📗 Surah Al-Qiyamah – Overview

🪶 Arabic Name: سورة القيامة

📝 Meaning: “The Resurrection”

📍 Classification: Makki (Meccan)

🔢 Total Verses: 40

⏳ Chronological Order of Revelation: 31st Surah revealed (Early Makkan)

📖 Key Themes: The certainty of the Day of Resurrection, The state of humanity at death and on Judgment Day, The root cause of disbelief (love of the fleeting world), The process of revelation, and God’s power to recreate.

✋ Verses 75:1-2 — The Double Oath: A Swear by Judgment Day and the Self-Reproaching Soul

Estimated placement in timeline: Early Makkan (c. 610-613 CE) — Confidence: High (95%).

Context & Events (Asbab al-Nuzul): This Surah was revealed in the earliest phase of the Prophet’s (ﷺ) public mission in Makkah. The primary ideological battle was against the Quraysh’s staunch denial of the Resurrection. They saw it as an impossible fantasy. The Surah opens with a pair of powerful and unusual oaths to confront this denial head-on. First, “I swear by the Day of Resurrection.” Allah (SWT) swears by the very event they deny, a rhetorical move to assert its absolute certainty. Second, “And I swear by the self-reproaching soul.” This refers to the human conscience, the inner voice that feels guilt and remorse for wrongdoing. This was a divine oath by a universal psychological reality that every listener, including the disbelievers, had experienced.

Referenced Timeline: The Eschatological Future (The Day of Resurrection) & The Continuous Present (The human conscience).

“I swear by the Day of Resurrection, and I swear by the self-reproaching soul.” (Qur’an 75:1-2)

• Primary evidence: The Surah’s powerful, rhythmic style, its short verses, and its intense focus on the core theological dispute over the Resurrection are all definitive hallmarks of the early Makkan period.
• Classical tafsir: Commentators are unanimous that the Surah is Makkan. They explain that the “self-reproaching soul” can refer to the soul of the believer that reproaches itself for any minor slip, or the soul of the disbeliever that will reproach itself on the Day of Judgment, or the human conscience in general. In all interpretations, it serves as a sign of an innate moral awareness.

• Location/Context: Makkah.
• Primary Actors: Allah (SWT) as the one swearing the oath; the Makkan disbelievers as the audience.
• Function in Narrative: To assert the absolute certainty of the Resurrection using a powerful double oath that connects the external event to an internal psychological reality.
• Evidence Level: High. This is based on the unanimous scholarly consensus on its Makkan origin and the clear thematic and stylistic evidence within the text that targets the core denial of the Quraysh.

🦴 Verses 75:3-4 — The Smashed Bones Argument: “We Can Even Reassemble Your Fingertips”

Estimated placement in timeline: Early Makkan — Confidence: High (95%).

Context & Events (Asbab al-Nuzul): These verses directly address the specific, materialistic argument used by the Makkan disbelievers against the Resurrection. They would mockingly ask, holding decayed bones, “Does man think that We will not assemble his bones?” Their argument was based on a failure of imagination; they simply could not conceive of how scattered and decomposed bones could be brought back together. Verse 4 delivers a stunning and precise refutation: “Yes. [We are] Able [even] to proportion his fingertips.” The choice of “fingertips” is a masterstroke of divine rhetoric. It is a symbol of the most intricate, delicate, and unique part of the human body. The argument is: the God who can perfectly recreate the unique and tiny ridges of your fingertips can surely reassemble your larger bones.

Referenced Timeline: Contemporary Makkah.

“Yes. [We are] Able [even] to proportion his fingertips.” (Qur’an 75:4)

• Primary evidence: The argument against the reassembly of bones was the primary “scientific” objection of the Makkan polytheists to the concept of resurrection. Addressing this specific point is a key feature of the Qur’an’s Makkan polemics.
• Classical tafsir: Commentators have always been in awe of the choice of “fingertips” (banan). They explain it as a sign of God’s ultimate power and precision. If He can perfectly recreate the smallest, most complex and unique parts, then the larger, more generic parts are no challenge for Him.

