Verses 1–15
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيمِ
وَ الْمُرْسَلاتِ عُرْفاً ١ فَالْعاصِفاتِ عَصْفاً ٢ وَ النَّاشِراتِ نَشْراً ٣ فَالْفارِقاتِ فَرْقاً ٤ فَالْمُلْقِياتِ ذِكْراً ٥ عُذْراً أَوْ نُذْراً ٦ إِنَّما تُوعَدُونَ لَواقِعٌ ٧ فَإِذَا النُّجُومُ طُمِسَتْ ٨ وَ إِذَا السَّماءُ فُرِجَتْ ٩ وَ إِذَا الْجِبالُ نُسِفَتْ ١٠ وَ إِذَا الرُّسُلُ أُقِّتَتْ ١١ لِأَيِّ يَوْمٍ أُجِّلَتْ ١٢ لِيَوْمِ الْفَصْلِ ١٣ وَ ما أَدْراكَ ما يَوْمُ الْفَصْلِ ١٤ وَيْلٌ يَوْمَئِذٍ لِلْمُكَذِّبِينَ ١٥
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
- By those released successively!
- By the tempestuous tempests!
- By the spreaders spreading!
- By the separators separating!
- By the inspirers of remembrance,
- to excuse or to warn!
- Indeed what you are promised will surely befall.
- So when the stars are blotted out,
- and when the sky is split,
- and when the mountains are scattered [like dust],
- and when the time is set for the messengers [to witness]
- —for what day has [all] that been set [to occur]?
- For the Day of Judgment!
- And what will show you what is the Day of Judgment!?
- Woe to the deniers on that day!
Introduction & Commentary
This sūrah was revealed in Mecca and consists of 50 verses. The sūrah talks about the Day of Separation, which is the Day of Resurrection. It emphasizes its occurrence, warns those who deny it, and gives good news to others. The aspect of warning is more pronounced in this chapter than the good promise, as it repeats ten times: Woe to the deniers on that day! The theme of the chapter clearly shows that it was revealed in Mecca.
وَ الْمُرْسَلاتِ عُرْفاً ١
(77:1) By those released successively,
In the first six verses of the sūrah, God swears by those released successively, the tempestuous tempests, the spreaders spreading, the separators separating, and the inspirers of remembrance, to excuse or to warn (). Taken on their own and irrespective of the context, the first two expressions—that is, those released successively () and the tempestuous tempests ()—apparently indicate consecutive cyclones and severe storms. However, the last vow—the inspirers of remembrance, to excuse or to warn ()—is almost an explicit description of the angels who convey the divine revelation to the messengers so that the people may be warned, and God’s proof against them may be complete. The other verses can also be plausibly interpreted in this light, without any contrivance.
There are two other suggested interpretations which are not plausible:
(1) All five vows in these verses describe the winds.
Comment: As we said, the first two expressions—those released () and the tempests ()—apparently refer to the winds, but this cannot be easily and justifiably held with respect to the last three vows. In particular, the very last vow would entail much contrivance.
(2) The first two vows describe the winds, while the next three describe the angels of revelation.
Comment: This is not plausible because there is no clear connection between the winds and the angels of revelation so that they may be presented in a single sequence of vows, serving a common theme.
The different justifications offered by the exegetes are far-fetched ideas that do not spring to the mind from the text, unless there is some previous indication of them. It is best to disregard their views, which are truly numerous, and can hardly be enumerated. We should interpret the verses as pertaining to the angels of revelation, which is what we also see in similar verses at the beginning of Sūrah al-Ṣāffāt: By those ranged in ranks! By the ones who drive vigorously! By those who recite the reminder (). The same theme is reflected in these verses: Knower of the Unseen, He does not authorize anyone over His Unseen, except one with whom He is pleased—a messenger. Then He dispatches a sentinel before him and behind him so that He may ascertain that they have communicated the messages of their Lord ().
By those released (mursalāt, from irsāl) successively (ʿurfan): Here God is taking a vow. ʿUrf means “the mane of a horse,” which is used as a simile to describe something successive and sequential. For instance, it is said, “They came like a horse’s mane (ka-ʿurf al-faras).” It is also used metaphorically, as it is said, “The mane of sand grouses came,” meaning that they came consecutively; or “They came to him in a single mane (ʿurfan wāḥidan),” meaning that they came one after another. Another meaning of ʿurf is maʿrūf (that which is known)—with respect to commands and prohibitions. Based on the first meaning, ʿurf would be a ḥāl (circumstantial qualifier, participial phrase). Based on the second meaning, it would be an intended object (mafʿūl lahu).
