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yaqūlūna ʾa-ʾinnā la-mardūdūna fī l-ḥāfirati
They will say, ‘Are we being returned to our earlier state?
— Ali Quli Qarai
79An-NāziʿātالنازعاتVerse 10 of 46
Those who drag forth79. An-Nāziʿātالنازعات
al-Nāzi‘āt
Those who tear out
MeccanVerse 10 of 46
Surah Nazi’at, Verses 6-14
6. "The Day on which everything that can be in commotion will be in violent commotion,”
7. "Followed by another mighty convulsion,”
8. "Hearts that Day will he in agitation,”
9. "Cast down will be (their) eyes."
10. "They say (now): What! shall we indeed he returned to (our) former state?"
11. "What! when we shall have become rotten bones?"
12. "They said: That then will be a losing return."
13. "But it shall be only a single blast."
14. "When behold they shall be in the awakened state."
The Resurrection Will Happen with a Single Great Blast!
The occurrence of the Resurrection, in the aforementioned verses, was described as a certain event confirmed by five strict oaths. Now, in the present verses, some of the signs and incidents on that Great Day are described.
The term /rajifah/ is based on /rajf/ which means: 'an agitation or a violent quake'; and seditious news is called /arajif/, because it causes a society to become agitated. The term /radifah/ is derived from /radf/ which means: 'a person or a thing streaming one after another'. Many commentators believe that /rajifah/ refers to 'the first Blast of the trumpet' which is to precede the blast of the quake and the destruction of the universe, and the term /radifah/ refers to the second Blast after which the Resurrection will occur and the new life begins.
Therefore, this verse is somewhat similar to what was revealed in Surah Zumar, No. 39, verse 68, thus:
Some others have also said that the term /rajifah/ refers to 'the quake that will destroy the earth' and the term /radifah/ means: 'the quake that will wreck the sky'. However, the first commentary seems more appropriate.
Being anxious for the Reckoning and penalty at the Judgment, the hearts of the criminals, the sinners and the Unjust will severely tremble. The term /wajifah/ is derived from /wajf/ which originally means 'to move fast'; where the term /aujaf/ is used with the meaning of 'to make a horse or camel move briskly with a bounding pace'; and since a quick movement causes shaking and anxiety, this word is also used in the sense of 'violent agitation'. This inner anxiety is so violent that its effects appear in the whole body of the sinners.
On that Day, the eyes will subside, coming to a stop and be dazed as if they are blinded by fear. Then the scope of the speech changes from the Hereafter to this world.
The term /hafirah/ is based on /hafr/ which originally means 'to dig' and the cavity resulting from this action is called /hufrah/ 'ditch'. The hoof is also called /hafir/, because it is usually used to dig the soil. In any event, the term /hafirah/ is metonymically used in the sense of 'a beginning, or original state, or former condition’.
This is the very thing that the rejecters of the Resurrection always used to emphasize on and said that it was not believable that rotten bones could come to life again, because they imagined that the distance between rotten bones of dust and living creatures was too far. They had forgotten that they had been created from that very same dust. The term /naxirah/ is based on /naxr/ which originally means: 'a rotten tree which is hollow and makes a whistling sound when the wind blows'; hence, a nasal sound is called /naxir/; and, so, the word has been used for everything which is rotten and worn.
The unbelievers are not satisfied with the idea of Resurrection, so, they ridicule it.
Commenting on the verse, another probability can come about which is that they expressed their view in a serious manner. If so, then, they want to say: 'if there is a return it will be a uselessly repeated one, which will be injurious'. If this life is good why does Allah not continue the same one, and if it is bad why is there a return? Regarding the term /hafirah/ which means: 'a ditch', the sentence
can, also, be an evidence for this commentary. But, the first is a more well‑known commentary. It is worth noting that in the former verses the term /yaquluna/ denoted that they used to say their words repeatedly, but in the current verse the word /qalu /shows that they did not always repeat the statement. At the end of this part, the Resurrection and the occurrence of the Hereafter is again mentioned in a decisive and shocking tone.
It means that the event of the Resurrection will not be the fruit of a difficult and complicated action for Allah. It only depends on His command and when the second blow of the Trumpet occurs all rotten bones, which are scattered in the earth, will be gathered, revived and raised from their graves. The term /zajrah/ means 'to cry for moving', and, here, it means 'the second blast'. Regarding the content of the meaning of these two terms
they denote that the Resurrection is a sudden happening and it is easy for Allah’s Power that with a cry of an order by the angel of the Trumpet, all the dead come to life again and are present in the Hereafter for the Reckoning. The term /sahirah/ is based on /sahar/ which means: 'to sit up at night', and since this frightful occurrence removes the sleep of night from the eyes and, moreover, since the land of the Hereafter is horrible, so, the gathering place, in the Hereafter, is called /sahirah/. The term is also used for any desert, since, all deserts are generally frightful and it seems that this fright takes the sleep from the eyes.