Tafseer Ibn Kathir of AN NABA' [37]

37. The Lord of the heavens and the earth, and whatsoever is in between them, the Most Gracious, with Whom th- ey cannot dare to speak. 38. The Day that Ar-Ruh and the angels will stand forth in rows, they will not speak except him whom Ar-Rahman allows, and he will speak what is right. 39. That is the True Day. So, whosoever wills, let him seek a place with His Lord! 40. Verily, We have warned you of a near torment -- the Day when man will see that which his hands have sent forth, and the disbeliever will say: ”Woe to me! Would that I were dust!'' Allah informs of His magnificence and His majesty, and that He is the Lord of the heavens and the earth, and whatever is in them and between them. He explains that He is the Most Gracious, Whose mercy covers all things. Then He says,

(With Whom they cannot dare to speak.) meaning, no one is able to begin addressing Him except by His permission. This is as Allah says,

(Who is he that can intercede with Him except with His permission) (2:255) It is also similar to His statement,

(On the Day when it comes, no person shall speak except by His leave.) (11:105)

(The Day that Ar-Ruh and the angels will stand forth in rows, they will not speak) (78:38) The word Ruh here is referring to the angel Jibril. This has been said by Ash-Sha`bi, Sa`id bin Jubayr and Ad-Dahhak. This is as Allah says,

(Which the trustworthy Ruh has brought down. Upon your heart that you may be of the warners.) (26:193-194) Muqatil bin Hayyan said, ”The Ruh is the noblest of the angels, the closest of them to the Lord, and the one who delivers the revelation.'' Allah said;

(except him whom Ar-Rahman allows,) This is similar to Allah's statement,

(On the Day when it comes, no person shall speak except by His leave.) (11:105) This is similar to what has been confirmed in the Sahih, that the Prophet said,

(And none will speak on that Day except the Messengers.)'' Allah said,

(and he will speak what is right.) meaning, the truth. And from the truth is the fact that there is no god worthy of worship except Allah. This is as Abu Salih and `Ikrimah both said. In reference to Allah's statement,

(That is the True Day.) meaning, it will come to pass and there is no avoiding it.

(So, whosoever wills, let him seek a place with His Lord!) meaning, a place of return, a path that leads to Him, and a way that he may pass by to get to Him.   Allah said,

(Verily, We have warned you of a near torment) meaning, the Day of Judgement. It is mentioned here to emphasize the fact that its occurrence has become close, because everything that is coming will certainly come to pass.

(the Day when man will see that which his hands have sent forth,) meaning, all of his deeds will be presented to him -- the good and bad, and the old and new. This is similar to Allah's statement,

(And they will find all that they did, placed before them.) (18:49) t It is also similar to His statement,

(On that Day man will be informed of what he sent forward, and what he left behind.) (75:13) Then Allah says,

(and the disbeliever will say: ”Woe to me! Would that I were dust!'') meaning, the disbeliever on that Day will wish that he had only been dust in the worldly life. He will wish that he had not been created and that he had never come into existence. This will be when he sees the torment of Allah and he looks at his wicked deeds that will be written down against him by the noble righteous scribes among angels. It has been said that he will only wish for that when Allah passes judgement between all of the animals that were in the worldly life. He will rectify matters between them with His just wisdom that does not wrong anyone. Even the hornless sheep will be allowed to avenge itself against the sheep with horns. Then, when the judgement between them is finished, He (Allah) will say to them (the animals), ”Be dust.'' So they will all become dust. Upon witnessing this the disbeliever will say,

(Would that I were dust!) meaning, `I wish I was an animal so that I would be returned to dust.' Something of similar meaning to this has been reported in the well-known Hadith about the Sur. There are also narrations recorded from Abu Hurayrah, `Abdullah bin `Amr, and others concerning this. This is the end of the Tafsir of Surat An-Naba'. And all praise and thanks are due to Allah. He is the Giver of success and protection from error.