1. The starter “laa” has been variously understood. Some say it is “laa” of “sila” (conjunctive), while others that it is for emphasis. There have been other explanations too and it could be translated as “nay” also; or, “the affair (of the Hereafter) is not as you think” (Ibn Jarir, Zamakhshari, Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir). However, Qurtubi points out that this kind of “laa” occurs only at the beginning of a sentence.

2. Hasan al-Basri said: “A believer’s inner self keeps reproaching him saying, ‘What did I intend when I said those words?’ or, ‘What was I aiming at by eating this food?’ or, ‘What was my objective in thinking out this way?’, and so on, while a corrupt person moves forward, hardly ever reproaching himself” (Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir).

But perhaps even a corrupt Muslim, indeed, an unbeliever too, finds his inner self reproaching them. But they ignore the reproach (Au.).

Another possible meaning is that every soul will reproach itself on the Day of Judgment for not having done enough in the world to earn rewards in the Hereafter (Razi).

Alusi has a short note on three kinds of “nafs”, which we reproduce here slightly expanded. The three kinds, characteristics, and stages are:

النَّفس الأمَّارة ، النفس اللَّوَّامَة ، النفس الْمُطْمَئِنَّة

“Al-nafsu al-ammarah” (Yusuf: 53), commands evil, unless disciplined, so that, after a certain level of righteousness is achieved, it does not command but good and virtue. However, in most cases, and with the majority of the people, it commands evil, pulling them down by making them indulge wholly in worldly affairs. Above it comes “al-nafs al-lawwamah” which reproaches after both good and evil deeds. If it is a good deed, it reproaches why the man did not do better, and if it is an evil deed, it reproaches why he did it at all. It grows weaker if evil deeds are piled up, and stronger when good deeds are overwhelming. Then comes “al-nafs al-mutma’innah” (al-Fajr: 27). This characteristic or level of the “nafs” is obtained when there is no room left for the “al-nafs al-lawwamah” to reproach. This is the highest degree. Depending upon how a man succumbs to the two kinds of “nafs” below it, he earns peace and tranquility in proportionate measures.

This is observable in everyday life too. Never will the “nafs” say, after a man has come out of a mosque after Prayers, “Why did you go in at all?” Never will a man light a cigarette because of the strong urge but with the first puff his “nafs” will tell him, “you made a mistake.” In fact, psychologists point out that never does a man buy a commodity (a refrigerator, a piece of furniture, a toy, anything), but as soon as he unpacks it he has a sense of regret. Realizing this function of the “nafs al-lawwamah”, products now carry a folder within the package, which assures the purchaser that he did not make a mistake. It says, “Rest assured, you have purchased the right product.” It might also be pointed out that no “holy” literature has listed these three kinds of “nafs” (Au.).

3. Ibn `Abbas, `Ikrimah, Hasan and others took a meaning other than in the translation saying, had Allah willed He could have made a man’s fingers joined together like a hoof, in which case he would have been forced to pick his food with his mouth (Ibn Jarir).

Indeed, the fetus in the womb has the five fingers joined together until the 6th week of pregnancy. They split apart and the paw-like shape becomes fingers by the 8th week of pregnancy. And, as is well-known, each man’s finger tips are peculiar to him, which no other human shares with him, and hence a successful and widely used method of identification by the finger prints (Au.).

4. That is, he wishes to continue committing injustice, dishonesty, wickedness and debauchery during the rest of his life. He realizes that his admission of the occurrence of the Hereafter necessarily implies that he should bring himself to control and accept certain moral and ethical values as restraints to his complete and unhindered freedom. Thus, his rejection is not the result of intellectual reasoning, but a straightforward illogical and dishonest demand of his carnal self (Au.).

5. That is, its shine will be gone (Ibn Jarir, Ibn Kathir).

6. Or, as Ibn `Abbas explained “left behind” - being an allusion to what a man leaves behind as his example that people after him follow (Ibn Jarir, Qurtubi).

