وَجَاءَتْ سَكْرَةُ الْمَوْتِ بِالْحَقِّ ذَلِكَ مَا كُنْتَ مِنْهُ تَحِيدُ ﴿۱۹﴾ وَنُفِخَ فِي الصُّورِ ذَلِكَ يَوْمُ الْوَعِيدِ ﴿۲۰﴾ وَجَاءَتْ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ مَعَهَا سَائِقٌ وَشَهِيدٌ ﴿۲۱﴾ لَقَدْ كُنْتَ فِي غَفْلَةٍ مِنْ هَذَا فَكَشَفْنَا عَنْكَ غِطَاءَكَ فَبَصَرُكَ الْيَوْمَ حَدِيدٌ ﴿۲۲﴾

﴾19﴿ Wa jaaa'at sakratul mawti bilhaqq; zaalika maa kunta minhu taheed
﴾20﴿ Wa nufikha fis Soor; zaalika yawmul wa'eed
﴾21﴿ Wa jaaa'at kullu nafsim ma'ahaa saaa'iqunw wa shaheed
﴾22﴿ Laqad kunta fee ghaf latim min haazaa fakashafnaa 'anka ghitaaa'aka fabasarukal yawma hadeed

﴾19﴿ And the agony of death will come in truth (then it will be said), This is what you were trying to escape
﴾20﴿ And the trumpet will be blown—this is the Day of Torment
﴾21﴿ And every soul will come, with it a driver and a witness.
﴾22﴿ Indeed, you were in heedlessness of this, but We have removed your veil from you, so your sight today is sharp

[19] This is a warning through the description of the state of dying.
It means: after all deeds have been recorded and life has come to its end, the agonies of death begin — and at that moment, negligence is no longer of any use.
(سَكْرَةُ الْمَوْتِ) — Refers to the intense pain and suffering at the time of death, which brings a person into a state of unconsciousness or stupor (sukr).
As a result, his speech loses clarity, balance, and intentional control.
(ذَلِكَ مَا كُنْتَ مِنْهُ تَحِيدُ) — This is a statement from the angels, addressed to every soul at the time of death:
“This is what you used to flee from.”
Meaning: this is the very death and reckoning you avoided thinking or preparing for — and now it has reached you.
[20] From this verse up to verse 30 is a section of detailed warning about the Hereafter (takhwīf ukhrawī tafṣīlī), in which sixteen conditions are mentioned.
In this particular verse, two states are described:
1. (يَوْمُ الْوَعِيدِ) — “The Day of Threat” — this is one of the names of the Day of Judgment.
It refers to the day when Allah fulfills His warning of punishment upon the deniers and wrongdoers.
It emphasizes that the promise of punishment given in the world will certainly come to pass on that day.
[21] In this verse, two states are described:
1. The arrival of every soul at the field of gathering (ḥashr).
2. With every soul, there will be both a driver (sā’iq) and a witness (shahīd).
Both of these refer to angels:
The sā’iq is the angel who drives the soul — first to the field of gathering, and then either to Paradise or Hell.
This applies to both the righteous and the wicked, as shown in Surah Az-Zumar:
With the people of Paradise: (Zumar: 73)
With the people of Hell: (Zumar: 71)
The shahīd is the angel who bears witness:
For the people of Paradise, he testifies to their righteous deeds.
For the people of Hell, he testifies to their evil actions.
[22] In this verse as well, two states are described:
1. The removal of the veil (kashf al-ghitā’)
2. The sharpness of vision (ḥadd al-baṣar)
(غِطَاءَكَ) — The “veil” refers to all that once prevented a person from remembering the Hereafter — such as ignorance, love of the world, and desires of the lower self.
These were the causes of heedlessness (ghaflah), as mentioned in Surah Kahf (18:101).
(فَبَصَرُكَ الْيَوْمَ حَدِيدٌ) — This means: “Today, your sight is sharp.”
There are two interpretations:
It refers to the sight of the heart, because the heart is the place of heedlessness, and once heedlessness is removed, inner vision (baṣīrah) is restored.
Or it refers to the physical eye, in contrast to the veil — meaning, on the Day of Judgment, a person will look at reward, punishment, the scale of deeds, etc., with such clarity that nothing will obstruct his vision.
Question: In Surah Ṭāhā (20:124) and Isrā’ (17:72), it is mentioned that such people will be blind on the Day of Judgment. Isn’t that in conflict with this verse?
Answer 1: As narrated from Ibn ʿAbbās (may Allah be pleased with them both), this refers to different moments on the Day of Judgment — at some times they will be blind, and at other times their sight will be sharp.
Answer 2: In those other verses, blindness refers to being without proof or argument — i.e., they will come without excuse, not literal physical blindness.