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Ayah
Word by Word
إِنَّآ
Indeed We
أَنذَرۡنَٰكُمۡ
[We] have warned you
عَذَابٗا
(of) a punishment
قَرِيبٗا
near
يَوۡمَ
(the) Day
يَنظُرُ
will see
ٱلۡمَرۡءُ
the man
مَا
what
قَدَّمَتۡ
have sent forth
يَدَاهُ
his hands
وَيَقُولُ
and will say
ٱلۡكَافِرُ
the disbeliever
يَٰلَيۡتَنِي
O I wish
كُنتُ
I were
تُرَٰبَۢا
dust!
إِنَّآ
Indeed We
أَنذَرۡنَٰكُمۡ
[We] have warned you
عَذَابٗا
(of) a punishment
قَرِيبٗا
near
يَوۡمَ
(the) Day
يَنظُرُ
will see
ٱلۡمَرۡءُ
the man
مَا
what
قَدَّمَتۡ
have sent forth
يَدَاهُ
his hands
وَيَقُولُ
and will say
ٱلۡكَافِرُ
the disbeliever
يَٰلَيۡتَنِي
O I wish
كُنتُ
I were
تُرَٰبَۢا
dust!
Translation
Indeed, We have warned you of an impending punishment on the Day when a man will observe what his hands have put forth1 and the disbeliever will say, "Oh, I wish that I were dust!"
Footnotes
1 - i.e., the deeds he did in this world, which await him in the Hereafter.
Tafsir
Lo! We have warned you, O disbelievers of Mecca, of a chastisement that is near, the chastisement of the impending Day of Resurrection - for anything that is impending is [also] near - the day (yawma adverbially qualifies 'adhaaban, 'a chastisement', by describing it) when a person, [when] every person, will behold what his hands have sent ahead, of good and evil, and the disbeliever will say, 'O (yaa is a particle used to call attention to something) would that I were dust!', in other words, and not be chastised. He says this when God, exalted be He, says to the beasts, after each of them has retaliated against the other, 'Be dust!'.
No one will dare to speak before Allah -- not even the Angels - without first receiving Permission
رَبِّ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالاَْرْضِ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا الرحْمَنِ
The Lord of the heavens and the earth, and whatsoever is in between them, the Most Gracious,
Allah informs of His magnificence and His majesty, and that He is the Lord of the heavens and the earth, and whatever is in them and between them. He explains that He is the Most Gracious, Whose mercy covers all things.
Then He says,
لَاا يَمْلِكُونَ مِنْهُ خِطَابًا
With Whom they cannot dare to speak.
meaning, no one is able to begin addressing Him except by His permission.
This is as Allah says,
مَن ذَا الَّذِى يَشْفَعُ عِندَهُ إِلاَّ بِإِذْنِهِ
Who is he that can intercede with Him except with His permission, (2:255)
It is also similar to His statement,
يَوْمَ يَأْتِ لَا تَكَلَّمُ نَفْسٌ إِلاَّ بِإِذْنِهِ
On the Day when it comes, no person shall speak except by His leave. (11:105)
يَوْمَ يَقُومُ الرُّوحُ وَالْمَلَيِكَةُ صَفًّا لاَّ يَتَكَلَّمُونَ
The Day that Ar-Ruh and the angels will stand forth in rows, they will not speak. (78:38)
The word Ruh here is referring to the angel Jibril. This has been said by Ash-Sha`bi, Sa`id bin Jubayr and Ad-Dahhak.
This is as Allah says,
نَزَلَ بِهِ الرُّوحُ الاٌّمِينُ
عَلَى قَلْبِكَ لِتَكُونَ مِنَ الْمُنْذِرِينَ
Which the trustworthy Ruh has brought down. Upon your heart that you may be of the warners. (26:193-194)
Muqatil bin Hayyan said,
The Ruh is the noblest of the angels, the closest of them to the Lord, and the one who delivers the revelation.
Allah said;
إِلاَّ مَنْ أَذِنَ لَهُ الرحْمَنُ
except him whom Ar-Rahman allows,
This is similar to Allah's statement,
يَوْمَ يَأْتِ لَا تَكَلَّمُ نَفْسٌ إِلاَّ بِإِذْنِهِ
On the Day when it comes, no person shall speak except by His leave. (11:105)
This is similar to what has been confirmed in the Sahih, that the Prophet said,
وَلَا يَتَكَلَّمُ يَوْمَيِذٍ إِلاَّ الرُّسُل
And none will speak on that Day except the Messengers.
Allah said,
وَقَالَ صَوَابًا
and he will speak what is right.
meaning, the truth. And from the truth is the fact that there is no god worthy of worship except Allah.
This is as Abu Salih and Ikrimah both said.
In reference to Allah's statement
ذَلِكَ الْيَوْمُ الْحَقُّ
That is the True Day.
meaning, it will come to pass and there is no avoiding it.
فَمَن شَاء اتَّخَذَ إِلَى رَبِّهِ مَأبًا
So, whosoever wills, let him seek a place with His Lord!
meaning, a place of return, a path that leads to Him, and a way that he may pass by to get to Him.
The Day of Judgement is Near
Allah said
إِنَّا أَنذَرْنَاكُمْ عَذَابًا قَرِيبًا
Verily, We have warned you of a near torment,
meaning, the Day of Judgment.
It is mentioned here to emphasize the fact that its occurrence has become close, because everything that is coming will certainly come to pass.
يَوْمَ يَنظُرُ الْمَرْءُ مَا قَدَّمَتْ يَدَاهُ
the Day when man will see that which his hands have sent forth,
meaning, all of his deeds will be presented to him -- the good and bad, and the old and new.
This is similar to Allah's statement,
وَوَجَدُواْ مَا عَمِلُواْ حَاضِرًا
And they will find all that they did, placed before them. (18:49)
It is also similar to His statement,
يُنَبَّأُ الاِنسَـنُ يَوْمَيِذِ بِمَا قَدَّمَ وَأَخَّرَ
On that Day man will be informed of what he sent forward, and what he left behind. (75:13)
Then Allah says,
..
وَيَقُولُ الْكَافِرُ يَا لَيْتَنِي كُنتُ تُرَابًا
and the disbeliever will say:Woe to me! Would that I were dust!
meaning, the disbeliever on that Day will wish that he had only been dust in the worldly life.
He will wish that he had not been created and that he had never come into existence. This will be when he sees the torment of Allah and he looks at his wicked deeds that will be written down against him by the noble righteous scribes among angels.
It has been said that he will only wish for that when Allah passes judgement between all of the animals that were in the worldly life. He will rectify matters between them with His just wisdom that does not wrong anyone. Even the hornless sheep will be allowed to avenge itself against the sheep with horns. Then, when the judgement between them is finished, He (Allah) will say to them (the animals),
Be dust.
So they will all become dust.
Upon witnessing this the disbeliever will say,
يَـلَيْتَنِى كُنتُ تُرَباً
(Would that I were dust!)
meaning, `I wish I was an animal so that I would be returned to dust.'
Something of similar meaning to this has been reported in the well-known Hadith about the Sur.
There are also narrations recorded from Abu Hurayrah, Abdullah bin Amr, and others concerning this.
This is the end of the Tafsir of Surah An-Naba'. And all praise and thanks are due to Allah. He is the Giver of success and protection from error.
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