Surah Al-Mursalat: Difference between revisions

This chapter is called Surah Al-Mursalaat. Mursalaat is defined as angels or blowing gales, and the chapter is named this because it is mentioned in its opening verse.  

This chapter, along with emphasizing the threat that the guilty will face on the Day of Judgement, also gives news of glad tidings. The tone of the chapter however, remains severe as it is forewarning the people. The harsh tone that this chapter adopts is like the flamed-whipping of the hearts, which sparks the same fear that those accused feel in formidable courts. Indeed the waves of questioning, rejection, and threats pierce through the hearts just like the tip of a razor-sharp spear would. The verses of this chapter display the world, the hereafter, different forms of punishments, sensual and existential truths. The appearance of the realities which exist within the hearts of the sinful is described through the phrase “وَیلٌ یوْمَئِذٍ لِلْمُکذِّبِینَ” which means: “Woe to the deniers on that day!” This is repeated ten times within 50 verses. <ref name=":4">Sayyid Muhammad Husayn Tabatabai, Al-Mizan fi Tafsir al-Quran, Volume 20 (Beirut: Muassasa al-Ilmi li al-Maay</ref>, Page 144))

Certainly the Day of Judgement is a day when the stars will fall and the sky will split. It is a day when the firm mountains will be destroyed to dust. On this day the messengers will bear witness about the difference between truth and falsehood. This is a day known as the day of separation, and surely only Allah has knowledge about it. Woe be upon the impugners on that day. <ref name=":5">Ismail ibn Umar ibn Kathir Damishqi, Tafsir al-Quran al-Azim, Volume 8 (Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyya, 1998), Page 302</ref> <ref name=":6">Tabatabai, Al-Mizan fi Tafsir al-Quran, Volume 20, Pages 144-200</ref>  

The term mursalaat alludes to winds from the storm of punishment. This punishment is like the violent winds which blow non-stop, fluttering the manes of horses.  

These verses aim to prove the possibility of the creations being resurrected. They question whether or not the punishments that the previous generations went through are repeatable or not? They then respond, saying that surely the sinful of today will also be doomed to perdition, just like their sinful predecessors were. Did the nations of Nuh, Aad, Thamood, Ibrahim and Lut not suffer from similar consequences?  

Man’s state in both this world and the hereafter is discussed in this section of the chapter. These verses discuss one’s worldly life, the virtues and blessings that a person rejects in this world, and one’s ultimate return to the hereafter. The term kifaatan refers to this world being a place for the gathering of men, both dead and alive. This can mean two things: first, it could refer to the existence of living beings and the burial of the dead; and second, it could point towards  the dividing of the Earth into two sections: the living and the dead. The living Earth is that which is capable of cultivation, and the dead Earth is that which is not able to cultivate. <ref name=":10">Ibid., Volume 10, Page 632</ref>  

Man will often travel from the land of high mountain peaks and nourishing water to the land of the dead. Woe be upon those who hide the truth in this state.  

The condition of the sinners on the Day of Judgement is described here. That day every human being will be judged based on their actions. The sinners will not be given a chance to make excuses on this day, and they will be forced to remain silent. <ref name=":14">Zamakhshari, Al-Kashshaf an Haqaiq Ghawamid al-Tanzil, Volume 4, Page 681</ref>  

Allah speaks about the rewards that the believers will be blessed with in heaven in these 5 verses. The repeating of “وَیلٌ یوْمَئِذٍ لِلْمُکذِّبِینَ” - Woe to the deniers on that day!