• Location/Context: Makkah.
• Primary Actors: The Makkan disbelievers.
• Function in Narrative: To refute the specific physical argument against resurrection by highlighting God’s perfect and precise creative power.
• Evidence Level: High. The verse directly addresses a well-documented argument of the Quraysh, and the Sira provides specific examples of this challenge being made to the Prophet (ﷺ).

⏳ Verses 75:5-6 — The Procrastinator’s Creed: “He Wishes to Continue in Sin”

Estimated placement in timeline: Early Makkan — Confidence: High (95%).

Context & Events (Asbab al-Nuzul): After refuting their physical argument against resurrection, these verses perform a deep psychological diagnosis to reveal the *real* reason for their denial. The problem isn’t intellectual; it’s moral. “But man desires to continue in sin.” The denial of the Hereafter is not a conclusion reached through sincere inquiry; it’s a convenient philosophy adopted to grant oneself a license to live without accountability. It’s the creed of procrastination. Because he wants to live a life of unchecked desire, he pushes the idea of judgment into the distant, non-existent future. This is why he asks mockingly, “When is the Day of Resurrection?” The question is not a sincere inquiry but a delaying tactic, a way to dismiss the moral demands of the present.

Referenced Timeline: The Continuous Present (Human Psychology).

• Primary evidence: The psychological critique of the disbelievers’ motives is a powerful and recurring theme in Makkan Surahs. It moves the debate from the purely metaphysical to the moral and psychological, which is a key part of the Qur’an’s persuasive strategy.
• Classical tafsir: Commentators explain that “to continue in sin” (li-yafjura amamah) means to push forward into the future, committing sins and telling oneself, “I will repent later.” The denial of the final deadline (the Day of Resurrection) is the ultimate form of this spiritual procrastination.

• Location/Context: Makkah.
• Primary Actors: The Makkan disbelievers.
• Function in Narrative: To diagnose the underlying psychological and moral reason for the denial of the Resurrection—the desire to live a life free of accountability.
• Evidence Level: High. This psychological argument is the necessary bridge between refuting their stated reason for disbelief and describing the terrifying reality they are trying to avoid.

☄️ Verses 75:7-10 — The Apocalypse in Fast-Forward: Dazzled Eyes and a Darkened Moon

Estimated placement in timeline: Early Makkan — Confidence: High (95%).

Context & Events (Asbab al-Nuzul): After the disbeliever’s mocking question, “When is the Day of Resurrection?”, these verses provide the terrifying answer, not with a date, but with a description of the events. It’s a rapid-fire sequence of cosmic chaos. “So when vision is dazzled, and the moon darkens, and the sun and the moon are joined…” This is a picture of the complete breakdown of the celestial order. The human eye will be blinded by the terror, the moon will lose its light, and the sun and moon, which follow their own precise orbits, will be violently brought together. In the face of this cosmic horror, the terrified human will finally realize the game is over and cry out, “Where is the place to flee?”

Referenced Timeline: The Eschatological Future (The Day of Judgment).

• Primary evidence: The powerful and poetic eschatological imagery is a defining characteristic of the early Makkan Surahs. This section is a direct, vivid answer to the question posed in the preceding verses.
• Classical tafsir: Commentators explain that the “dazzling” of the vision is due to the extreme terror of what is unfolding. The “joining” of the sun and moon signifies the end of the celestial system, as they are brought together and then cast away, their light extinguished.

• Location/Context: Makkah (revealed in), Day of Judgment (described).
• Primary Actors: The disbelieving human and the cosmos.
• Function in Narrative: To answer the mockers’ question by describing the terrifying cosmic events that will signal the beginning of the Day of Resurrection.
• Evidence Level: High. This apocalyptic scene is the necessary and powerful consequence of the theological argument being built throughout the first part of the Surah.

🚫 Verses 75:11-13 — The Dead End: “No! There Is No Refuge.”

Estimated placement in timeline: Early Makkan — Confidence: High (95%).

