Surah 75

Surah 75:1

"I swear by the Day of Resurrection!"
The Deeds of Man will be placed before Him on the Day of Judgement Verses 75:1-15
Show Full Scripture Context (75:1-15) — 15 Verses
Verse 1

لَآ أُقۡسِمُ بِيَوۡمِ ٱلۡقِيَٰمَةِ

I swear by the Day of Resurrection!

Verse 2

وَلَآ أُقۡسِمُ بِٱلنَّفۡسِ ٱللَّوَّامَةِ

And I swear by the accusing self!

Verse 3

أَيَحۡسَبُ ٱلۡإِنسَٰنُ أَلَّن نَّجۡمَعَ عِظَامَهُۥ

Does the human think that We shall not gather his bones?

Verse 4

بَلَىٰ قَٰدِرِينَ عَلَىٰٓ أَن نُّسَوِّيَ بَنَانَهُۥ

Yes indeed! We are (even) able to fashion his fingers (again).

Verse 5

بَلۡ يُرِيدُ ٱلۡإِنسَٰنُ لِيَفۡجُرَ أَمَامَهُۥ

Yet the human (still) wants to know what is in store for him.

Verse 6

يَسۡـَٔلُ أَيَّانَ يَوۡمُ ٱلۡقِيَٰمَةِ

He asks, ‘When is the Day of Resurrection?’

Verse 7

فَإِذَا بَرِقَ ٱلۡبَصَرُ

When the sight is dazed,

Verse 8

وَخَسَفَ ٱلۡقَمَرُ

and the moon is eclipsed,

Verse 9

وَجُمِعَ ٱلشَّمۡسُ وَٱلۡقَمَرُ

and the sun and moon are brought together,

Verse 10

يَقُولُ ٱلۡإِنسَٰنُ يَوۡمَئِذٍ أَيۡنَ ٱلۡمَفَرُّ

on that Day the human will say, ‘Where is the escape?’

Verse 11

كَلَّا لَا وَزَرَ

By no means! (There is) no refuge!

Verse 12

إِلَىٰ رَبِّكَ يَوۡمَئِذٍ ٱلۡمُسۡتَقَرُّ

The (only) dwelling place on that Day will be to your Lord.

Verse 13

يُنَبَّؤُاْ ٱلۡإِنسَٰنُ يَوۡمَئِذِۭ بِمَا قَدَّمَ وَأَخَّرَ

On that Day the human will be informed about what has he sent forward and kept back.

Verse 14

بَلِ ٱلۡإِنسَٰنُ عَلَىٰ نَفۡسِهِۦ بَصِيرَةٞ

No! The human will be a clear proof against himself,

Verse 15

وَلَوۡ أَلۡقَىٰ مَعَاذِيرَهُۥ

even though he offers his excuses.

Allah said;
{Does man think that We shall not assemble his bones?}

meaning, ‘on the Day of Judgement does he think that We are not able to return his bones and gather them from their various places?’
{Yes, We are able to put together in perfect order the tips of his fingers.}

meaning, ‘does man think that We will not gather his bones? Surely, We will gather them and We are quite able to put together his fingertips. This means Our power is suitable to gather (and recreate) them, and if We wished We could surely resurrect him with more than what he originally had. We could make his Banan, which are the tips of his fingers, all equal (in length).’ Concerning Allah’s statement,
{Nay! Man desires to break out ahead of himself.}

Sa'id reported from Ibn ‘Abbas that he said, “This means to proceed forward.” Mujahid said about,
{to break out ahead of himself.}

