger prints (Au.).

بَلْ يُرِيدُ الْإِنْسَانُ لِيَفْجُرَ أَمَامَهُ (5)

(75:5) But rather, man desires to continue sinning (in days) ahead of him.4

4. That is, he wishes to continue committing injustice, dishonesty, wickedness and debauchery during the rest of his life. He realizes that his admission of the occurrence of the Hereafter necessarily implies that he should bring himself to control and accept certain moral and ethical values as restraints to his complete and unhindered freedom. Thus, his rejection is not the result of intellectual reasoning, but a straightforward illogical and dishonest demand of his carnal self (Au.).

يَسْأَلُ أَيَّانَ يَوْمُ الْقِيَامَةِ (6)

(75:6) He asks, ‘When shall be the Day of Standing?’

فَإِذَا بَرِقَ الْبَصَرُ (7)

(75:7) When the sight is dazed.

وَخَسَفَ الْقَمَرُ (8)

(75:8) The moon is eclipsed.5

5. That is, its shine will be gone (Ibn Jarir, Ibn Kathir).

وَجُمِعَ الشَّمْسُ وَالْقَمَرُ (9)

(75:9) And the sun and the moon are brought together.

يَقُولُ الْإِنْسَانُ يَوْمَئِذٍ أَيْنَ الْمَفَرُّ (10)

(75:10) That day, man will say, ‘Where is the place of escape?’

كَلَّا لَا وَزَرَ (11)

(75:11) By no means, (there is) no refuge.

إِلَىٰ رَبِّكَ يَوْمَئِذٍ الْمُسْتَقَرُّ (12)

(75:12) Unto your Lord that day, is the place of rest.

يُنَبَّأُ الْإِنْسَانُ يَوْمَئِذٍ بِمَا قَدَّمَ وَأَخَّرَ (13)

(75:13) That day man will be informed of what he sent forward and what he held back.6

6. Or, as Ibn `Abbas explained “left behind” - being an allusion to what a man leaves behind as his example that people after him follow (Ibn Jarir, Qurtubi).
Sa`id b. Jubayr said, “He sent forward sins, delaying repentance” (Zamakhshari).

بَلِ الْإِنْسَانُ عَلَىٰ نَفْسِهِ بَصِيرَةٌ (14)

(75:14) But rather, man is a witness against his own self.7

7. Or perhaps, man sees himself very well (Ibn Jarir). That is, knows about himself as to where he stands (Ibn Kathir).

وَلَوْ أَلْقَىٰ مَعَاذِيرَهُ (15)

(75:15) Even though he casts his excuses.

لَا تُحَرِّكْ بِهِ لِسَانَكَ لِتَعْجَلَ بِهِ (16)

(75:16) Move not your tongue along with it, to hasten it.

إِنَّ عَلَيْنَا جَمْعَهُ وَقُرْآنَهُ (17)

(75:17) Surely, upon Us is its collection, and upon Us is its recital.8

8. In the earliest stages of revelation, the Prophet would repeat the words while they were being revealed by Jibril in fear of forgetting them. He was assured that making him remember, and then, putting them all together, at the end of the process (which was to take several years), would be accomplished by none other than Allah Himself (Ibn Jarir, Ibn Kathir).
This is one of the strongest proofs that this is a Revelation. The revelations came in bits and pieces, short and long ??????????

فَإِذَا قَرَأْنَاهُ فَاتَّبِعْ قُرْآنَهُ (18)

(75:18) Therefore, when We recite, follow its recital.9

9. Most commentators have thought that the meaning of “ittabi` qur’nah” is: Follow the recital, listening carefully with full attention of mind and heart, and then put it to practice.

