By those who violently tear out

How the Verbs Relate and the Style of the Oath

Pulling violently, pulling gently, gliding along, racing ahead and managing affairs: each of these verbs points to beings carrying out a different task.

The answer to the oath that follows these five verbs is not stated outright, because it can be understood from the ayahs that come later. The meaning of the oath can therefore be expressed as: “All of this will come to pass; the Hour will come and the resurrection after death will certainly take place.”

Those who do these things may be thought of as a single group, as different classes within one group, or as various groups with some belonging to another group. But that they are all a single group bound to the same divine command, or different classes of that group, seems stronger in light of the later ayah: “But it will be only a single cry.”

The way the verbs are joined is also striking. The first three, pulling violently, pulling gently and gliding along, are joined to each other with the conjunction waw, with no particular sequence observed among them. Racing ahead and managing affairs, on the other hand, are joined to the earlier verbs and to each other with the conjunction fa.

This shows that there is a sequence in the last two verbs. In other words, racing ahead and managing affairs appear to be a result of the earlier verbs, or the final goal they aim to reach.

Why These Ayahs Cannot Be Translated with a Single Meaning

The words in these five ayahs, especially nazi‘, gharq, nashit and nasht, have more than one meaning in Arabic. Each can carry different senses, which allows the ayahs to be interpreted in various ways.

Rendering these ayahs in translation with only one meaning may therefore fail to convey their full richness. To grasp their meaning as far as possible, the words need to be explained starting from their dictionary meanings, and the different interpretations need to be weighed together.

The Meaning of the Word ‎غَرۡق‎

‎غَرۡق‎ is a verbal noun meaning ighraq. Ighraq means to plunge something into water and drown it, and to fill a vessel until it is full. Drawing a bow forcefully and as far as it will go is also among the meanings of this word.

From these meanings, ‎غَرۡق‎ can also be used for going to extremes in any matter, doing something in depth, or advancing far.

The Meanings of the Words Nazi‘at and Nashitat

The word nazi‘at may be derived from the root naz‘ or nuzu‘. Naz‘ means to pull, to pull out and to strip. Based on the different meanings of this root, various interpretations of the word nazi‘at have been offered.

The meanings of the word nazi‘at

1. Tearing something from its place

Naz‘ means to tear something from where it is and pull it away. From this it is also used for taking life, taking the soul and being in the throes of death. Accordingly, nazi‘at may be the angels who take people’s souls, or it may mean souls in the throes of death.

2. Pulling a bucket forcefully from a well

Naz‘ also means to draw water by pulling a bucket forcefully from a well. Gharqan naz‘ means to plunge the bucket deep, fill it with water and then pull it up quickly. Figuratively, this can be interpreted as drawing a person’s soul out from its depths. Accordingly, nazi‘at means angels who penetrate to the deepest parts of the body and take the soul as though drowning and plunging it, or forces engaged in jihad.

3. Drawing a bow forcefully

Naz‘ means to draw a bow; gharqan naz‘ means to draw it with all one’s strength, stretching it as far as it will go. This is also called filling the bow. From this meaning, nazi‘at can be interpreted as archer forces or warriors, that is, ghazis.

4. A horse taking its head and running fast

Naz‘ also means a horse taking its head and running fast over flat ground. From this meaning, the word nazi‘at may be used for horses, riders or similar forces, as in the ayah “By the racers, panting” (Al-‘Adiyat, 100/1).

5. Longing for something or parting from something

Nuzu‘ means to give one’s heart to something, to desire it and turn toward it, and also to give something up, to withdraw and to slip away from it. Calling an expatriate who longs for his homeland nazi‘ is related to this meaning. Accordingly, nazi‘at can also be interpreted as souls that have left their bodies and long for the bodies they left behind.

The Meanings of the Word Nashitat

The word nashitat may be derived from the root nasht or nashat. Based on the different meanings of this root, various interpretations of the word have been offered.

1. Pulling a bucket easily from a well

Nasht means to pull a bucket from a well easily, with a gentle movement. It resembles the Turkish expression “like drawing a hair out of butter.” From this meaning, nashitat has been interpreted as angels who take the souls of believers gently and easily.

2. Easily untying a knot

Nasht also means to untie a knot gently and easily. A looped knot that comes undone easily, called an unshuta, illustrates this meaning. From these two meanings, nashitat can be interpreted as angels who take the souls of believers sweetly and delicately, as angels of mercy, or as souls that draw hearts to themselves with love.

3. Going from one place to another

Nasht also means to go out from one place to another. A wild ox that goes from place to place is called nashit. From this comparison, it has also been said that the word nashitat refers to planets moving from one zodiac sign to the next.

When the word nazi‘at is interpreted as stars, an explanation emerges in which their movement from east to west is compelled, while the movement of the nashitat through the zodiac signs is their own and natural. According to this interpretation, sabh in the following ayah refers to movement in the sky, and sabq to the difference between fast and slow movements.

4. Moving with delight and joy

Nashat means delight, joy and festivity. From this meaning, nashitat has been explained as believing souls that leave their bodies with delight at the time of death. In contrast, nazi‘at refers to the souls of disbelievers that leave their bodies in violence and torment.

Sabh basically means to swim in water and to travel far with ease. Here it clearly refers, both literally and figuratively, to the movement of souls or angels.

Interpretations of the Nazi‘at and Nashitat Ayahs

Because these words can carry different meanings, the commentators have transmitted various interpretations of the nazi‘at and nashitat ayahs. These can generally be gathered under three headings.

1. Interpreted as angels

2. Interpreted as human souls and selves

In this view, the ayahs describe the states of human souls that have left their bodies or are still within them. There are two different explanations of this interpretation.

First explanation: The ayahs describe virtuous souls that have left their bodies. These souls part forcefully from the bodies that served them as vehicle and mount for earning good. Then they rise with longing and joy to the world of angels and souls, glide onward there and reach the sacred realm. After that, through their honor and power, they rise to the rank of the angels who manage affairs, and may even surpass them.

Indeed, even after death the works these souls left in the world and the spiritual influence they exerted continue. People go on benefiting from their spiritual qualities.

Second explanation: What may be meant here are virtuous selves who, before death, enter a spiritual path, purify their inner world through worship and struggle against the self, and rise in divine knowledge. These selves slip free of their carnal desires, long for the sacred realm and rise through the ranks of spiritual maturity. In the end they reach a position of training flawed and deficient selves and helping them mature.

3. Interpreted as ghazis, hands and horses

According to this view, the ayahs describe warriors, their hands or their horses.

The hands of the ghazis prepare and draw their weapons and easily fire their arrows and projectiles. They advance quickly on land and sea, race one another to the front in the struggle against the enemy, and then direct the course of the battle.

The same qualities can also be considered for the warriors’ horses. But the horses’ managing of affairs is not direct; it is figurative, in the sense of being a cause. Because horses are the means by which warriors carry out and manage their affairs, they can figuratively be described as beings that run and manage affairs.