An Nazi’at (79)

This explanation will be mainly about Bint al-Shati’ work. She is one of scholars from Egypt. Whatever
the she wrote is incredible and beautiful. She is not known as she should be.
In the Makki shurah, Allah sometimes makes oaths. What does these oaths could mean? There are
varieties of opinion. Some these Makkans shurah, we can not study it ayah by ayah. We have to go
passage by passage, once we get picture of the passage then we go ayah by ayah. Then we go to the
next passage, get an overview, the go ayah by ayah again. That’s a systematic order to study these
ayah especially this shorter versions.
When Allah says,
‫ت غ َْر ق ً ا‬ ِ َّ ‫َو ال ن‬
ِ ‫از عَ ا‬
Demi (malaikat-malaikat) yang mencabut (nyawa) dengan keras, (1)
they pull as they drown
‫ش طً ا‬ ِ ‫َو ال ن َّ ا ِش طَ ا‬
ْ َ‫ت ن‬
dan (malaikat-malaikat) yang mencabut (nyawa) dengan lemah-lembut, (2)
completely let loose
‫ت سَ بْ ًح ا‬
ِ ‫َو ال سَّ ا ب ِ َح ا‬
dan (malaikat-malaikat) yang turun dari langit dengan cepat, (3)
swim smoothly
‫ت سَ بْ ق ً ا‬
ِ ‫ف َ ال سَّ ا ب ِ ق َ ا‬
dan (malaikat-malaikat) yang mendahului dengan kencang, (4)
march forward
ِ ‫ف َ الْ ُم د َب ِ َر ا‬
‫ت أ َ ْم ًر ا‬
dan (malaikat-malaikat) yang mengatur urusan (dunia). (5)
execute the plan with perfect decision making

These five-ayah is one passage. There are many opinions about what or who is pulling and releasing.
One of them is Malaikah. But there is even differences between sahabah. Ibnu Abbas ra opinion is that
these ayah is about angels who is diving and drowning to our body when pulling out our soul. Hence
the rest of this five-ayah will be understood based on this conclusion. The angels yank out the soul
from the sinner like pulling out a piece of wool out of thorns (1). As the oppose, believer’s soul is taken
out smoothly like water pouring out of a jug (2). Then, these angels take the soul and swim up to the
sky (3), ahead and ahead (4). And then they execute the command of Allah what should be done with
the soul (5). This is one of the interpretations. Remember that this interpretation didn’t come from
Rasulullah SAW.

Abi Ubaidah says that it means they are stars that pull back. Another interpretation says that it’s
people that going away from they homeland and their homeland is constantly pulling them to go
back. There is at least 39 of early opinions of these ayah :o . If there is 39, it can means anything. It’s
the bow that pulls on the arrow. It’s a wild animal that captures a sheep and pulling it by its teeth. It
means the mujahidin horses. Or it is the wind that pulling out the trees. And the most famous opinion
is that it is an angel that pulling out the soul of Bani Adam out.
Bint al-Shati’ opinion disagree with all of those and it seems the most convincing. It doesn’t mean that
this is the right interpretation, but this is the most convincing to Ust. Nouman. He thinks that if
between the sahabah there is many different opinions with completely different interpretation then
it means that this is an exercise left for all humanity. There is no sacred interpretation from Rasulullah
and opinion from a sahabi is not sacred, that is why there is completely different opinion from another
sahabi. And why Rasulullah doesn’t do all interpretation of the Quran but left us with most of the ayat
without his comment?