ثُمَّ إِنَّ عَلَيْنَا بَيَانَهُ (19)

(75:19) Then upon Us is the expounding thereof.10

10. One possible meaning is contained in the fact that one part of the Qur’an explains another part of it. A second possibility is that the explanation was given to the Prophet through what is known as the “wahyu ghayr matlu;” or, the Hadith. The Prophet said, as in a hadith of Ahmad, but whose meaning has been repeated in a variety of ways in other narratives, one being in Sahih of Ibn Hibban, and others in Hakim’s Mustadrak which Dhahabi declared trustworthy:
عَنِ الْمِقْدَامِ بْنِ مَعْدِ يكَرِبَ الْكِنْدِىِّ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ -صلى الله عليه وسلم- « أَلاَ إِنِّى أُوتِيتُ الْكِتَابَ وَمِثْلَهُ مَعَهُ أَلاَ إِنِّى أُوتِيتُ الْقُرْآنَ وَمِثْلَهُ مَعَهُ أَلاَ يُوشِكُ رَجُلٌ يَنْثَنِى شَبْعَاناً عَلَى أَرِيكَتِهِ يَقُولُ عَلَيْكُمْ بِالْقُرْآنِ فَمَا وَجَدْتُمْ فِيهِ مِنْ حَلاَلٍ فَأَحِلُّوهُ وَمَا وَجَدْتُمْ فِيهِ مِنْ حَرَامٍ فَحَرِّمُوهُ.
“Lo. I have been given the Book and its equal along with it. Lo. It is possible that a well-fed man with one leg over another in his easy chair say, ‘Follow the Qur’an; so that what you find therein as lawful, take it as lawful, and what you find therein as unlawful, take it as unlawful.’” (That is, abandon the Sunnah of the Prophet which contains the other, “equal, along with it” (Au.).

كَلَّا بَلْ تُحِبُّونَ الْعَاجِلَةَ (20)

(75:20) Nay, but you love the immediate.

وَتَذَرُونَ الْآخِرَةَ (21)

(75:21) And neglect the Hereafter.11

11. Majid comments: “That it was really the enjoyment of this material life and material gains that was at the root of the obstinate pagans’ opposition to the teachings of the Qur’an and the Prophet is recognized even by historians hostile to Islam: ‘The more clearly they perceived that Muhammad’s claim as a Prophet might endanger their priestly position and their lucrative privileges as guardians of the holy temple, the more fiercely did their anger burn, and the more vehement became their threats and abuses’ (WHW, VIII, pp. 115-116).”

وُجُوهٌ يَوْمَئِذٍ نَاضِرَةٌ (22)

(75:22) That day, some faces will be radiant.

إِلَىٰ رَبِّهَا نَاظِرَةٌ (23)

(75:23) Gazing upon their Lord.12

12. Although Mujahid is widely reported as having said that the meaning is, “People will wait in anticipation of the rewards,” the majority have thought that the allusion is to the Beatific Vision that will be granted to those in Paradise (Ibn Jarir). But the allusion could also be to the Beatific Vision granted to the believers in the Field of Reckoning itself (Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir).

وَوُجُوهٌ يَوْمَئِذٍ بَاسِرَةٌ (24)

(75:24) While some faces that Day, will be contorted.

تَظُنُّ أَنْ يُفْعَلَ بِهَا فَاقِرَةٌ (25)

(75:25) Feeling sure that they will be dealt with a back-breaking deal.13

13. That is, sure that they will be shoved into the Fire (Ibn Jarir, Ibn Kathir).

كَلَّا إِذَا بَلَغَتِ التَّرَاقِيَ (26)

(75:26) Nay, when it reaches the collar-bone.

وَقِيلَ مَنْ ۜ رَاقٍ (27)

(75:27) And it is said, ‘Who is an enchanter?’14

14. That is, someone who could recite a chant to chase away the disease, or a doctor who could chase the death away (Ibn Jarir).

وَظَنَّ أَنَّهُ الْفِرَاقُ (28)

(75:28) And he realizes that it is (the moment of) parting.

