Growing up, I used to listen to this surah from my father almost every other day because he seemed to love this surah, and it always left me wondering why. Until one day, I read its translation and tafsir, and believe me, as much as I loved this surah, this surah gave me such an emotional experience that I couldn’t end the surah in the same voice in which I had started it.
Surah Qiyamah is a very unique surah because it connects directly the cosmic reality of death with the intimate, internal human conscience. The surah starts with:
“I swear by the Day of Resurrection. And I swear by the self-reproaching soul.”
(75:1–2)
It seems strange at first. Why is the enormous Day of Judgment succeeded by the “self-reproaching soul,” or nafs-e-lawwama?
But if you look closely, there is a striking connection.
Actually, before even a person will stand in front of Allah (SWT) in His court, he stands every day, every minute, in another court: the court of himself, in which YOU are the judge and jury.
You know the prayers you deliberately missed. You know the people you hurt. You know what you did when no one was watching and how strikingly contrasting your personality can be when you go out in public. And for all that, there is a small court that blames and, rightly so, holds you accountable.
That small court is nafs-e-lawwama.
And no matter how many people you hide it from, you can’t hide it from yourself.
Allah (SWT) makes you realize this in the later parts of Surah Qiyamah:
بَلِ الْإِنسَانُ عَلَىٰ نَفْسِهِ بَصِيرَةٌ وَلَوْ أَلْقَىٰ مَعَاذِيرَهُ
“Rather, man is well aware of himself, even if he presents his excuses.”
(Qur’an 75:14–15)
Wallahi, this is our reality.
We make excuses to hide it from our friends, parents, teachers, and peers. But we know who we are and what we do when they’re not around.
So, before the Day of Judgment, there is a mini court inside of us telling us that this is not right.
Then why don’t we listen to it?
What do we think?
Allah (SWT) knows exactly what is going on in the back of your mind.
أَيَحْسَبُ الْإِنسَانُ أَلَّن نَّجْمَعَ عِظَامَهُ
“Does man think that We will not reassemble his bones?”
(Qur’an 75:3)
Actually, we live as though we really don’t think we will be resurrected. And we do believe it but it is blurred by the colors painted by this alluring dunya.
We go to bed thinking about it and wake up thinking about it. Almost all of our day is about dunya. Even in our prayers, we are thinking about dunya.
Dunya is in our sight, so it’s in our mind. Akhirah is out of our sight and out of our mind.
But beware, my fellow Muslims:
بَلَىٰ قَادِرِينَ عَلَىٰ أَن نُّسَوِّيَ بَنَانَهُ
“Yes indeed! We are fully capable of restoring even their fingertips.”
(Qur’an 75:4)
We will be resurrected.
And why fingertips? Why not anything else? The ayah emphasizes just how precise Allah’s power of resurrection is, even the smallest details are not beyond Him. And when you think about it, even identical twins don’t have the same fingerprints
If we believe in the Akhirah and resurrection, even then, why don’t our faith and actions align?if we know we will be resurrected, why doesn’t that belief change the way we live?
كَلَّا بَلْ تُحِبُّونَ الْعَاجِلَةَ وَتَذَرُونَ الْآخِرَةَ
“No! Rather, you love the immediate life and leave the Hereafter.”
(Qur’an 75:20–21)
This is the core problem.
Even if we do believe in Allah and the Day of Judgment, we love this dunya more than the Akhirah.
That’s why the court inside of us is not enough for most of us, and our nafs asks us:
يَسْأَلُ أَيَّانَ يَوْمُ الْقِيَامَةِ
“He asks, ‘When is the Day of Resurrection?’”
(Qur’an 75:6)
Note the fact here.
It’s not, “Will the Day of Resurrection be true or not?”
The question asked here is “WHEN.”
We know it WILL happen, but we lure ourselves into believing it’s far.
It’s not like it’s coming tomorrow. It’s not like I won’t get a chance to repent. I’ve got another Ramadan. I’ve got 30–40 odd years. I’m still in my teens.
When even will be the Day of Resurrection?
At least not tomorrow. Not any time soon.
And what does this type of thinking get this person?
Allah tells us in the ayah preceding this:
بَلْ يُرِيدُ الْإِنسَانُ لِيَفْجُرَ أَمَامَهُ
“Rather, man desires to continue in sin.”
And maybe this is why the first two verses suddenly make so much sense. The nafs-e-lawwama is there, reminding you, blaming you, telling you that what you are doing is wrong. You hear it. You know it. But then you tell yourself, later. And “later” becomes tomorrow, tomorrow becomes another year, and another year becomes a lifetime., till there’s not a percentage of iman left in that person.