Period of Revelation
According to Hadrat Abdullah bin Abbas
this Sura was sent down after Sura An-Naba. Its subject matter also testifies that it belongs to the earliest period at Makkah.
Theme and Subject Matter
Its theme is affirmation of Resurrection and the life hereafter; It also warns of the consequences of belying the Messenger of God. The Sura opens with oaths sworn by the angels who take the soul at deaths and those who hasten to carryout Allah's Commands
and those who conduct the affairs of the universe according to Divine Will
to assure that the Resurrection will certainly come to pass and the second life after death will certainly take place. For the angels who are employed to pluck out the soul today can also be employed to restore the soul tomorrow
and the angels who promptly execute Allah's Commands and conduct the affairs of the universe today can also upset the order of the universe tomorrow by orders of the same God and can also bring about a new order. After this the people have been told
so as to say: "This work which you regard as absolutely impossible
is not any difficult for Allah
for which He may have to make lengthy preparations. Just a single jolt will upset this system of the world and a second jolt will be enough to cause you to appear as living beings in the new world. At that time the same people who were wont to deny it
would be trembling with fear and seeing with awe struck eyes all that they thought was impossible. Then
relating the story of the Prophet Moses and Pharaoh briefly
the people have been warned to the effect: "You know full well what fate the Pharaoh met in consequence of belying the Messenger and rejecting the guidance brought by him and endeavouring to defeat his mission by trickery and deceit. If you do not learn any lesson from it and do not change your ways and attitude accordingly
you also will have to meet the same fate. Then
in vv. 27-13
arguments have been given for the Hereafter and life after death. In this regard
the deniers have been asked the question:"Is your resurrection a more difficult task or the creation of the huge Universe which spreads around you to infinite distances with myriads of its stars and planets?Your recreation cannot be difficult for the God for Whom this was an easy task. Thus
after presenting in a single sentence
a decisive argument for the possibility of the Hereafter
attention has been drawn to the earth and its provisions that have been arranged in it for the sustenance of man and animal and of which everything testifies that it has been created with great wisdom for fulfilling some special purpose. Pointing to this the question has been left for the intellect of man to ponder for itself and form the opinion whether calling man to account after having delegated authority and responsibilities to a creature like him in this wise system would be more in keeping with the demands of wisdom
or that he should die after committing all sorts of misdeeds in the world and should perish and mix in the dust for ever and should never be called to account as to how he employed the authority and fulfilled the responsibilities entrusted to him. Instead of discussing this question
in vv. 34-41
it has been said: "When the Hereafter is established
men's eternal future will be determined on the criterion as to which of them rebelled against his God transgressing the bounds of service and made the material benefits and pleasures his objective of life and which of them feared standing before his Lord and relrained from fulfilling the unlawful desires of the self." This by itself provides the right answer to the above question to every such person who considers it honestly
free from stubbornness. For the only rational
logical and moral demand of giving authority and entrusting responsibilities to man in the world is that he should be called to account on this very basis ultimately and rewarded or punished accordingly. In conclusion
the question of the disbelievers of Makkah as to when Resurrection will take place
has been answered. They asked the Holy Prophet this question over and over again. In reply it has been said that the knowledge of the time of