Sa`id b. Jubayr said, “He sent forward sins, delaying repentance” (Zamakhshari).

7. Or perhaps, man sees himself very well (Ibn Jarir). That is, knows about himself as to where he stands (Ibn Kathir).

8. In the earliest stages of revelation, the Prophet would repeat the words while they were being revealed by Jibril in fear of forgetting them. He was assured that making him remember, and then, putting them all together, at the end of the process (which was to take several years), would be accomplished by none other than Allah Himself (Ibn Jarir, Ibn Kathir).

This is one of the strongest proofs that this is a Revelation. The revelations came in bits and pieces, short and long ??????????

9. Most commentators have thought that the meaning of “ittabi` qur’nah” is: Follow the recital, listening carefully with full attention of mind and heart, and then put it to practice.

10. One possible meaning is contained in the fact that one part of the Qur’an explains another part of it. A second possibility is that the explanation was given to the Prophet through what is known as the “wahyu ghayr matlu;” or, the Hadith. The Prophet said, as in a hadith of Ahmad, but whose meaning has been repeated in a variety of ways in other narratives, one being in Sahih of Ibn Hibban, and others in Hakim’s Mustadrak which Dhahabi declared trustworthy:

عَنِ الْمِقْدَامِ بْنِ مَعْدِ يكَرِبَ الْكِنْدِىِّ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ -صلى الله عليه وسلم- « أَلاَ إِنِّى أُوتِيتُ الْكِتَابَ وَمِثْلَهُ مَعَهُ أَلاَ إِنِّى أُوتِيتُ الْقُرْآنَ وَمِثْلَهُ مَعَهُ أَلاَ يُوشِكُ رَجُلٌ يَنْثَنِى شَبْعَاناً عَلَى أَرِيكَتِهِ يَقُولُ عَلَيْكُمْ بِالْقُرْآنِ فَمَا وَجَدْتُمْ فِيهِ مِنْ حَلاَلٍ فَأَحِلُّوهُ وَمَا وَجَدْتُمْ فِيهِ مِنْ حَرَامٍ فَحَرِّمُوهُ.

“Lo. I have been given the Book and its equal along with it. Lo. It is possible that a well-fed man with one leg over another in his easy chair say, ‘Follow the Qur’an; so that what you find therein as lawful, take it as lawful, and what you find therein as unlawful, take it as unlawful.’” (That is, abandon the Sunnah of the Prophet which contains the other, “equal, along with it” (Au.).

11. Majid comments: “That it was really the enjoyment of this material life and material gains that was at the root of the obstinate pagans’ opposition to the teachings of the Qur’an and the Prophet is recognized even by historians hostile to Islam: ‘The more clearly they perceived that Muhammad’s claim as a Prophet might endanger their priestly position and their lucrative privileges as guardians of the holy temple, the more fiercely did their anger burn, and the more vehement became their threats and abuses’ (WHW, VIII, pp. 115-116).”

12. Although Mujahid is widely reported as having said that the meaning is, “People will wait in anticipation of the rewards,” the majority have thought that the allusion is to the Beatific Vision that will be granted to those in Paradise (Ibn Jarir). But the allusion could also be to the Beatific Vision granted to the believers in the Field of Reckoning itself (Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir).

13. That is, sure that they will be shoved into the Fire (Ibn Jarir, Ibn Kathir).

14. That is, someone who could recite a chant to chase away the disease, or a doctor who could chase the death away (Ibn Jarir).

15. The allusion is to the excruciating pangs of death. Another opinion is, it is the moment of death when the two shanks – of this world and the next – or, when the boundaries of this life and the next get intertwined: the last day of this world and the first of the Hereafter; when the people of the world prepare themselves to deal with their body, while angels prepare themselves to deal with their souls (Ibn Jarir, Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir).

As such, “saaq” is commonly used in the Arabic language for hardship. So, it could be said that hardships descend one after another on a dying man (Razi).