See 1:1.

Important Words:

النازعات (who draw vigorously) is the plural of نازعة which is act. part. fem. gender from نزع . They say نزع الشیء عن مکانه i.e. he plucked, picked out, the thing from its place, or displaced it. نزع الأمیر العامل means, the chief deposed the governor. نزع بالسھمmeans, he threw the arrow. نزع أباہ means, he resembled his father. نزع فی القوس means, he drew the bow with great vigour. نزع عن کذا means, he abstained from such a thing. نزع الی الشیء means, he desired the thing. نزع بفلان کذا means, he invited such a one to do it (Lane & Aqrab).

غرقا (vigorously) is used here in the sense of إغراقا which is inf. noun from أغرق . They say أغرقه i.e. he drowned him. أغرق الکأس means, he filled the wine cup. أغرق فی القوس means, he drew the bow to the full. الاغراق signifies, the sending of the arrows to the utmost extent. أغرق فی الشیء means, he exerted himself much or to the utmost in the thing. أغرق الناس فلانا means, the people fell upon him and overcame him (Lane & Aqrab).

In view of the different meanings of the words نزع and أغرق the expression النازعات غرقا means: those beings or groups of men who root out evil from its roots; who do their duties to the best of their capacity; who carry out their plans effectively when deposing incompetent rulers; who fight their enemies with the utmost vigour; who abstain from evil things; who fully resemble their spiritual fathers; who are fired with intense zeal for the success of their mission and invite other people to it with fervour and enthusiasm.

Important Words:

الناشطات (who tie the knots firmly) is the plural of ناشطة which is act. part. from نشط (nashata). They say نشط الحبل i.e. he tied the cord or rope firmly so as to form a knot. نشط الدلو means, he pulled out the bucket from the well without a pulley i.e. he had to exert himself much to pull out the bucket. نشط من بلد الی بلد means, he travelled from one town to another. نشط زیدا means, he pierced Zaid with an arrow. الناشطات means, those beings or groups of people who exert themselves vigorously in the discharge of their duties (Lane & Aqrab).

Important Words:

السابحات (who glide along swiftly) is the plural of سابحة which is act. part. fem. gender from سبح. They say سبح الرجل i.e. the man occupied himself in the management of his affairs and in earning his subsistence. سبح فی الارض means, he travelled far into the land. سبح فی الکلام means, he was profuse or eloquent in his speech. سبح فی النھر means, he swam in the canal and went far in swimming (Lane & Aqrab). السابحات means: (1) Those beings or groups of people who go far into the country in the pursuit of their quest. (2) Who are eloquent and powerful speakers. (3) Who swim fast, and go far in swimming i.e. who try to excel one another in carrying out their mission. (4) Who earn their own subsistence and are not a burden upon others.

Important Words:

المدبرات (manage their affairs in an excellent manner) is the plural of مدبرة which is act. part. fem. gender from دبر(dabbara). They say دبر الامر i.e. he performed or executed the affair with thoughtfulness or consideration; he devised or planned the affair; he governed, managed, conducted or regulated the affair (Lane & Aqrab). المدبرات means, those beings or groups of people who plan, manage and conduct the affairs entrusted to them in an excellent manner.

Commentary:

The five verses (2-6) are taken to apply to angels by some scholars and commentators of the Quran, and واو being a particle of swearing and meaning "I call to witness," they have been understood as signifying that angels bear witness to the occurrence of the great event mentioned in vv. 7-8. But the evidence of angels is beyond human knowledge or comprehension. The verses, therefore, as the context shows, seem to refer to the Companions of the Holy Prophet and may be taken as embodying a prophecy about the spread of Islam far and wide through their selfless and vigorous efforts and a further prophecy about their being entrusted with the responsibility of conducting and administering public affairs of great importance with ability and justice. Briefly, the verses mention some of the prominent qualities of the Holy Prophet’s Companions, viz. that they will diligently acquire spiritual knowledge, and will establish firm relationship with God, and then will carry the Message of Islam to the farthest ends of the earth, will try to excel one another in carrying out their mission and will attain high standards of righteousness in administering public affairs. See also 77:2-6.

