Sūrah An-Nāziʿāt (Those who drag forth) is a short sūrah which sits as 79th in the Quran’s compiled order. It is said to be sent very early in the Messenger’s mission, coming on the heels of the revelation of Sūrah an-Naba’.
When the sūrah’s contents are laid out, it appears to form a mirror structure.
Connections
[A]/[A’]
The sūrah begins with a set of oaths and descriptions whose meaning is a bit contested in tafsīr (scholarly interpretation). Many believe the intro to be speaking of angels coming down and extracting the souls from their graves for judgment. Others claim that these descriptions are actually illustrating a raid made by marauders on horseback.
In either case, the language chosen by Allah ﷻ clearly alludes to the onset of Judgment Day. The scene will be so harrowing that the onlookers will be left khāshiʿah (humbled; afraid). Similarly, towards the end of the sūrah, again after describing more aspects of the Day of Judgment, Allah ﷻ tells the Messenger ﷺ, “You are only a warner for those who yakhshā-hā (fear it).”
In the beginning of the sūrah, the disbelievers skeptically ask, “Will be really be returned to our former state of life? Even after we are decayed bones?” In the same vein, the disbelievers are again quoted towards the end of the sūrah asking, “When is [the Hour’s] arrival?”
If one looks at Sections [A] and [A’] more closely, we actually see that they parallel each other in how they divide their subject matter up.
[B]/[B’]
Allah ﷻ juxtaposes the story of Pharaoh - a man in possession of a grand empire and power - with His grand creations. Pharaoh’s story serves to give us a lesson from history from which we can learn. The following Section describes the creation around us and gives us a practical way to reflect on the signs of Allah ﷻ right now, as opposed to Pharaoh who was shown “the greatest sign”, but still rejected faith.
In this way, the center of the sūrah gives us a lesson from history, which we can apply to the present, to prepare us for the future described in the outer lying Sections.
Integrative Coherence
Though this is a relatively short sūrah, upon further reflection, one finds a very deep sense of integrative coherence.
The sūrah begins with Allah ﷻ taking an oath by the angels that violently extract (gharqā) the condemned souls from the graves. The Arabic word used for extracting shares a common root with drowning (gha-ra-qa) which may be a subtle reference to the demise of Pharaoh, who will be mentioned a few āyāt later.
The angels (or raiders) are described “carrying out (al-mudabbirāti) the command.” In contrast, using the same Arabic root, Allah ﷻ says that Pharaoh, after seeing Moses’ signs “turned (adbara) and strived [to refute him].” Maybe the message being sent is that the One who sent the angels to carry out the command is much greater and incomparable to one who has all the worldly power, but cannot push back the plans of Allah ﷻ.
Allah ﷻ says the resurrection will be like, “only (inna-mā) a single shout, and suddenly they will be awake on the Earth’s surface.” And just like someone seeing a raid will shout and sound the alarm, the Messenger is said to be “only (inna-mā) a warner.” Both of these instances occur after Allah ﷻ quotes the questions of the disbelievers.
Of Allah’s ability is that He created the sky and “dimmed its night and brought forth its daylight (aghṭasha layla-hā wa-’akhraja ḍuḥā-hā).” And on the Day of Judgment, when mankind sees the scene around them, “it will be as if they had stayed [in the world] no more than one evening or its morning (ʿashīyatan ow ḍuḥā-hā).”
Pharaoh denied “the greatest sign (al-āyatul kubrā),” and Allah ﷻ describes Judgment Day as “The Greatest Calamity (aṭ-ṭāmatul kubrā), which creates a correlation between denying Allah’s signs and having Judgment Day be a day of “calamity.”
On Judgment Day, all will remember what they “strived (saʿā)” for. Similarly, Pharaoh was said to have turned away from Moses and “strived (yasʿā) [to refute him].” And this is all connected to the “Hour (as-sāʿah)” that is coming.
Moses was told to go to Pharaoh because Pharaoh had “rebelled (ṭaghā).” This word appears again when Allah ﷻ warns us that whomever “rebelled (ṭaghā)” will be in Hell. In other words, “don’t be like Pharaoh who rebelled.”
Allah ﷻ says that He “established (‘arsā)” the mountains on the Earth. Later, the disbelievers ask, “When will the Hour be established (mursā)?” The message being implied may be that, “how can one question the Hour when the mountains act as a physical sign of what Allah can establish?”
Allah ﷻ repeatedly speaks of fear and humility. Sight will be humbled (khāshiyʿah) on Judgment Day. Moses tried to guide Pharaoh so that he may fear (takhshā) his Master. The story of Moses is a lesson for whomever fears (yakhshā)[standing before Allah]. And finally, the Messenger ﷺ is only a warner for those who fears (yakhshā) [the Hour].
And Allah ﷻ knows best
Sources
Khan, Nouman. “Surah An-Naziat - Day 2 - Ramadan with the Quran - Nouman Ali Khan” YouTube, uploaded by Bayyinah Institute, May 28, 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hStHxdgSIo&list=WL&index=11