بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

وَالنَّازِعَاتِ غَرْقًا ﴿۱﴾ وَالنَّاشِطَاتِ نَشْطًا ﴿۲﴾ وَالسَّابِحَاتِ سَبْحًا ﴿۳﴾ فَالسَّابِقَاتِ سَبْقًا ﴿۴﴾ فَالْمُدَبِّرَاتِ أَمْرًا ﴿۵﴾

﴾1﴿ Wan naazi 'aati gharqa
﴾2﴿ Wan naa shi taati nashta
﴾3﴿ Wass saabi-haati sabha
﴾4﴿ Fass saabi qaati sabqa
﴾5﴿ Fal mu dab-bi raati amra

﴾1﴿ By those angels who seize the souls of the disbelievers with severity
﴾2﴿ And by the angels who gently draw out the souls of the believers with ease
﴾3﴿ And by the angels who swim swiftly, swimming with ease
﴾4﴿ Then they advance forward, racing ahead by the command of Allah, the Most High
﴾5﴿ Then they arrange affairs in an orderly manner

Surah An Naziat

Those Who Pull Out

And its other names are Surah As-Sahrah and Surah At-Tammah.
Relevancy: This Surah shares several connections with the previous Surah.
First: In the previous Surah, there was severe reprimand for the deniers of resurrection, whereas in this Surah, there is a worldly warning through the incident of Pharaoh and his people.
Second: In that Surah, the proof of resurrection was established through rational arguments, while in this Surah, along with rational proofs, evidential examples are also mentioned.
Claim of this surah: The proof of the Resurrection in this Surah is established through evidential examples, awe-inspiring scenes, and worldly warnings. It also includes rational arguments, the mention of Asma’ al-Husna (the Beautiful Names of Allah) three times, and Sifat Fi’liyyah (Allah’s active attributes) ten times.
Summary of the surah: First, five evidential signs are mentioned, followed by five conditions of the Resurrection up to verse 10. Then, in five verses, there are reprimands. Next, a worldly warning is given through the incident of Pharaoh, spanning ten verses. Then, ten rational proofs are presented up to verse 33. After that, the warning of the Hereafter is emphasized by mentioning four conditions of the Day of Judgment, along with the cause—transgression. Then comes the glad tidings, with the mention of its cause in verse 41. Finally, the reprimand continues through four methods using a question-and-answer format, lasting until the end of the Surah.

interpretation

[from 1 to 6] These oaths are made as testimony, and what is being sworn upon (the muqsam bihi) consists of entities that possess the five mentioned attributes. The attributes themselves are mentioned in place of the actual subjects, as they are directly relevant to the testimony rather than merely describing the entities. There is a difference of opinion among mufassirun (exegetes) regarding these attributes. Some say that these qualities describe one subject, and that the conjunctions (و and ف) indicate an attributive sequence, meaning the oath is singular—the first "و" being for oath-taking, while the subsequent "و" and "ف" function as connectors between attributes. Others argue that each attribute refers to a different subject, making it five separate oaths. According to the first view (that all attributes belong to one subject), there are five main opinions:
1. These are all attributes of angels assigned to the task of seizing souls.
2. These describe warhorses used in battle, similar to "والعاديات ضبحا".
3. These refer to righteous individuals engaged in calling and preaching the truth.
4. These describe stars in the heavens.
5. These refer to the souls of righteous people.
Apart from these, there are other lesser-known interpretations. Imam Ibn Jarir al-Tabari holds that there is no definitive proof specifying one particular subject, and therefore, all meanings that align with these attributes—without contradicting the Qur’anic message—can be considered valid. However, Imam Alusi (as cited by Ibn Atiyyah) dismisses multiple interpretations. He asserts that the majority of these views are unbefitting of the Qur'an’s grandeur. In particular: Interpreting these attributes as describing stars aligns with false astronomical and philosophical beliefs that attribute influence to celestial bodies, contradicting Islamic monotheism. Interpreting them as the souls of righteous saints supports folk beliefs that saints intervene in worldly matters after death, such as healing the sick, saving the drowning, or aiding in battles—a belief held by many who think Allah has entrusted them with such powers. Some even limit this influence to five specific saints, a concept that Alusi strongly rejects as ignorance, or even outright shirk—since it attributes Allah’s divine attributes to created beings.