بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ لَآ أُقْسِمُ بِيَوْمِ ٱلْقِيَٰمَةِ
I swear by the Day of Resurrection
Introduction
This is āyah 1 of Sūrat Al-Qiyaama (The Resurrection), the 31st sūrah in the traditional order of revelation. It was revealed in the Meccan period and sits within Juzʾ 29. Meccan verses tend to address faith, the oneness of God, and the hereafter.
This introduction is a starting point — the community and Bilal will enrich it over time.
Revelation & occasion
- Period
- Meccan
- Order revealed
- 31 of 114
- Surah
- Al-Qiyaama (75)
No! I swear by the Day of Resurrection. The Lord of the Worlds swears an oath by the Day of Resurrection. That is the day when the pavil- ions of the rightful due of lordhood will be opened, the carpet of majesty and tremendousness spread, and the banner of all-compellingness brought out to the desert of all-subjugatingness. The portico of magnificence will be raised, the scales of justice will be hung, and the harshness of the exalted all-compellingness will make everyone confounded and senseless. The prophets will come in their perfection and put away talk of their knowledge: “We have no knowledge” [5:109]. The angels of the Dominion will come and strike fire to the monasteries of their worship: “We have not worshiped You with the rightful due of Your worship.” The recognizers and tawḤīd-voicers will come and disown their own recognition: “We have not recognized You with the rightful due of Your recognition.” What great remorse-if on that day His bounty does not take your hand! What tremendous affliction-if in that assembly His generosity does not come to your aid! If His solicitude does not take your hand, what good will obedience have done? If He shows the face of His justice, that will be your destruction. The Pir of the Tariqah said, “O God, You know that I do not have these days by myself. I do not light the candle of guidance with my sufficiency. What comes from me? What opens up from my doing? My obedience is through Your success-giving, my service through Your guidance, My repentance through Your kind favor, my gratitude through Your beneficence, my remembrance through Your inspiration. All is You! Who am I? If not for Your bounty, what do I have?”
Tafsir
Hafiz Ibn Kathir
Chains of transmission
Oral — isnād
- ~610–632 CERevelation & memorisation
Received by the Prophet ﷺ and preserved by the ḥuffāẓ (memorisers) among the Companions.
- 1st century AHMutawātir transmissionawaiting curation
Carried by mass-transmission through the generations of qurrāʾ.
- TodayLiving chainsawaiting curation
Continuous ijāzah chains link reciters today back to the Prophet ﷺ.
Verified isnād chains for this āyah will be added by curators.
Written — the manuscript record
- ~650 CEʿUthmānic codicesawaiting curation
The standardised muṣḥaf sent to the great cities (e.g. the Topkapı and Samarqand codices).
- 8th–10th c.Early Ḥijāzī & Kūfic foliosawaiting curation
Surviving leaves in Birmingham, Sanaa, Paris (BnF) and beyond.
- Modern printModern printawaiting curation
The 1924 Cairo edition → today: the standard printed muṣḥaf used worldwide.
A curated chain of manuscript images for this exact āyah — roughly one per century — is coming. Help us source and verify them.
And now — what do you think?
The text, its history and the classical commentary are laid out above. Share your own understanding, ask a question, or reason with others.
Community resources
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