Context & Events (Asbab al-Nuzul): These verses deliver the definitive answer to the desperate cry, “Where is the place to flee?”. The answer is a single, crushing word: “No!” (Kalla!). There is no escape. “There is no refuge.” The only destination on that Day is the final one: “To your Lord, that Day, is the [final] settlement.” The verses then state what will happen at that final settlement: “Man will be informed that Day of what he sent forth and kept back.” Every single deed, both the ones he did (“sent forth”) and the ones he left behind as a legacy or failed to do (“kept back”), will be presented to him.

Referenced Timeline: The Eschatological Future (The Day of Judgment).

• Location/Context: Makkah (revealed in), Day of Judgment (described).
• Primary Actors: The disbelieving human.
• Function in Narrative: To declare the impossibility of escape on the Day of Judgment and to affirm the reality of the final, comprehensive accounting of deeds.
• Evidence Level: High. This is the logical conclusion to the disbeliever’s desperate cry, providing the final answer to “Where is the place to flee?”.

👁️ Verses 75:14-15 — The Soul as a Witness: You Are Your Own Evidence

Estimated placement in timeline: Early Makkan — Confidence: High (95%).

Context & Events (Asbab al-Nuzul): These verses describe the state of the human being during the final accounting. “Rather, man, against himself, will be a witness, even if he presents his excuses.” On the Day of Judgment, the need for external witnesses will be secondary. The person’s own soul, their own limbs, and their own memory will become the primary evidence against them. They will have a clear, undeniable insight (basirah) into their own reality. Even if their tongue tries to make excuses and rationalize their behavior, as they did in this life, their inner self will know the truth.

Referenced Timeline: The Eschatological Future (The Day of Judgment).

• Location/Context: Makkah (revealed in), Day of Judgment (described).
• Primary Actors: The human soul.
• Function in Narrative: To describe the state of self-awareness and self-incrimination of the individual on the Day of Judgment.
• Evidence Level: High. This concept of the self as a witness is a key component of Qur’anic eschatology and fits perfectly within the description of the final accounting.

👅 Verses 75:16-19 — The Anxious Prophet: “Do Not Move Your Tongue in Haste” (Key Event)

Estimated placement in timeline: Early Makkan — Confidence: High (100%).

Context & Events (Asbab al-Nuzul): This section is a remarkable and intimate parenthetical statement. It is a direct address from Allah to the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) *during the process of revelation itself*. As the angel Jibril was reciting the Qur’an to him, the Prophet (ﷺ), out of his intense eagerness and fear of forgetting, would move his tongue and lips, trying to repeat the words simultaneously. These verses were revealed to gently correct this. Allah tells him, “Do not move your tongue with it to hasten it.” The verses then provide a four-part divine guarantee: “Indeed, upon Us is its collection and its recitation. So when We have recited it, then follow its recitation. Then upon Us is its clarification.” Allah was taking personal responsibility for the entire process: gathering the Qur’an in the Prophet’s heart, ensuring its correct recitation through his tongue, and guaranteeing its clear explanation. The Prophet’s (ﷺ) only job was to listen quietly and absorb.

Referenced Timeline: Contemporary Makkah (during the revelation of the Qur’an).

• Primary evidence: The Asbab al-Nuzul for this is explicitly narrated by Ibn Abbas (RA) in Sahih al-Bukhari. He explained that the Prophet (ﷺ) used to suffer great difficulty during revelation and would move his lips, and so this verse was revealed. This makes the context certain.
• Classical tafsir: All commentators narrate this incident as the context for these verses. They see it as a sign of the Prophet’s (ﷺ) immense love for the Qur’an and his dedication to his mission, as well as a powerful sign of God’s mercy and His active role in the preservation of the revelation.

• Location/Context: Makkah, during the act of revelation.
• Primary Actors: Allah (SWT), the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ), and the Angel Jibril (as the transmitter).
• Function in Narrative: A divine instruction and reassurance to the Prophet (ﷺ) regarding the process of receiving and memorizing the Qur’an, and a guarantee of its preservation.
• Evidence Level: High (Certain). This is based on explicit, canonical hadith from an eyewitness to the Prophet’s (ﷺ) process of revelation.

🌍 Verses 75:20-21 — The Root of the Problem: You Love the Fleeting World

Estimated placement in timeline: Early Makkan — Confidence: High (95%).

