Surah Al-Qiyaama (75) — Ayah 1

(Ayah 2,1) ➊ {لَا اُقْسِمُ بِيَوْمِ الْقِيٰمَةِ…: ’’ الْقِيٰمَةِ ‘‘ ’’ قِيَامٌ‘‘} is the root, meaning "to stand," and the "taa" is to convey the meaning of "once," that is, a person's standing up once. Here, it is brought for warning that the occurrence of the Resurrection will be sudden. (Raghib) The meaning of {’’يَوْمُ الْقِيَامَةِ‘‘} will be "the day of standing up at once." {’’ اللَّوَّامَةِ ‘‘ ’’لَامَ يَلُوْمُ‘‘} is an intensive form, meaning "one who reproaches much," just as {’’عَلَّامَةٌ‘‘} and {’’ فَهَّامَةٌ ‘‘} are.

➋ The meaning of {’’ لَاۤ اُقْسِمُ ‘‘} is not that I do not swear, rather {’’ لَا‘‘} is separate and {’’ اُقْسِمُ ‘‘} is separate. The meaning is: No, I swear by the Day of Resurrection. This is a common idiom among the Arabs {’’لاَ وَاللّٰهِ‘‘} that when someone is denying, first his denial is negated by {’’لَا‘‘}, then to emphasize one's own statement, an oath is mentioned. In Urdu as well, to refute the addressee's wrong notion, it is similarly said: "No, by Allah! The matter is like this." Many commentators have said that {’’ لَا ‘‘} is extra, and the meaning is: I swear. But rather than considering it extra, to consider it meaningful is more befitting to the eloquence of the Qur'an, especially when the meaning is also correct and more emphatic.

➌ Three types of human souls are mentioned in the Qur'an: one that incites to sin, called "ammarah," as He said: « اِنَّ النَّفْسَ لَاَمَّارَةٌۢ بِالسُّوْٓءِ » [ یوسف : ۵۳ ] "Indeed, the soul is a persistent enjoiner of evil." The second is the soul that reproaches a person for evil, called "lawwamah." Any person, whether righteous or wicked, when he falls short in good deeds or commits evil, his own soul reproaches him: "Why did you do this?" In Urdu, this is generally called "conscience." The third is the one who has complete faith and satisfaction in all that Allah and His Messenger have said, and is not afflicted with doubt like the hypocrites; this is the "nafs mutma'innah." Some scholars have said that these are three states of the same soul at different times.

➍ The answer to the oath of {’’ بِيَوْمِ الْقِيٰمَةِ ‘‘} and {’’ بِالنَّفْسِ اللَّوَّامَةِ ‘‘} is not explicitly stated here, but from the following verses, it is understood that it is: "We will surely gather man's bones and resurrect him again."

➎ The purpose of an oath is to emphasize the matter for which it is sworn; sometimes the emphasis is because the thing sworn by is very great, and its greatness alone suffices for emphasis, and sometimes the oath itself is a proof for the statement, thus emphasizing it. Here, the oath by the Day of Resurrection is to emphasize the reality of the Resurrection, both because of its greatness and because the Day of Resurrection is itself a proof, just as in Surah Sad, Allah swore by the Qur'an itself to prove its truth, saying: « صٓ وَ الْقُرْاٰنِ ذِي الذِّكْرِ » [ صٓ : ۱ ] "Saad. By the Qur'an full of reminder." And the oath by the reproaching soul is because this is placed in human nature, that his soul reproaches him for evil, regardless of what his standard of good or evil is, and regardless of whether he pays heed to this reproach of conscience or not. This reproaching soul is a proof from Allah upon man, that just as your own soul questions you, it is necessary that a time comes when your Creator will question you.