Overview

Prologue

This surah constitutes a profound and effective address to the human heart. It aims to eradicate doubts, misrepresentations and false assump-tions that may linger in some corners of the human mind. It refutes every argument or excuse to justify deviation from the path of faith. It seeks to do this with an irresistible onslaught, one that inevitably forces submission. In order to achieve this, the surah employs all aspects of the Qur'anic discourse including choice vocabulary, connotations, images, musical notes and beats. From start to finish, its verses flow like missiles fired in quick succession, its beats like thunderbolts and its images like a running, captivating film that does not stop for even a moment.

The surah begins with God's oath by some sacred things in the heav¬ens and earth, some of which are well known and others that belong to the realm that lies beyond human perception: "By Mount Sinai; by a scripture inscribed on unrolled parchment; by the much-visited House; by the vault raised high; by the swelling sea." (Verses 1-6) This oath con¬firms something really awesome and it fills its listeners with terror. It is expressed in words that most suit its feared outcome, painting an image that leaves the heart shuddering: "your Lord's punishment will indeed came to pass. Nothing can stop it. On the day when the sky will shake and reel, and the mountains will move away." (Verses 7-10) As we visualize this scene, we see and hear the horror that causes violent shaking, coupled with a well-deserved rebuke: "Woe on that day to those who deny the truth, who idly play with vain trifles. On that day they will be irresistibly thrust into the fire of hell, [and told;] 'This is the fire you used to deny! So is this sorcery, or do you not see? Burn in it! It will be the same whether you bear it with or without patience. You are being requited for what you have done." (Verses 11-16)

This represents the first part of the surah. It is immediately followed by a change of tone and colour. The surah now aims to hold before the very hearts and minds that saw the foregoing horror the prospect of safety and bliss. It depicts a scene of those who are God-fearing and the reward prepared for them. This is shown at ease, dwelling on pleasant details. It thus takes us from an air of punishment and suffering to one of happiness and enjoyment: "The believers will be in gardens and in bliss, rejoicing in all that their Lord will have granted them; for their Lord will have warded off them the suffering of the blazing fire. 'Eat and drink with healthy enjoyment as a reward for what you have done.' They will recline on couches arranged in rows, and We shall pair them with companions having most beautiful eyes. As for the believers whose offspring follow them in faith, We shall unite them with their offspring; and We shall not deny them anything of the reward for their deeds. Yet every individual will be held in pledge for his own deeds. We provide them with fruit and meat as they desire. They pass around a cup which will not lead to idle talk or to sin. They will be waited upon by youths of their own, [as pun] as pearls hidden in their shells. They will turn to one another, asking each other. They will say: 'When we were still living with our kinsfolk, we were full of fear, and so God has been gracious to us, and warded off us suffering through the scorching wind. We used to pray to Him: He is the Beneficent, the Ever Merciful.'" (Verses 17-28)

In its third part the surah seeks to refute all doubts, misconceptions, excuses and false arguments. It presents the truth as simple, clear and powerful, and speaks with an irrefutable logic that allows no room for evasion. It holds out the truth forcing people to its acknowledgement and acceptance. This part begins by telling the Prophet to continue with his reminders to people, despite their ill treatment of him and his Companions. He should confront them with his overpowering logic:
 
"So, [Prophet,] remind people. By the grace of your Lord, you are neither a soothsayer nor a madman. Or do they say, 'He is but a poet; Let us await whatever misfortune time will bring him.' Say: `Wait if you will. I too am waiting.' Is it their reason that prompts them to take this attitude; or are they simply arrogant people? Or do they say, 'He has fabricated it himself?' They certainly do not believe. Let them, then, produce a discourse like it, if what they say is true. Were they created out of nothing? Were they the creators? Did they create the heavens and the earth? No. They have no faith. Do they possess your Lord's treasures? Or are they in ultimate control? Or have they a ladder to climb, in order to eavesdrop [on heaven's secrets]? Let their eavesdropper produce a clear proof. Is He to have only daughters and you sons? Do you [Prophet] demand a payment from them that would be burdened with debt? Do they have knowledge of the hidden reality so that they can write it down? Or do they want to entrap you? It is the unbelievers who are truly entrapped Have they, then, any deity other than God? Exalted is God far above anything they associate with Him." (Verses 29-43)

This list of questions comes in quick succession, like thundering missiles that blow falsehood into smithereens, and silence every stub-born argument that tries to defy the truth. The surah portrays the un-believers' stubbornness showing how they defy the truth in the face of every tangible reality: "Even if they see a part of the sky falling down, they would say, 'It is but a mass of clouds!'" (Verse 44) Needless to say, there is a huge difference between a portion of sky falling and clouds moving en masse. Yet still they try to justify themselves. Hence, the surah aims its final missile at them, threatening them with the prospect of hell that is promised at the beginning: "Leave them, then, until they face the day when they will be thunderstruck; the day when none of their scheming will be of any avail to them, when they will receive no support." (Verses 45-46) It then threatens them with a punishment that overtakes them before that promised day: "Closer at hand more suffering awaits the wrongdoers, but most of them are not aware of it." (Verse 47)

The surah concludes on a happy note addressed to the Prophet whom they used to describe as a poet whose death they would await, or as a soothsayer or a madman. This happy ending is given so as to comfort and assure him of his position of honour. Indeed, this happy note has no parallel in the Qur'an, and it was never previously addressed to any other prophet or messenger: "So, await in patience your Lord's judgement; for you are under Our watchful eyes. Extol your Lord's limitless glory and praise when you rise, and extol His glory at night, and at the time when the stars retreat." (Verses 48-49) This is a note of kindness that ensures that all the troubles the Prophet met with would not have the least effect on him.