وَالْتَفَّتِ السَّاقُ بِالسَّاقِ (29)

(75:29) And the shank is intertwined with shank.15

15. The allusion is to the excruciating pangs of death. Another opinion is, it is the moment of death when the two shanks – of this world and the next – or, when the boundaries of this life and the next get intertwined: the last day of this world and the first of the Hereafter; when the people of the world prepare themselves to deal with their body, while angels prepare themselves to deal with their souls (Ibn Jarir, Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir).
As such, “saaq” is commonly used in the Arabic language for hardship. So, it could be said that hardships descend one after another on a dying man (Razi).

إِلَىٰ رَبِّكَ يَوْمَئِذٍ الْمَسَاقُ (30)

(75:30) Unto your Lord that day is the driving.

فَلَا صَدَّقَ وَلَا صَلَّىٰ (31)

(75:31) But he testified not, nor Prayed.

وَلَٰكِنْ كَذَّبَ وَتَوَلَّىٰ (32)

(75:32) But rather, cried lies and turned away.

ثُمَّ ذَهَبَ إِلَىٰ أَهْلِهِ يَتَمَطَّىٰ (33)

(75:33) Then he went to his homefolk strutting along.

أَوْلَىٰ لَكَ فَأَوْلَىٰ (34)

(75:34) Woe unto you, then woe.

ثُمَّ أَوْلَىٰ لَكَ فَأَوْلَىٰ (35)

(75:35) Again woe unto you, then woe.16

16. It is reported that the Prophet recited these two verses to Abu Jahl (while they were passing together between two hills). Abu Jahl replied, “Muhammad, Do you threaten me? You and your Lord have no power over me. I am the most honored person of those who ever walked between these two hills" (Ibn Jarir, Qurtubi).

أَيَحْسَبُ الْإِنْسَانُ أَنْ يُتْرَكَ سُدًى (36)

(75:36) Does man think that he will be left alone (unaddressed)?17

17. That is, without being commanded and prohibited (Ibn Jarir from the Salaf, Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir).
According to Razi another connotation is the questioning in the Hereafter. Does man think he will not be questioned? If so, then it means Lord our God is unmindful of whatever the humans do on this earth; which is unthinkable (seeing that such an absurd idea – of unquestionable freedom – is unacceptable to the humans themselves).

أَلَمْ يَكُ نُطْفَةً مِنْ مَنِيٍّ يُمْنَىٰ (37)

(75:37) Was he not a sperm drop, emitted?18

18. Of course, every sperm drop is emitted, so why did Allah Most High add the word emitted? The answer is, says Razi, it is to remind man of the moment when he was emitted: an insignificant thing.
Majid adds: “Incidentally, this repudiates the doctrine of the sanctity of human semen. Even Christian sects have been known to deify the seminal secretion. The Carpocrations, for instance, while forbidding procreation, ‘divinized the spermatic fluid. It is quite probable that the Cathers were given to similar excesses, and specially that his disciples, the troubadours, were.’ (Dr. Rongemont, Passion and Society, p. 111).”

ثُمَّ كَانَ عَلَقَةً فَخَلَقَ فَسَوَّىٰ (38)

(75:38) Then he was a blood-clot. Then He created and proportioned?

فَجَعَلَ مِنْهُ الزَّوْجَيْنِ الذَّكَرَ وَالْأُنْثَىٰ (39)

(75:39) Then He made of him two kinds, male and female.19

19. Although sex-determination process in a growing fetus is known to the scientists, and well researched, but no one ever knows, firstly, why there are two sexes, and, secondly, why is it that they appear in the same proportion in any human population; the female is around 95 for every 100 male.

أَلَيْسَ ذَٰلِكَ بِقَادِرٍ عَلَىٰ أَنْ يُحْيِيَ الْمَوْتَىٰ (40)

(75:40) Is not that (Creator) able to quicken the dead?20

20. It is reported that when the Prophet ended with the recitation of these verses he would respond with,
سُبحانَكَ بَلى
“Glory to You, surely yes” (Ibn Jarir, Kashshaf, Qurtubi).
Ibn Kathir quotes several other ahadith to this effect, but Albani declared them weak (S. Ibrahim).