56:5-6; 73:15.

Important Words:

رجف (shall quake). رجف means, it was or became in a state of commotion, convulsion or disturbance. They say رجفت الارضi.e. the earth quaked. رجف القلب means, the heart became agitated. رجفته الحمی means, the fever caused him to shiver. رجف القومmeans, the people prepared for war. (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

The verse means that the prophecy proclaimed in the foregoing verses will be fulfilled as the result of fighting that will take place between God’s righteous servants and the forces of evil in which the latter shall be routed (رجف meaning to prepare for war). The utter defeat of disbelief announced long time beforehand will constitute a strong proof of the Resurrection. The verse may apply to the Day of Reckoning also.

Important Words:

الرادفة (that which follows) is derived from ردف which means, it followed or came after. ردفھم الأمر means, the event came upon them suddenly so as to overwhelm them (Lane).

Commentary:

The verse purports to say that once the fighting starts between Muslims and infidels, it will not cease till the forces of evil are fully and finally crushed as the result of successive blows.

Commentary:

When disbelievers will suffer defeats in quick succession and they will see Islam prevailing and predominating, then will a feeling of disquietude seize them and doubts about the possibility of the Resurrection will begin to assail their minds. They will be led to think that the triumph of Islam which was predicted at a time when the new Faith was engaged in a seemingly hopeless struggle for its very existence, and which was declared to be a piece of evidence in support of the Last Day, had come true. Therefore the Resurrection was also true.

70:45.

Commentary:

The disbelievers will get the worst of the war and their pride will be humbled into dust.

Important Words:

الحافرة (former state) is derived from حفر i.e. he dug the ground. حافرة means, the original state of a thing; turning back of a thing so that the end thereof is brought back to its beginning. رجع الی حافرته i.e. he became old and decrepit. رجع علی حافرته means, he returned by the way by which he had gone. The verse means, "shall we be restored to our first state, i.e. to life on earth as we were" (Lane & Aqrab).

17:50; 36:79; 46:34.

Commentary:

The reference in the verse seems to be to the Battle of Badr when disbelievers had a foretaste of the crushing defeats which they were destined subsequently to suffer at the hands of Muslims.

19:52; 20:10.

Commentary:

Here the Meccan disbelievers are told that they are not the first to reject God’s Message. Divine Messengers had come before. They were also rejected, opposed and persecuted. Moses, was one of them. He preached the Divine Message to Pharaoh, who courted his own destruction by refusing to listen to the voice of God. The Holy Prophet’s opponents should take a lesson from the ignominious end to which Pharaoh came.

19:53; 20:12-13; 28:31.

20:44.

20:57.

Commentary:

"The great Sign" was the sign of the rod, which had precedence over all other signs of Moses (20:21). When confronted with the magic of the magicians it was his rod that swallowed that which the magicians had wrought (20:70). When Moses had to cross the sea he was enjoined to strike the sea with his rod (26:64); and when he prayed for water for his people he was told to strike the rock with his rod (2:61). The sign of the white hand was shown only after the sign of the rod (20:23).

26:30; 28:39.

Commentary:

The basic doctrine of Islam (in fact of all religions), second in importance only to belief in the existence of God, is belief in life after death. The primary mission of all Divine Prophets was to instil this belief in the minds of men. The Quran has given four arguments in support of this belief: (a) Complete knowledge of God about a thing which presupposes His power to create it. (b) Creation and development of man in the mother’s womb, from an insignificant sperm drop into a full-fledged human being. (c) Rising up of a people from the depths of moral degradation to the heights of spiritual glory through a Divine Reformer, such rising, in Quranic terminology, being known as their resurrection. (d) The triumph of a Prophet over his enemies, predicted at a time when the Prophet and his community are fighting for their very life, and the human mind cannot even conceive of a happy sequel to their efforts. It is to this last argument that reference has been made in the verse under comment.

Incidentally, the verse refers to the double punishment of disbelievers— in this life and in the Hereafter.