Al-Mursalaat

وَٱلْمُرْسَلَـٰتِ عُرْفًا ۱

{ والمرسلت عرفا } أي الرياح متتابعة كعرف الفرس يتلو بعضه بعضا ونصبه على الحال.

By those sent in succession (‘urfan), that is, [by] the winds that follow [one another] in succession, like the mane (‘urf) of a horse, one part [of hair] coming after the other (‘urfan is in the accusative because it is a circumstantial qualifier);

فَٱلْعَـٰصِفَـٰتِ عَصْفًا ۲

{ فالعصفت عصفا } الرياح الشديدة.

by the raging hurricanes, the violent winds;

وَٱلنَّـٰشِرَٰتِ نَشْرًا ۳

{ والنشرت نشرا } الرياح تنشر المطر.

by the sweeping spreaders, [by] the winds that scatter the rains;

فَٱلْفَـٰرِقَـٰتِ فَرْقًا ۴

{ فالفرقت فرقا } أي آيات القرآن تفرق بين الحق والباطل، والحلال والحرام.

by the decisive discriminators, that is, [by] the verses of the Qur’ān, which discriminate between truth and falsehood, and between what is lawful and what is unlawful;

فَٱلْمُلْقِيَـٰتِ ذِكْرًا ۵

{ فالملقيت ذكرا } أي الملائكة تنزل بالوحي إلى الأنبياء والرسل يلقون الوحي إلى الأمم.

by the casters of the remembrance, that is, [by] angels that descend with the revelation upon the prophets and messengers, casting the revelation onto the [various] communities [of mankind],

عُذْرًا أَوْ نُذْرًا ۶

{ عذرا أو نذرا } أي للإعذار والإنذار من الله تعالى وفي قراءة بضم ذال نذرا وقرىء بضم ذال (عذرا).

to excuse or to warn, that is to say, in order to excuse or to warn on behalf of God, exalted be He (a variant reading [for nudhran and ‘udhran] has nudhuran and ‘udhuran).

إِنَّمَا تُوعَدُونَ لَوَٰقِعٌ ۷

{ إنما توعدون } أي يا كفار مكة من البعث والعذاب { لواقع } كائن لا محالة.

Surely that which you are promised, O disbelievers of Mecca, in the way of resurrection and chastisement, will befall: it will be, without any doubt.

فَإِذَا ٱلنُّجُومُ طُمِسَتْ ۸

{ فإذا النجوم طمست } محي نورها.

So when the stars are obliterated, [when] their light is extinguished,

وَإِذَا ٱلسَّمَآءُ فُرِجَتْ ۹

{ وإذا السماء فرجت } شقت.

and when the heaven is rent asunder,

وَإِذَا ٱلْجِبَالُ نُسِفَتْ ۱۰

{ وإذا الجبال نسفت } فتتت وسيرت.

and when the mountains are blown away, crushed to pieces and blown in the air,

وَإِذَا ٱلرُّسُلُ أُقِّتَتْ ۱۱

{ وإذا الرسل أقتت } بالواو (أقتت) وبالهمزة بدلا منها، أي جمعت لوقت.

and when the time is set for the [testimony of the] messengers (read uqqitat or wuqqitat), that is to say, [when] they are gathered to an appointed time,

لِأَىِّ يَوْمٍ أُجِّلَتْ ۱۲

{ لأي يوم } ليوم عظيم { أجلت } للشهادة على أممهم بالتبليغ.

For what day — for a tremendous day — has it been appointed?, [it has been appointed] for witnessing [of the messengers] against their communities [to the effect] that they delivered [their messages from God].