Surah Al-Mursalaat (77) — Ayah 8

(Ayah 8 to 15) {فَاِذَا النُّجُوْمُ طُمِسَتْ … : ’’ اُقِّتَتْ ‘‘} In reality, it was {’’وُقِّتَتْ‘‘}. {’’اَلتَّوْقِيْتُ‘‘} to appoint a fixed time. From here, some signs of that day are mentioned: on that day, the light of the stars will fade away. (See Takwir: 2; Infitar: 2) The sky will be opened and doors upon doors will appear in it. (See Inshiqaq: 1; Infitar: 1; Naba: 19,18; Furqan: 25) And the mountains will be blown away. (See Ta-Ha: 105; Waqi’ah: 1-6; Haqqah: 13-15; Muzzammil: 14; Qari’ah: 5) And that time will come which was appointed with the messengers, that one day they will be gathered and each will bear witness to having conveyed the true religion to their respective communities. (See Nisa: 41; Ma’idah: 109) For which day have all these things been postponed? For the Day of Decision. Then, to express the greatness and awe of that day, it is said: “And what has made you know what the Day of Decision is?” The meaning is that no one can even estimate how great that day is, that they could tell you. Yes, if Allah Himself tells something, that is another matter. In short, that day is so terrifying that for the deniers, on that day there is {’’ وَيْلٌ ‘‘}—that is, ruin and destruction. In this surah, {’’ وَيْلٌ يَّوْمَىِٕذٍ لِّلْمُكَذِّبِيْنَ ‘‘} has come ten times; the purpose of repetition is to instill as much fear as possible of that day.