In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.
A gentle commentary
on the book "Identification Cards
for the Surahs of the Noble Qur'an"
by Dr. Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn 'Umar Nasif,
may Allah preserve him.
Surah al-Qiyamah.
In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful. All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
Returning now to this gentle commentary
on the identification cards,
the last surah we covered was Surah al-Muddaththir,
and today we take up Surah al-Qiyamah.
I have three points of reflection upon it.
The first point pertains to the opening of the surah.
The author stated that it begins with an oath,
which is the fifth type of opening among those mentioned in *Al-Itqan*.
Furthermore,
it and Surah al-Balad—
though written as feminine dual, the phrasing should indicate singular concord—
meaning Surah al-Qiyamah along with Surah al-Balad,
are uniquely characterized by a distinctive style of oath,
the signification of which is debated,
because some scholars regard it as an oath,
while others do not consider it an oath.
Therefore,
he noted that it could be classified under the fourth category,
which is opening with an informative statement,
meaning the fourth of the various types of openings.
The fifth type is the oath.
Indeed, al-Suyuti himself,
upon whom the author relied in this book regarding surah openings,
classified it
among the openings
by informative statements
and did not count it among the oaths.
The apparent reason for this is the scholarly difference:
is this an oath,
or is it a negation of an oath?
Moreover, both surahs,
by virtue of sharing this opening,
merit deep reflection and comparison.
It is also observed that in both of these surahs,
there occurs
the phrase "Does man think...?" twice
in each surah.
Thus, the two surahs beginning with "Nay, I swear"
resemble each other
in the fact that
both contain this specific expression.
And this phrase, "Does man think...?",
is a recurring motif
throughout the Qur'an,
expressing denunciation
against anyone who harbors a false assumption,
as though it delivers him from the darkness
in which he resides into the light,
should he be guided by the words
of the Subtle, the All-Aware.
As for the second point of reflection, it concerns the occasion of revelation.
The author mentioned a single occasion of revelation,
which relates to an issue
connected to the science of textual correlations (*'ilm al-munasabat*).
There is an important principle in the science of textual correlations
that al-Tahir ibn 'Ashur pointed out
frequently.
Sometimes an exegete attempts
to
forge a link between verses,
and this endeavor in itself
is good and accepted by the vast majority of scholars,
save for a few who hesitated regarding this matter
and objected to the study of textual correlations.
But the problem arises
when speaking of textual correlations
without taking into account the occasions of revelation.
Thus, you find someone interpreting a verse
incorrectly merely
to make it cohere neatly
with what precedes it and what follows it,
completely disregarding the occasion of revelation.
Here,
the occasion of revelation for Allah's words, "Do not move your tongue therewith
to make haste with it,"
is that the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, used to endure
great hardship during revelation
and would frequently move his lips—
to the end of the narration.
Thus, it is evident
that this occasion has no thematic link
to the verses preceding it or following it.
And we said that this relates back to the science of textual correlations,
in the sense that
verses may be revealed for a specific reason,
and their descent happens to coincide with
the revelation of verses
treating an entirely different topic.
Thus we understand the rationale for their mention alongside them:
namely, that they coincided
in the time of revelation, not that there is an intrinsic
correlation between them—a point emphasized by al-Tahir ibn 'Ashur.
By keeping this in mind, the scholar treating
this subject is spared from forced contrivance
regarding certain verses.
The third and final point of reflection
concerns the thematic sections.
Under the single section, it says: "And in it [fem.]..."
We should assume it means: "And in it [masc.]..."
"The opening with a denunciatory interrogative,
and the denunciation of those who deny
the gathering of bones..." It would be better phrased as:
"and the denunciation of him who assumes
that Allah will not assemble his bones,"
and the like,
because this aligns
with the statement in the last two lines: "and the refutation of
whoever assumes that he will be left neglected,"
in reference to "Does man think
that We will not assemble his bones?" at the beginning of the surah,
and "Does man think that he will be left neglected?"
at the end of the surah.
So it is preferable for the wording
to point to this parallelism.
Furthermore, it is noteworthy
that there are parenthetical verses
mentioned in the occasions of revelation a moment ago,
and they are noted here in the third line
of the single thematic section.
He stated: "Parenthetical verses discussing
the manner required of the Prophet,
peace be upon him, in his reception of the Qur'an."
It is clear that these verses
are not directly
connected to the verse preceding them.
I spoke about this a moment ago,
but I wish to add here
that such parenthetical insertions
remind anyone who reads the Qur'an
and listens to these verses
that the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
holds a sublime status with Allah,
and that he, peace be upon him,
is the one upon whom
the revelation descended.
This reminds me
that the Prophet, peace be upon him, received the revelation,
conveyed it to us,
and was then taken by Allah, Exalted is He;
so it must remain ever-present in our hearts
that he is the one who received the revelation,
who conveyed it,
and who will be a witness
over his Ummah: "So how will it be when We bring from every nation a witness
“But how (will it be with them) when We bring of every people a witness, and We bring thee (O Muhammad) a witness against these?” (4:41)
and We bring you as a witness over these?"
Thus, such verses that appear
parenthetically speaking about the Messenger of Allah
ought to draw our attention
to this reality and to other insights that emerge
through deep contemplation.
I content myself with this, and I invoke blessings upon the best of Messengers,
and upon his family and Companions.