وَٱلنَّٰزِعَٰتِ غَرْقًۭا By those who extract deeply while drowning All of these oaths are very generic. Instead of diving deep into different interpretations presented by scholars, I will only present the best opinion that stays true to the language and context of the surah. I will not dive into each opinion and explain they do not add up.
This oath refers to the reins of the horses pulled deeply back. This is a scene of a raid. Before their initial charge, the horsemen are pulling the reins back deeply to hold their horses back from charging. This opinion is present in major works of tafsir 25 although it is not regarded as the preferred position by them, because they preferred the position that these oaths refer to angels who take out the souls from the bodies. In my opinion, the most consistent position based on the context of the surah is that these oaths refer to horses carrying out a raid.
وَٱلنَّٰشِطَٰتِ نَشْطًۭا
By those who release gently This refers to the reins being released, allowing the horses to finally charge at the enemy.
وَٱلسَّٰبِحَٰتِ سَبْحًۭا
By those who glide as in swimming
Sabh literally means to swim while not submerging entirely.
When the reins are released, the horses charge. Arabia was and still is mostly a desert. When the horses run on a vast desert field, it seems to the naked eye as if they are floating over it. You cannot see their legs touching the ground for the most part because of sheer speed. The scene is of horses running extremely fast.
فَٱلسَّٰبِقَٰتِ سَبْقًۭا Hence, reach quickly This is the ayah that makes it convincing to me it is referring to war horses because all the three actions that came earlier, lead to this one result. Because of what happens in the first, second, and third ayah, they reach their destinations swiftly, in the blink of an eye. In addition, it also refers to the fact that the raid has ended successfully because the Qurʾān itself has used this word in the meanings of victory and overpowering. (see 29: 4 and 56: 60) So they reached their destination quickly, and in the blink of an eye, overpowered their enemies.
Many people render this verse as, “Then race with each other” but this is incorrect because the root itself is used without adding the extra Alif after the second root letter. Had it been referring to a race where they were trying to get in front of each other, the word سباقا would have been used instead of سبقا .
فَٱلْمُدَبِّرَٰتِ أَمْرًۭا
Hence carry out plans/ commands thoroughly The letter Fa can indicate two things; an order in time and it can also denote a causal meaning. Here, it has a causal meaning. It refers to the fact that their entire goal was to defeat the enemy which they have achieved. Because of all this swift and quick descent and raid, they have carried out the plan they had of defeating their enemy. The raid has been completed and the enemies overwhelmed.
يَوْمَ تَرْجُفُ ٱلرَّاجِفَةُ
The day the trembler trembles A sudden change of subject. The previous scene describes a swift raid on a party. What happens to the raided party when they suddenly find themselves in a raid in
the blink of an eye? They panic, there is chaos and confusion. They are gripped by fear and uncertainty. The raiders shook them up, they made them tremble in fear. Similarly, there is a day that will come suddenly, carry out its raid swiftly and flawlessly, leaving you all dumbfounded, confused and trembling in fear.
The trembler - an object that makes something else tremble - is the earth. In the previous surah, the Qurʾān already mentioned the massive earthquakes that occur on judgment day. Those earthquakes will make the earth tremble and shake violently, and also terrify everyone on its surface.
Just as the horse riders were pulling the reins of the horses back and holding them back from charging, so has Allah been holding back the reins of the earth. The earth has been waiting to shake and tremble violently because of the amount of sin happening on it. Allah has been holding it back. It wants to take its revenge on those who sin and commit evil on it, but Allah is holding its reins back but one day, He will release the reins, and let it quake and tremble, and take its revenge.
تَتْبَعُهَا ٱلرَّادِفَةُ
Subsequent ones follow it This refers to the events of judgment day that follow this initial shaking and trembling of the earth. After being shaken and terrified by these violent earthquakes, further terrifying events follow such as angels being gathered, the records being presented, Hell being laid bare for all to see, and ultimately, judgment itself. These events will be mentioned later in the surah. The word Rādifah (translated as
subsequent ones) has the Ta marbūṭah at the end which can be used for singular feminine as well as for multiple inanimate things. Therefore, it refers to multiple events that follow the earthquake on judgment day. Allah does not specify the nature of those events because it is understood from the context. What is being said is Subsequent terrifying events will follow the initial earthquakes.
قُلُوبٌۭ يَوْمَئِذٍۢ وَاجِفَةٌ
Hearts that day, will move up أَبْصَٰرُهَا خَٰشِعَةٌۭ Its eyes, brought low
Hearts will tremble like the earth. First during the initial raid, then during all the
subsequent events. Wājifah (move up) at its root means for something to move away from its original place.26 Hearts will skip their places in horror.
The eyes refer to the eyes of the heart because the pronoun goes back to the heart.
This refers to understanding and perceptions. We see with our eyes in the head but our feelings and emotions such as fear are inside the chest and these for the most part, influence our behaviour. Hearts will move up, but the understanding people held within them will be brought low. Now what is it specifically referring to? This will be answered by the surah itself in the very last verse. We will move with the flow and leave it off until then.