“This means that he wants to proceed ahead following his own whims.” ‘Ali bin Abi Talhah reported from Ibn ‘Abbas that he said, “This refers to the disbeliever who denies the Day of Reckoning.” Ibn Zayd said the same thing. Thus, Allah says after this,
{He asks: “When will be this Day of Resurrection?”}

meaning, he says when will the Day of Judgement be? His question is only a question of denying its occurrence, and rejecting its existence. This is as Allah says,
{they say: “When is this promise if you are truthful?” Say: “The appointment to you is for a Day, which you cannot put back for an hour nor put forward.”}
Here Allah says,
{So, when Bariqa the sight.} Abu ‘Amr bin Al-‘Ala’ recited this Ayah as Bariqa with a Kasrah under the letter Ra', which means to be diminished. That which he (Abu ‘Amr) has said resembles the statement of Allah,
{Their gaze returning not towards them.}
meaning, they will be looking this way and that way in horror. Their gaze will not be able to rest upon anything due to the severity of the terror on that Day.
Others recited it as Baraqa with a Fathah over the letter Ra, and its meaning is close to the first recitation (Bariqa). The intent here is that the eyes will be dazzled, humbled, diminished, and humiliated on the Day of Judgement due to the severity of the horrors and the greatness of the matters that they will witness on that Day. Concerning Allah’s statement,
{And the moon will be eclipsed.}

meaning, its light will go away.
{And the sun and moon will be joined together.}

Mujahid said, “They will be rolled up.” In explaining this Ayah, Ibn Zayd recited the following Ayat,
Then Allah says,
{On that Day man will be informed of what he sent forward, and what he left behind.}

meaning, he will be informed of all of his deeds, the old of them and the recent of them, the first of them and the last of them, the small of them and the large of them. This is as Allah says,
{And they will find all that they did, placed before them, and your Lord treats no one with injustice.}
Likewise, Allah says here,
{Nay! Man will be well informed about himself, though he may put forth his excuses.}

meaning, he will be a witness against himself, knowing full well what he did, even though he will try to make excuses and deny it. This is as Allah says,
{(It will be said to him): “Read your book. You are sufficient as a reckoner against yourself this Day.”}

‘Ali bin Abi Talhah reported that Ibn ‘Abbas said,
{Nay! Man will be well informed about himself.}

“His hearing, his sight, his two hands, his two legs and his limbs.”
Qatadah said, "This means he is a witness against himself." In another narration from Qatadah he said, “By Allah! If you wish to see him, you would see him as someone who sees the shortcomings of the people and their sins, yet he is heedless of his own sins.” It used to be said, “Verily, it is written in the Injil: ‘O Son of Adam, do you see the small splinters in the eye of your brother and disregard the tree stump that is in your eye, so you do not see it?’ ”
Mujahid said,
{Though he may put forth his excuses.} “This means, even though he argues in defense of it, he is a witness against it.”
Qatadah said,
{Though he may put forth his excuses.} “Even though he will try to make false excuses on that Day, they will not be accepted from him.” As-Suddi said,
{Though he may put forth his excuses.} “This means his argument.” This is as Allah says.
{There will then be no Fitnah for them but to say: “By Allah, our Lord, we were not those who joined others in worship with Allah.”}
Allah also says,
{On the Day when Allah will resurrect them all together; then they will swear to Him as they swear to you (O Muslims). And they think that they have something. Verily, they are liars!}
Al-‘Awfi reported from Ibn ‘Abbas:
{Though he may put forth his excuses.}

“This is apologizing. Haven’t you heard that Allah said,
{The Day when their excuses will be of no profit to wrongdoers.}
and He says,
{And they will offer submission to Allah on that Day.}
and He says,
{Then they will (falsely) submit: “We used not to do any evil.”}
and their statement,
{By Allah, our Lord, we were not those who joined others in worship with Allah.}

About this Source & Scholarly Authority (Tafsir Ibn Kathir)

Universal Sunni Consensus: Tafsir al-Qur'an al-Azim by Hafiz Ibn Kathir (701–774 AH / 1301–1373 AD) is universally regarded across all major schools of Sunni Islam (traditional, Salafi, Ash'ari) as the most authoritative classical exegesis. It is prized because it relies on Tafsir bil-Ma'thur—interpreting the Quran using the Quran itself, authentic Hadiths of Prophet Muhammad, and recorded statements of the early Companions (Sahabah).

Standard English Edition: This text is from the standard 10-volume English abridgment published by Dar-us-Salam Publications (supervised by Shaykh Safiur-Rahman Al-Mubarakpuri), which is the official, most widely distributed English Quranic commentary in mosques and Islamic libraries worldwide today.