Irsāl (releasing, dispatching, loosening) is the antonym of imsāk (withholding, grasping, restraining). Mursalāt is a feminine plural, used for the angels in the sense that they are jamāʿāt (groups, congregations, clusters) [which is a feminine plural], or with reference to the Spirit (rūḥ) which descends with the angels, as the Qur’an says: He sends down the angels with the Spirit of His command to whomever of His servants He wills (); He casts the Spirit of His command upon whomever of His servants He wills (). The meaning is: “I swear by the groups of the angels of revelation that are dispatched successively.”
Some exegetes have suggested that the verse refers to the winds that are released in succession. We already explained the implausibility of this interpretation. Others have said that it refers to the prophets [who are sent to the people in sequence]. However, the verses that follow do not support this view.
فَالْعاصِفاتِ عَصْفاً ٢
(77:2) By the tempestuous tempests (fal-ʿāṣifāt ʿaṣfan)!
The letter fāʾ (so, then, therefore) at the beginning of the verse shows that the verse is an apposition to those released in the last verse. ʿAṣf means “rapid flow.” The hard blow of the winds is used as a metaphor for the rapid movement of the angels in conducting their missions. The meaning is: “I swear by the angels who are released successively, and thus they move rapidly like tempestuous winds.”
وَ النَّاشِراتِ نَشْراً ٣
(77:3) By the spreaders spreading (nashran)!
This is another oath. Nashr—which collocates with letter, book, dress and so on—means “opening, spreading, unrolling.” What is meant here is unrolling the scrolls of revelation. This is reflected in the verses: Nay! These are indeed a reminder—so let anyone who wills remember—in honored scriptures, exalted and purified, in the hands of envoys, noble and pious (). The meaning is: “I swear by the angels who unroll the scrolls which bear the revelation so that the prophet may receive it.”
Other suggested meanings by the exegetes are:
- The winds which God spreads out as harbingers of His mercy.
- The winds which spread out the clouds.
- The angels which unroll the records of deeds.
- The angels which spread their wings as they descend.
And there is more to the list.
فَالْفارِقاتِ فَرْقاً ٤
(77:4) By the separators separating (fal-fāriqāt farqan)!
Farq (separation, distinction, differentiation) here means distinguishing between truth and falsehood, lawful and unlawful. The letter fāʾ (so, then, therefore) at the beginning of the verse indicates that this quality is a consequence of the abovementioned spreading [].
فَالْمُلْقِياتِ ذِكْراً ٥
(77:5) By the inspirers of remembrance!
There are two possible interpretations for remembrance here: (1) The Qur’an in particular, which the angels recited to the Prophet. (2) God’s revelation in general, which was conveyed to the prophets. The three qualities mentioned in these verses—the spreading (), the separation (), and the inspiration of the remembrance ()—are consecutive stages that build on one another. First there is the spreading of the scrolls, which initiates the separation and distinction between truth and falsehood. Then that comes to full realization by the inspiration and recitation of the remembrance. In other words, a certain stage of the separation is realized as a consequence of the spreading; then it is fully realized when the message is communicated.
عُذْراً أَوْ نُذْراً ٦
(77:6) to excuse (ʿudhran) or to warn (nudhr)!
This verse presents the intended object (mafʿūl lahu) of the last verse. The conjunction “or” serves to diversify. As some exegetes have explained, the above process constitutes a justification for God against His servants [on the Day of Judgment], showing that His punishment is completely based on wisdom. This effectively reduces to completing the proof and evidence against someone. The meaning is: “The angels inspire the remembrance so that it may complete God’s argument against the deniers, and may warn others.” This is a plausible meaning.
Others have said that ʿudhr is synonymous with iʿdhār (excusing, exonerating). It means producing something that would cause one to be excused (maʿdhūr). Likewise, nudhr means indhār (warning, admonishing). Both terms are intended as a maṣdar (infinitive noun, gerund). The meaning is: “The angels inspire the remembrance so that it may be a means of excuse and exoneration for God’s servants who believe in it, and a means of warning for others.”
إِنَّما تُوعَدُونَ لَواقِعٌ ٧
(77:7) Indeed what you are promised will surely befall (la-wāqiʿ).
This verse is the complement to the series of vows in the previous verses, and is addressed to all humankind. The particle mā means “what” (called mawṣūlah, indicating the object of promise). What you are promised is the Day of Resurrection, with all its punishments and rewards. The word wāqiʿ (befalling) is more expressive than kāʾin (being) since it connotes a firm establishment and settlement [of the event]. The meaning is: “What God has promised you—about the resurrection, punishments and rewards—shall certainly occur, without any doubt.”
Discourse
The discussion “Discussion on God’s Vows in the Qur’an” appears here in the printed volume. Read it in the Al-Mizan App.