Its eyes, brought low
وَٱلنَّٰزِعَٰتِ غَرْقًۭا By those who extract deeply while drowning All of these oaths are very generic. Instead of diving deep into different interpretations presented by scholars, I will only present the best opinion that stays true to the language and context of the surah. I will not dive into each opinion and explain they do not add up.
This oath refers to the reins of the horses pulled deeply back. This is a scene of a raid. Before their initial charge, the horsemen are pulling the reins back deeply to hold their horses back from charging. This opinion is present in major works of tafsir 25 although it is not regarded as the preferred position by them, because they preferred the position that these oaths refer to angels who take out the souls from the bodies. In my opinion, the most consistent position based on the context of the surah is that these oaths refer to horses carrying out a raid.
وَٱلنَّٰشِطَٰتِ نَشْطًۭا
By those who release gently This refers to the reins being released, allowing the horses to finally charge at the enemy.
وَٱلسَّٰبِحَٰتِ سَبْحًۭا
By those who glide as in swimming
Sabh literally means to swim while not submerging entirely.
When the reins are released, the horses charge. Arabia was and still is mostly a desert. When the horses run on a vast desert field, it seems to the naked eye as if they are floating over it. You cannot see their legs touching the ground for the most part because of sheer speed. The scene is of horses running extremely fast.
فَٱلسَّٰبِقَٰتِ سَبْقًۭا Hence, reach quickly This is the ayah that makes it convincing to me it is referring to war horses because all the three actions that came earlier, lead to this one result. Because of what happens in the first, second, and third ayah, they reach their destinations swiftly, in the blink of an eye. In addition, it also refers to the fact that the raid has ended successfully because the Qurʾān itself has used this word in the meanings of victory and overpowering. (see 29: 4 and 56: 60) So they reached their destination quickly, and in the blink of an eye, overpowered their enemies.
Many people render this verse as, “Then race with each other” but this is incorrect because the root itself is used without adding the extra Alif after the second root letter. Had it been referring to a race where they were trying to get in front of each other, the word سباقا would have been used instead of سبقا .
فَٱلْمُدَبِّرَٰتِ أَمْرًۭا
Hence carry out plans/ commands thoroughly The letter Fa can indicate two things; an order in time and it can also denote a causal meaning. Here, it has a causal meaning. It refers to the fact that their entire goal was to defeat the enemy which they have achieved. Because of all this swift and quick descent and raid, they have carried out the plan they had of defeating their enemy. The raid has been completed and the enemies overwhelmed.
يَوْمَ تَرْجُفُ ٱلرَّاجِفَةُ
The day the trembler trembles A sudden change of subject. The previous scene describes a swift raid on a party. What happens to the raided party when they suddenly find themselves in a raid in
the blink of an eye? They panic, there is chaos and confusion. They are gripped by fear and uncertainty. The raiders shook them up, they made them tremble in fear. Similarly, there is a day that will come suddenly, carry out its raid swiftly and flawlessly, leaving you all dumbfounded, confused and trembling in fear.
The trembler - an object that makes something else tremble - is the earth. In the previous surah, the Qurʾān already mentioned the massive earthquakes that occur on judgment day. Those earthquakes will make the earth tremble and shake violently, and also terrify everyone on its surface.
Just as the horse riders were pulling the reins of the horses back and holding them back from charging, so has Allah been holding back the reins of the earth. The earth has been waiting to shake and tremble violently because of the amount of sin happening on it. Allah has been holding it back. It wants to take its revenge on those who sin and commit evil on it, but Allah is holding its reins back but one day, He will release the reins, and let it quake and tremble, and take its revenge.
تَتْبَعُهَا ٱلرَّادِفَةُ
Subsequent ones follow it This refers to the events of judgment day that follow this initial shaking and trembling of the earth. After being shaken and terrified by these violent earthquakes, further terrifying events follow such as angels being gathered, the records being presented, Hell being laid bare for all to see, and ultimately, judgment itself. These events will be mentioned later in the surah. The word Rādifah (translated as
subsequent ones) has the Ta marbūṭah at the end which can be used for singular feminine as well as for multiple inanimate things. Therefore, it refers to multiple events that follow the earthquake on judgment day. Allah does not specify the nature of those events because it is understood from the context. What is being said is Subsequent terrifying events will follow the initial earthquakes.
قُلُوبٌۭ يَوْمَئِذٍۢ وَاجِفَةٌ
Hearts that day, will move up أَبْصَٰرُهَا خَٰشِعَةٌۭ Its eyes, brought low
Hearts will tremble like the earth. First during the initial raid, then during all the
subsequent events. Wājifah (move up) at its root means for something to move away from its original place.26 Hearts will skip their places in horror.
The eyes refer to the eyes of the heart because the pronoun goes back to the heart.
This refers to understanding and perceptions. We see with our eyes in the head but our feelings and emotions such as fear are inside the chest and these for the most part, influence our behaviour. Hearts will move up, but the understanding people held within them will be brought low. Now what is it specifically referring to? This will be answered by the surah itself in the very last verse. We will move with the flow and leave it off until then.
26 Al-Muʿjam al-Ishtiqāqī al-Muʾaṣṣal li-Alfāẓ al-Qurʾān al-Karīm, vol. 1, p. 320