Surah an-Nazi`at (The Extractors) 79 : 37

Overview (Verses 37 - 40)

In God’s Presence

The surah closes with the final scene of the day when all this happens. It is a scene in which we see the angel Gabriel, who is the Holy Spirit, and all the angels standing in ranks before God, their Most Merciful Lord. They stand in awe of Him; no one dares utter a word without prior permission from Him. “Lord of the heavens and earth and all that lies between them, the Most Gracious, with whom they have no power to speak. On the day when the Spirit and the angels stand in ranks, they shall not speak, except those to whom the Most Gracious has given leave, and who shall say what is right.” (Verses 37-38)

The recompense given to the righteous and to the tyrant transgressors, which was detailed in the previous section, is from your Lord. “Lord of the heavens and earth and all that lies between them, the Most Gracious.” (Verse 37) What a befitting context to reaffirm the eternal truth of Godhead. God is the Supreme Lord of man, the heavens and earth, this life and the next, who metes out reward for righteousness and punishment for transgression and tyranny. But above all He is the Most Gracious. The reward He assigns to each group is a manifestation of His mercy. Even the torment endured by the transgressors originates from God’s mercy. For it is indeed part of mercy that evil should be punished and that it should not have the same end as good.

The other divine attribute implied here is majesty: “with whom they have no power to speak.” (Verse 37) In this awesome situation neither man nor angel can speak without permission from the Most Gracious. Whatever is said will be right because He does not permit anyone to speak whom He knows will not be saying what is right. When we think that the angels, who are favoured by God, and absolutely pure from sin, stand silent in front of God and dare not speak without His permission, we are bound to feel how awesome the atmosphere is. Having motivated such a feeling, the surah delivers a warning to those who have chosen not to hear or see: “That day is a certainty. Let him who will seek a way back to his Lord. We have forewarned you of an imminent scourge, on the day when man will look on what his hands have forwarded and the unbeliever will cry: ‘Would that I were dust!” (Verses 39-40)

Those who raise doubts and question the reality of the Day of Resurrection are here shaken violently: “That day is a certainty.” (Verse 39) There is no room left for doubt and controversy. Yet there is time for mending one’s erring ways before the fearful watch guard, i.e. hell, becomes a permanent home: “Let him who will seek a way back to his Lord.” (Verse 39) The warning is stern enough to make the drunken awake: “We have forewarned you of an imminent scourge.” (Verse 40) It will not be long coming, for man’s life is but a short period. The scourge is so fearful that the unbelievers, when faced with it, will send up that great cry expressing the wish that they had never lived: “On the day when man will look on what his hands have forwarded and the unbeliever will cry: ‘Would that I were dust!” (Verse 40)

This is the cry of one who is in great distress, who feels ashamed for what he has been and what he has done. He feels that it is better not to be, or to be something as worthless as dust, than to witness such a fearful occasion. The terrible position of the unbelievers is the subject of the questions and doubts they raise concerning that fateful tiding.