Context & Events (Asbab al-Nuzul): After the parenthetical address to the Prophet (ﷺ), the Surah now snaps back to its main theme, addressing the disbelievers. It returns to the psychological diagnosis that was hinted at earlier. The verse starts with a sharp “No!” (Kalla!), rejecting their entire worldview. It then states the core problem in the clearest possible terms: “But you love the fleeting one [i.e., this worldly life] and leave behind the Hereafter.” This is the ultimate diagnosis of their spiritual sickness. All of their arguments, all of their denial, and all of their mockery stem from this one fundamental emotional and psychological attachment. Their hearts are so consumed with the immediate, tangible pleasures of this life that they have no room left for the concept of a future, eternal life.

Referenced Timeline: The Continuous Present (Human Psychology).

• Location/Context: Makkah.
• Primary Actors: The Makkan disbelievers.
• Function in Narrative: To diagnose the fundamental root cause of disbelief as the love for the material world and the neglect of the Hereafter.
• Evidence Level: High. This diagnosis is the central critique of the Makkan worldview and logically follows the preceding descriptions of their denial and the reality of the Hereafter.

✨ Verses 75:22-25 — The Two Faces of Judgment: Radiant Joy vs. Utter Despair

Estimated placement in timeline: Early Makkan — Confidence: High (95%).

Context & Events (Asbab al-Nuzul): The Surah now paints a powerful diptych, a pair of contrasting portraits of the two types of souls on the Day of Judgment. The first portrait is of the righteous: “Some faces, that Day, will be radiant, looking at their Lord.” This is the ultimate reward—faces shining with the light of joy and honor, granted the supreme bliss of gazing directly upon their Creator. The second portrait is of the wicked: “And some faces, that Day, will be contorted, expecting that there will be done to them a back-breaking [calamity].” Their faces will be dark and twisted with despair, in dreadful anticipation of the terrible punishment they know is coming.

Referenced Timeline: The Eschatological Future (The Day of Judgment).

• Location/Context: Makkah (revealed in), Day of Judgment (described).
• Primary Actors: The righteous and the wicked.
• Function in Narrative: To provide a vivid, contrasting depiction of the fates of the believers and disbelievers on the Day of Judgment, highlighting the ultimate outcomes of their choices.
• Evidence Level: High. This is a classic eschatological contrast that is central to the Qur’an’s Makkan message of warning and glad tidings.

💀 Verses 75:26-30 — The Soul at the Throat: A Clinical Description of Death’s Agony

Estimated placement in timeline: Early Makkan — Confidence: High (95%).

Context & Events (Asbab al-Nuzul): After describing the final outcomes on the Day of Judgment, the Surah now takes a step back to describe the gateway to that day: the moment of death. The passage is a stark, clinical, and terrifying depiction of the death rattle. “No! When the soul has reached the collarbones, and it is said, ‘Who can cure [him]?’ And he is certain that it is the parting.” At this moment, all worldly hope is lost. Doctors are useless, and the dying person knows with absolute certainty that the end has come. The verses then describe the final moments: “And the leg is wrapped about the leg.” This is a powerful image of the final paralysis and helplessness of death. The final verse declares the destination: “To your Lord, that Day, is the driving.” The soul is now being driven to its final reckoning.

Referenced Timeline: The Moment of Death (a universal human experience).

• Location/Context: Makkah.
• Primary Actors: The dying human soul.
• Function in Narrative: To provide a vivid and terrifying description of the moment of death, serving as a powerful reminder of the inevitability of the journey to the Hereafter.
• Evidence Level: High. This description of death is the necessary precursor to the judgment described earlier, grounding the eschatological scenes in a universal human experience.

🚶‍♂️ Verses 75:31-33 — The Profile of a Denier: Arrogant, Heedless, and Swaggering

Estimated placement in timeline: Early Makkan — Confidence: High (95%).

