Surah 79. Surah al Nazi’at (The Angels that Tear Out)
Bismillah ir Rahman ir Raheem
In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
- By those (angels) who tear out, diving,
- By those who separate, gently,
- By those that orbit, swiftly,
- And move forward, racing,
- And execute as directed,
- The Day when the trembling, tremble,
- And the one to follow, follows.
- That Day the hearts shall quiver,
- Their sights lowered,
- They say: “Shall we be returned to our earlier state,
- When we have become hollow bones?”
- They say: “This would then be a ruinous return!”
- Indeed, it shall not but be a single roar,
- Then, at that moment, they shall awaken!
- Has the story of Moses reached you?
- When His Rabb called him in the hallowed valley of Tuwa:
- Go forth to the Pharaoh!
He has indeed transgressed. - And say to him:
“Do you wish to purify yourself? - And I guide you so that you fear your Rabb?”
- Then he (Moses) showed him the greatest Sign;
- But he (the Pharaoh) rejected it and disobeyed,
- And he turned his back and increased his disobedience.
- Then he assembled (his hosts) and called them,
- Saying: “I (Pharaoh) am your Rabb, the greatest.”
- So Allah seized him with punishment in the hereafter and in this world.
- Indeed, in that is a lesson for those who fear (Allah).
- Are you more difficult to create,
Or the heavens that He created? - He raised it as a canopy and organized it,
- And darkened its nights and lighted up its days,
- After that He laid out the earth,
- And from it brought forth water and vegetation,
- And the mountains, He established,
- With benefits for you and for your livestock.
- So when the Great Convulsion comes to pass,
- That Day shall the human remember what he earned,
- And Hellfire shall be opened up for one who sees it,
- Then whoever exceeded the bounds,
- And preferred the life of this world,
- Then, verily, his abode is Hellfire.
- And whoever was fearful of the standing before his Rabb,
And stopped his ego from following its base desires, - Then, verily, the Garden is his destination.
- They ask you when the Moment will be established.
- How could you say anything about it?
- With your Rabb is its ultimate (knowledge).
- You are but a Warner to one who fears it (the Day of Judgment),
- The Day when they see it,
(It will seem) as if they had stayed in the world
But for an evening or its (following) dawn.
Note: This is a highly mystical Surah that lends itself to an infinite variety of explanations, both physical and spiritual.