فَإِذَا النُّجُومُ طُمِسَتْ ٨
(77:8) So when the stars are blotted out,
This verse and the next three verses [up to verse ] describe the promised day in the verse: Indeed what you are promised will surely befall (). The word idhā (when) is a conditional particle, where its concluding clause (called the apodosis) is omitted since it is understood from the verse that follows: for what day has [all] that been set [to occur]?… the deniers on that day ().
In these verses, God defines the promised day by mentioning the events which will coincide with the extinction of human life and the disintegration of the universe. The stars will blot out, the heaven will be rent asunder, the mountains will collapse, and the world’s order will transform to a completely different order. Such descriptions are repeated in many chapters of the Qur’an, particularly the smaller ones, such as Chapters 78 (al-Nabaʾ), 79 (al-Nāziʿāt), 81 (al-Takwīr), 82 (al-Infiṭār), 84 (al-Inshiqāq), 89 (al-Fajr), 99 (al-Zilzāl) and 101 (al-Qāriʿah). The events mentioned in these chapters are called “the tokens of the Hour” (ashrāṭ al-sāʿah) in the narrations.
We know beyond doubt from the Qur’an and hadith that life in the hereafter is categorically different from the life in this world. The hereafter is a realm of eternity. Some will abide in sheer happiness, and will indulge in whatever they wish. Others will be strictly wretched, and will taste nothing but pain. However, currently we are living an impermanent life in a transient realm that is governed by apparent means and external forces. In this abode, life is mixed with death, gaining is tied to losing, happiness is fraught with misery, comfort is blended with fatigue, and joy is coupled with sorrow. The hereafter is a realm of compensation but no action, while this world is a realm of action but no compensation. In short, the two worlds are diametrically different.
And this is how God defines the hereafter: by stating the events which will mark the termination of this world, such as the destruction of the foundation of the earth, the scattering of the mountains, the splitting of the sky, and the darkening of the stars. God defines the new world by describing how the previous order and design will no longer be in place. The Qur’an says: Certainly you have known the first creation, so why do you not take admonition? ().
So when the stars are blotted out (ṭumisat, from ṭams): The stars will lose their light and other properties. Ṭams means “blotting out the effects of something.” God says: When the stars scatter ().
وَ إِذَا السَّماءُ فُرِجَتْ ٩
(77:9) and when the sky is split (furijat, from farj),
The sky will cleave asunder. Farj and furjah means “a split between two things.” God says: When the sky is split open ().
وَ إِذَا الْجِبالُ نُسِفَتْ ١٠
(77:10) and when the mountains are scattered [like dust] (nusifat),
The mountains will be uprooted and demolished. When the wind uproots and removes something, it is said: nasafat al-rīḥ. God says: They question you concerning the mountains. Say, “My Lord will scatter them [like dust]” ().
وَ إِذَا الرُّسُلُ أُقِّتَتْ ١١
(77:11) and when the time is set for the messengers [to witness] (uqqitat)
There are two possible meanings for this verse: (1) “The messengers will be given an appointment to be present for testifying against their nations.” (2) “The time for which the messengers were waiting to testify against their nations will arrive.” The verb uqqitat is derived from the infinitive taʾqīt, which is the same as tawqīt (specifying a time, setting an appointment). God says: Then We will surely question those to whom the messengers were sent, and We will surely question the messengers (); The day Allah will gather the messengers and say, “What was the response to you?” ().
لِأَيِّ يَوْمٍ أُجِّلَتْ ١٢
(77:12) —for what day has [all] that been set [to occur] (ujjilat, from taʾjīl)?
Taʾjīl means “setting a specific time (ajal) for something.” It is commonly used to imply taʾkhīr (delay, deferral, postponement), which is one of its implications. For instance, a loan that is due for later is called al-dayn al-muʾajjal, as opposed to one that is due now (called al-dayn al-ḥāl). This meaning [of deferral] is more congruent with the verse. The antecedent of the pronoun “that” is the abovementioned events: the stars being blotted out [], the sky splitting [], the mountains being destroyed [], and the appointed time for the messengers arriving []. The meaning is: “For which day have these events been delayed?”
Based on the first meaning of taʾjīl—that is, “setting a specific time for something”—some have suggested that the antecedent of the pronoun “that” is either the messengers, or the news that they brought with respect to the hereafter, its tremendous occurrence, the punishment of the disbelievers, and the bliss of the believers. However, none of these meanings is apparent.
This verse and the next one are expressed in the form of question and answer: for what day has [all] that been set [to occur]? For the Day of Judgment (). This way of expression emphasizes the significance, threat and shock of the subject matter. The type of question found in this verse implies an omitted verb “say.” What is meant is that the intensity, gravity and shock of that day is such that one would naturally say, “For what day have these tremendous, grievous, and shocking events been delayed?” Then the answer is: For the Day of Judgment (). In short, the meaning is: “The abovementioned events have been delayed for the Day of Judgment.”