Context & Events (Asbab al-Nuzul): After the universal depiction of death, the Surah now returns to profile the specific type of person who ends up in the state of despair: the arrogant Makkan disbeliever. The verses provide a concise summary of his life’s failures: “And he had not believed, nor had he prayed. But he denied and turned away. Then he went to his people, swaggering.” This is a perfect sketch of a figure like Abu Jahl. He didn’t just passively disbelieve; he actively denied the truth and turned his back on it. And his reaction to hearing the divine warning was not fear or reflection, but to return to his family and tribe with a proud, arrogant swagger (yatamatta), as if he had won a great victory.

Referenced Timeline: Contemporary Makkah.

• Location/Context: Makkah.
• Primary Actors: The archetypal Makkan disbeliever (like Abu Jahl).
• Function in Narrative: To provide a concise and damning profile of the disbeliever, linking his rejection of faith to his arrogant demeanor.
• Evidence Level: High. The profile perfectly matches the known characteristics and behaviors of the leading opponents of Islam in Makkah.

☠️ Verses 75:34-35 — The Repeated Threat: “Woe to You, and Woe Again”

Estimated placement in timeline: Early Makkan — Confidence: High (95%).

Context & Events (Asbab al-Nuzul): Following the description of the swaggering disbeliever, these verses deliver a direct, rhythmic, and terrifying threat. “Woe to you, and woe! Then woe to you, and woe again!” The Arabic phrase (Awla laka fa-awla) is a powerful and concise expression of impending doom. It means something like, “Closer and closer to you [is your destruction]!” It’s a verbal threat that brings the punishment nearer with each repetition. Sira accounts link this directly to Abu Jahl, one of the most virulent enemies of the Prophet (ﷺ). It is narrated that the Prophet (ﷺ) once seized him by the collar and said to him, “Woe to you, and woe again!”, after which this verse was revealed, confirming the Prophet’s warning with divine words.

Referenced Timeline: Contemporary Makkah.

• Primary evidence: The style of a direct, rhythmic threat is characteristic of early Makkan Surahs. The Sira accounts provide a specific and plausible context for its revelation.
• Classical tafsir: Commentators like Ibn Kathir narrate the incident of the Prophet (ﷺ) confronting Abu Jahl and saying these words to him, after which this verse was revealed. This makes it a direct divine confirmation of a specific historical event.

• Location/Context: Makkah.
• Primary Actors: The Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) and Abu Jahl.
• Function in Narrative: To deliver a final, powerful, and repeated threat of doom to the archetypal arrogant disbeliever.
• Evidence Level: High. The verse is strongly linked to a specific historical confrontation involving a key enemy of Islam, giving it a clear context and purpose.

❓ Verses 75:36-40 — The Final Argument: From a Drop of Sperm to the Day of Resurrection

Estimated placement in timeline: Early Makkan — Confidence: High (95%).

Context & Events (Asbab al-Nuzul): The Surah concludes with its final, decisive, and logical argument for the Resurrection. It asks the denier one last question: “Does man think that he will be left neglected?” Does he really believe he was created for no purpose, to live and die without any final accountability? To refute this, the Surah takes him back to his own humble beginning: “Had he not been a sperm-drop ejaculated? Then he was a clinging clot, and [Allah] created [him] and proportioned [him]. And made of him two mates, the male and the female.” The argument is from creation. The Surah then poses the final, unanswerable question: “Is not that [Creator] Able to give life to the dead?” The logic is irrefutable: the One who could initiate the miracle of life from a worthless drop of fluid surely has the power to bring life back to bones and dust.

Referenced Timeline: The Continuous Present (Human Biology) & A Timeless Logical Argument.

• Primary evidence: The argument for resurrection based on the miracle of initial creation is the Qur’an’s primary logical proof for the Hereafter and is a central theme of Makkan revelation.
• Classical tafsir: Commentators see this as the conclusive proof (dalil) of the Surah. The logical power of the argument is self-evident. They note that it silences any rational objection to the possibility of resurrection, leaving only stubborn denial as the reason for disbelief.

• Location/Context: Makkah.
• Primary Actors: The disbelieving human.
• Function in Narrative: To provide the final, conclusive, and logical proof for the Resurrection, based on God’s power as demonstrated in the initial creation of man.
• Evidence Level: High. This is the logical and theological climax of the entire Surah, providing the definitive answer to the questions and denials that began the chapter.