يَوْمَ نَطْوِي السَّمَاءَ كَطَيِّ السِّجِلِّ لِلْكُتُبِ كَمَا بَدَأْنَا أَوَّلَ خَلْقٍ نُعِيدُهُ وَعْدًا عَلَيْنَا إِنَّا كُنَّا فَاعِلِينَ ﴿۱۰۴﴾ وَلَقَدْ كَتَبْنَا فِي الزَّبُورِ مِنْ بَعْدِ الذِّكْرِ أَنَّ الْأَرْضَ يَرِثُهَا عِبَادِيَ الصَّالِحُونَ ﴿۱۰۵﴾ إِنَّ فِي هَذَا لَبَلَاغًا لِقَوْمٍ عَابِدِينَ ﴿۱۰۶﴾ وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلَّا رَحْمَةً لِلْعَالَمِينَ ﴿۱۰۷﴾

﴾104﴿ Yawma natwis samaaa'a kataiyis sijilli lilkutub; kamaa bada'naa awwala khalqin nu'eeduh; wa'dan 'alainaa; innaa kunna faa'ileen
﴾105﴿ Wa laqad katabnaa fiz Zaboori min ba'diz zikri annal arda yarisuhaa 'ibaadi yas saalihoon
﴾106﴿ Inna fee haaza labalaa ghal liqawmin 'aabideen
﴾107﴿ Wa maaa arsalnaaka illaa rahmatal lil'aalameen

﴾104﴿ The day when We roll up the heavens like the rolling up of scrolls for records, just as We began the first creation, We will repeat it. This is a promise upon Us; indeed, We will do it
﴾105﴿ And indeed, We have written in the Psalms after the mention (in the Torah) that My righteous servants shall inherit the earth
﴾106﴿ Indeed, in this (message), there is certainly a proclamation for a people who worship (with sincerity)
﴾107﴿ And We did not send you except as a mercy to all mankind

[104] This relates to (lā yaḥzunuhumu), meaning the great terror will not grieve them—on the Day when We will roll up the heavens. Or, it may be connected to (tūʿadūn), or it could be a new statement connected to (nuʿīduhu).
The word al-samāʾ refers to all the heavens, based on the verse in Surah Az-Zumar (67).
As for (al-sijill), the better opinion is that it means a register in which names, rulings, and decisions are written—thus, it contains its contents, and those contents are rolled up within it.
As for the claim that Sijill was the name of the Prophet’s (May Allah bless him and give him peace) scribe—both Ibn Jarīr and Ibn Kathīr have rejected that narration, declaring it to be not just incorrect but fabricated.
[105] In this verse, there is a glad tiding of the Hereafter—based on the interpretation that al-arḍ (the land) refers to the land of Paradise, as in Surah Az-Zumar (74).
Or, it may be a worldly glad tiding, in which case al-arḍ refers to the land of Shām (Greater Syria), or dominion over certain lands. A similar promise was given to the Children of Israel in Surah Al-Aʿrāf (137), and to this Ummah in Surah An-Nūr (55).
Zabūr in the well-known sense refers to the Book of Dāwūd (peace be upon him).
Dhikr may refer to divine remembrance or the proclamation of monotheism found in the Zabūr, or it may refer to the Torah, or to the Preserved Tablet (al-Lawḥ al-Maḥfūẓ).
Alternatively, Zabūr could be understood in its linguistic meaning—written scriptures—thus referring to all divine books (Torah, Gospel, Zabūr).
If al-arḍ refers to the land of Shām, then that was already mentioned earlier in this surah in verses (71, 81).
The ʿibād al-ṣāliḥīn (righteous servants) here are understood to be from this Ummah, and the promise was fulfilled during the caliphate of ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, when the land of Shām was conquered and Muʿāwiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) was appointed as its governor. Thus, it is clear that Muʿāwiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) was among the righteous.
In Tabsīr al-Raḥmān, ʿAllāmah Mahāʾimī wrote that the righteous referred to here are none other than the noble Companions.
[106] In the previous verse, glad tidings were mentioned, and in this verse, the means to attain them are explained.
(Hādhā) refers either to the message of this surah specifically, or to the entire Qur’an in general, and its meaning is tablīgh (conveyance), signifying sufficiency and the fulfillment of the intended purpose.
The term (ʿābidīn) refers to the monotheists—those who worship in accordance with the Shari'ah—or, as mentioned in the Tafsīr Mawāhib al-Raḥmān, those who act upon the Qur’an.
[107] Since righteousness and worship depend on following the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (May Allah bless him and give him peace) and on monotheism, these two foundations are mentioned in these two verses.
It is narrated from ʿAllāmah Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) that the Messenger of Allah’s prophethood is a mercy for all the worlds:
— For the complete believers, it is a mercy through which they attain honor and blessings in this world and the Hereafter by following him.
— For his enemies and opponents, it is a mercy through jihad and battles that invite them to accept Islam.
— For the disbelieving Ahl al-Dhimmah, it is a mercy that they live in security through the payment of jizyah.
— For the hypocrites, despite their hidden disbelief, it is a mercy that they are given the same rights as believers.
— For all of creation in general, it is a mercy through their protection from worldly punishments.
And in verse (61) of Surah At-Tawbah, mercy refers specifically to a special mercy, as it is limited to the believers.