لِيَوْمِ الْفَصْلِ ١٣
(77:13) For the Day of Judgment!
That is the day of retribution, where disputes will be settled through divine arbitration. God says: Allah will indeed judge between them on the Day of Resurrection ().
وَ ما أَدْراكَ ما يَوْمُ الْفَصْلِ ١٤
(77:14) And what will show you what is the Day of Judgment!?
This verse glorifies and highlights the significance of that day.
وَيْلٌ يَوْمَئِذٍ لِلْمُكَذِّبِينَ ١٥
(77:15) Woe (wayl) to the deniers on that day!
Wayl is synonymous with halāk (death, destruction). This verse is a curse on the deniers. What is meant by the deniers are those who denied the Day of Judgment, which they were promised. That is based on the theme of the verses. The vows at the beginning of the chapter were meant to emphasize that those promises will surely befall ().
The chapter does not explicitly mention the complement of the conditional particle idhā (when) in the above verses: So when the stars are blotted out… (). The implied meaning is: “When these events occur, then the punishment that is promised for denial will befall the deniers.” Another possibility is: “When these events occur, then it shall be the Day of Judgment, when those who denied it will perish.”
Examining Narrations
- Once Abū Bakr told the Prophet, “You have aged [so quickly] O Messenger of God!” The Prophet replied, “Chapters 11 (Hūd), 56 (al-Wāqiʿah), 77 (al-Mursalāt) and 78 (ʿamma yatasāʾalūna) have made me age.”
- Ibn Masʿūd said: Sūrah al-Mursalāt was revealed to the Prophet when we were with him in a cave in Miná. I learnt it [directly] from his mouth as he recited it. His mouth was still fresh with the chapter when a snake attacked him. He said, “Kill it!”
- We chased it, but it escaped. Then the Prophet said, “It was spared from your harm, as you were spared from its harm.”
- Concerning By those released successively (ʿurfan) () Tafsīr al-Qummī says: It [ʿurfan] means verses that follow one another.
- Concerning the same verse, it is narrated from Imam ʿAlī and Ibn Masʿūd: It means the angels that are sent with maʿrūf (good), meaning the commands and prohibitions of God.
- Concerning So when the stars are blotted out (ṭumisat) () Tafsīr al-Qummī says: It means that their light will disappear and fade away.
- Concerning So when the stars are blotted out (ṭumisat, from ṭams) () Imam al-Bāqir said, “Their ṭams means the disappearance of their light.” Concerning and when the sky is split () he said, “They will crack and cleave.” Concerning and when the time is set for the messengers () he said, “They are raised in different times.”
- Imam al-Ṣādiq said: Uqqitat () means that they [the messengers] are raised in different times.
- Concerning for what day has [all] that been ujjilat () Tafsīr al-Qummī says: Ujjilat means ukhkhirat (deferred, postponed, delayed).
Chapters 51 (al-Dhāriyāt) and 79 (al-Nāziʿāt) also have the same style, and have some indications showing that these expressions are made with reference to the angels. Meanwhile, winds, clouds, ships and the like can also be matched and identified with the angels, and reduced to them, since the angels are intermediate forces that direct natural phenomena. Therefore, other interpretations of these vows remain open and reconcilable. (Trans.) ↩︎
It means what is known to be the good and appropriate course of conduct. (Trans.) ↩︎
The meaning would be: “By those that are released while they are in a succession.” (Trans.) ↩︎
The meaning would be: “By those that are released for a good cause” or “for enjoining good.” (Trans.) ↩︎
This is deduced from verses , , . (Trans.) ↩︎
That is, these are two possible objectives for the communication of the remembrance. (Trans.) ↩︎
The term is deduced from verse . (Trans.) ↩︎
The meaning would be: “For which day have the messengers been given a time to testify against their nations?” (Trans.) ↩︎
The meaning would be: “What days has been assigned for the occurrence of these events and promises?” (Trans.) ↩︎
Al-Khiṣāl, on the authority of ʿIkrimah, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās. ↩︎
Al-Durr al-manthūr, on the authority of al-Bukhārī, Muslim, al-Nasāʾī and Ibn Mardawayh. This is also reported through two other chains of narration. ↩︎
Majmaʿ al-bayān: (1) on the authority of al-Harawī, from Ibn Masʿūd; (2) on the authority of Abū Ḥamzah al-Thumālī, on the authority of Imam ʿAlī’s companions, from the Imam. ↩︎
Tafsīr al-Qummī, on the authority of Abū al-Jārūd. ↩︎
Apparently what is meant in this hadith and the last one is that the messengers will be raised in different occasions on the Day of Resurrection. Another possibility is that the verse refers to the different times in which they were raised and appointed as messengers in this world. (Trans.) ↩︎
Majmaʿ al-bayān. ↩︎