َ كَلَّا لَا وَزَرَ ﴿۱۱﴾ إِلَى رَبِّكَ يَوْمَئِذٍ الْمُسْتَقَرُّ ﴿۱۲﴾ يُنَبَّأُ الْإِنْسَانُ يَوْمَئِذٍ بِمَا قَدَّمَ وَأَخَّرَ ﴿۱۳﴾ بَلِ الْإِنْسَانُ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ بَصِيرَةٌ ﴿۱۴﴾ وَلَوْ أَلْقَى مَعَاذِيرَهُ ﴿۱۵﴾ لَا تُحَرِّكْ بِهِ لِسَانَكَ لِتَعْجَلَ بِهِ ﴿۱۶﴾ إِنَّ عَلَيْنَا جَمْعَهُ وَقُرْآنَهُ ﴿۱۷﴾ فَإِذَا قَرَأْنَاهُ فَاتَّبِعْ قُرْآنَهُ ﴿۱۸﴾ ثُمَّ إِنَّ عَلَيْنَا بَيَانَهُ ﴿۱۹﴾ كَلَّا بَلْ تُحِبُّونَ الْعَاجِلَةَ ﴿۲۰﴾

﴾11﴿ Kallaa laa wazar
﴾12﴿ Ilaa rabbika yawma 'izinil mustaqarr
﴾13﴿ Yunabba 'ul insaanu yawma 'izim bimaa qaddama wa akhkhar
﴾14﴿ Balil insaanu 'alaa nafsihee baseerah
﴾15﴿ Wa law alqaa ma'aazeerah
﴾16﴿ Laa tuharrik bihee lisaa naka lita'jala bih
﴾17﴿ Inna 'alainaa jam'ahoo wa qur aanah
﴾18﴿ Fa izaa Qura’nahu fattabi' qur aanah
﴾19﴿ Summa inna 'alainaa bayaanah
﴾20﴿ Kallaa bal tuhibboonal 'aajilah

﴾11﴿ There is no escape at all
﴾12﴿ To your Lord on that day is the final destination of all this
﴾13﴿ On that day, man will be informed of what he sent ahead and what he left behind
﴾14﴿ Rather, man is fully aware of himself
﴾15﴿ Even if he puts forth excuses
﴾16﴿ Do not move your tongue with this Quran to hasten it
﴾17﴿ Surely, upon Us is its collection and its recitation
﴾18﴿ So when We recite it, follow its recitation.
﴾19﴿ Then surely, upon Us is its clarification
﴾20﴿ Never! Rather, you love this worldly life

[13] This is also the state of the Hereafter, either at the time of reckoning, or the weighing of deeds, or when the scrolls are distributed. “For what he sent ahead and left behind”—this has the following interpretations:
(1) “Sent ahead” refers to the good or bad deeds done before death, and “left behind” refers to the good or bad ways he left behind after his death.
(2) “Sent ahead” means he committed sins and abandoned acts of obedience.
[14,15] Rather, “bal” is for intensification beyond “he will be informed,” meaning there is no need for informing—man is a witness against himself.
(Question) “Basīrah” is feminine, while “insān” (man) is masculine?
(Answer) First, what is meant by “basīrah” is the limbs (body parts), meaning: his limbs are witnesses.
Second, the “tā” in “basīrah” is for emphasis, not for femininity.
Third, in “al-insān,” a hidden preposition “li” is understood, meaning: “for man are insightful limbs over himself.”
(“Maʿādhīrah”) is the plural of “miʿdhār,” meaning a veil—i.e., even if he puts a veil over himself and hides his deeds out of shame.
[16,17,18,19] In this verse, there is a mention of proper etiquette toward the Prophet (May Allah bless him and give him peace) at the time when revelation was brought by Jibril (peace be upon him) and when he recited it to the Prophet (May Allah bless him and give him peace).
According to the authentic narration in Sahih Bukhari, it is established that the Prophet (May Allah bless him and give him peace), in the early days of revelation, would place himself under great strain—when Jibril (peace be upon him) would recite the revelation, he would move his lips along with him and recite, burdening himself to avoid forgetting it.
So Allah Almighty, in the first verse, taught him the first etiquette: do not hasten in this manner.
Then, He mentioned three responsibilities He had taken upon Himself:
(1) Gathering the Qur'an in the heart of the Prophet (May Allah bless him and give him peace).
(2) Making its recitation easy—which pertains to the tongue.
(3) After the recitation, explaining and clarifying its meanings.
In the third verse, He taught him the second etiquette: when Jibril (peace be upon him) is reciting, listen attentively and begin to act upon it.
“Do not move your tongue with it” is a prohibition out of mercy—because the Prophet (May Allah bless him and give him peace) would move his lips and tongue while Jibril (peace be upon him) recited.
“So that you may hasten with it”—al-Sharbini mentioned that when hastening in reciting the Qur'an is forbidden, then it is evident that hastening in other matters is also not appropriate.
“Indeed, upon Us is its collection and its recitation”—the meaning of “collection” is gathering it in the Prophet’s chest, i.e., preserving it from being forgotten, as in Surah A‘la (87:6).
This is evidence that when Allah Almighty has taken responsibility for gathering it, then the collection of the Qur'an into a single muṣḥaf (book) is also under His responsibility. Therefore, the Qur'an we have today, compiled as it is, is also gathered by the will of Allah—even though Allah made Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), and later ‘Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him), the means for this.
“And its recitation”—here it refers to the act of reciting, i.e., bringing it to your tongue, as mentioned in Surah Maryam (19:97) and Surah al-Dukhan (44:58).
“So when We have recited it, then follow its recitation”—what is meant by “its recitation” is the recitation by Jibril (peace be upon him), because this is the speech of Allah, and Jibril recites it by the command of Allah.
“So follow”—meaning listen to it carefully, then recite it in the same way as it was recited to you, and follow the rulings and laws of the Qur'an.
“Then indeed, upon Us is its explanation”—the explanation of the words and meanings of the Qur'an to the Prophet (May Allah bless him and give him peace) is from Allah, and through the Prophet to the noble Companions, and then, through them step by step, the Qur'an being conveyed to all people is also under the responsibility of Allah Almighty.
Note: The connection of these verses with what comes before and after them can be understood in several ways. One way is what we mentioned in summary.
The second way is that Allah Almighty is capable of gathering bones on the Day of Resurrection and of gathering the sun and the moon—because He is capable of gathering the Qur'an. Therefore, no bone or particle of man can remain uncollected, just as not a single letter of the Noble Qur'an is lost.
The third way is that righteous deeds are a major occupation on the Day of Reckoning, and the Noble Qur'an is in accordance with the rulings of the Shari‘ah. Since love for the world distracts from the Qur'an, the following verses rebuke that attachment.
[20,21] This rebuke is directed at love for the world, which causes a person to become heedless of the Qur'an.
“Al-‘Ājilah” (the immediate world)—this expression implies that haste is not appropriate in matters of the Qur'an and religion, because haste is a sign of love for the world.
The worldly life is called “immediate” because it quickly perishes, or because it comes before the Hereafter, which follows it.
“And you forsake”—this points to the fact that love for the world leads to abandoning the Hereafter.
As al-Sharbini wrote, the example of the world and the Hereafter is like two co-wives—pleasing both at the same time is difficult.