NAME: النازعات, An-Nazi’at.
Name taken from Verse 1 where there is a mention of the word ”Nazi’at”.
١ وَالنَّازِعَاتِ غَرْقًا
1 By those [angels] who extract with violence
But It does not mean that this name is the actual topic discussed in the whole Surah. It is just a reference and mark/symbol to distinguish this Surah from others as is with most other Surahs of Quran. While there are diversified topics discussed in these Surahs.
ENGLISH NAME: The Snatchers.
CHAPTER NUMBER: 79
SURAH NAZIAT TOTAL VERSES: 46
SURAH NAZIAT TOTAL WORDS: 179
TOTAL UNIQUE WORDS WITHOUT REPETITION: 154
TOTAL LETTERS: 785
REVELATION PERIOD:
Meccan, Approx. 615 – 618 AD.
MAIN CHARACTERS:
God, Angels, Man, Righteous, Deniers/Disbelievers, Moses, Pharaoh.
SURAH NAZIAT MAIN TOPICS:
Description Of The Last Day, Doubts On Resurrection, God Called Moses In Sacred Valley Of Tuwa, God’s Favors On Man.
SURAH NAZIAT KEY VERSES:
١ وَالنَّازِعَاتِ غَرْقًا
1 By those [angels] who extract with violence
٢ وَالنَّاشِطَاتِ نَشْطًا
2 And [by] those who remove with ease
٣ وَالسَّابِحَاتِ سَبْحًا
3 And [by] those who glide [as if] swimming
٤ فَالسَّابِقَاتِ سَبْقًا
4 And those who race each other in a race
٥ فَالْمُدَبِّرَاتِ أَمْرًا
5 And those who arrange [each] matter,
٣٠ وَالْأَرْضَ بَعْدَ ذَٰلِكَ دَحَاهَا
30 And after that He spread the earth.
٣١ أَخْرَجَ مِنْهَا مَاءَهَا وَمَرْعَاهَا
31 He extracted from it its water and its pasture,
٣٦ وَبُرِّزَتِ الْجَحِيمُ لِمَنْ يَرَىٰ
36 And Hellfire will be exposed for [all] those who see –
SUMMARY OF TOPICS
1-5(Swear By Angels Or Beings Having Diverse Tasks), 6-12(Description Of The Last Day: First Quake, Then Second Will Follow, Fear Everywhere), 13-14(Doubts On Resurrection, It Will Be Just A Single Shout, And All Will Be Awakened On The Surface Of The Earth), 15-25(Prophet Moses, God Called Him In Sacred Valley Of Tuwa, Sent To Pharaoh, Pharaoh Denied And Punished), 27(God Says To Mankind: Are you a more difficult Creation or is the Heaven?), 30-35(God’s Favors On Man; Spread The Earth, Water, Cattle), 36-45(Last Day Hell will Become Visible, Tiding Of Hell And Paradise), 46(That Day Mankind Will Think That They Had Not Stayed On Earth Except For An Evening Or Its Morning)
SURAH NAZIAT BRIEF COMMENTARY & BACKGROUND
This Surah has 46 verses divided into 2 Rukus/Sections. It takes its name from verse 1: “وَالنَّازِعَاتِ غَرْقًا” ( By those who extract with violence) where the word “النازعات” meaning “The Snatchers/ The Extractors “appears. This Surah was revealed in Mecca most probably during the early days of Muhammad’s proclamation of his prophethood.
Naziat is most often translated as angels, particularly the angels who are responsible for extracting the souls from the dead. By swearing these angels or beings, it tells that as God has the power to take back your souls, He also has the ability to resurrect people after their death. So the primary theme is an affirmation of Resurrection and the life hereafter. The Surah also narrates a brief story of Moses, Pharaoh, and his people and warns about the consequences of arrogant pride, which leads to the denial of the truth and ultimately to destruction.
Ibn Masud, Ibn Abbas, Masruq, Said bin Jubayr, Abu Salih, Abu Ad-Duha and As-Suddi all said,
وَٱلنَّـٰزِعَـٰتِ غَرۡقً۬ا
“These are the angels who extract the souls from the Children of Adam.” Among them are those whose souls are removed by the angels with difficulty, as if he is being drowned during its removal. There are those people whose souls the angels remove with ease as if they were unraveling him (i.e., his soul from him) due to their briskness. This is the meaning of Allah’s statement,
Then God says,
فَٱلۡمُدَبِّرَٲتِ أَمۡرً۬ا
Moreover, by those who arrange affairs. Ali, Mujahid, Ata, Abu Salih, Al-Hasan, Qatadah, Ar-Rabi bin Anas, and As-Suddi all said, “They are the angels.” Al Hasan added, “They control the affairs from the heaven to the earth, meaning by the command of their Lord, the Mighty and Majestic.’
