Tafseer of Yaseen · Yaseen · 36:52
They will say, "O woe to us! Who has raised us up from our sleeping place?" [The reply will be], "This is what the Most Merciful had promised, and the messengers told the truth."
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
His statement قَالُوا يَا وَيْلَنَا مَنْ بَعَثَنَا مِنْ مَرْقَدِنَا هَذَا مَا وَعَدَ الرَّحْمَنُ وَصَدَقَ الْمُرْسَلُونَ (They will say: "Woe to us! Who has raised us up from our resting-place? This is what the Most Merciful promised, and the messengers spoke the truth." — 36:52): the Exalted, whose praise is mentioned, says: these polytheists (mushrikīn), when the Trumpet is blown with the blast of resurrection for the rising on the Day of Resurrection, and their souls are returned to their bodies — and that occurs after a sleep they have slept — will say: يَا وَيْلَنَا مَنْ بَعَثَنَا مِنْ مَرْقَدِنَا ("Woe to us! Who has raised us up from our resting-place?"). And it has been said: that is a sleep between the two blasts of the Trumpet.
In accordance with what we have said about this, the people of interpretation (ahl al-taʾwīl) have spoken.
* Mention of those who said that:
Muḥammad ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Abū Aḥmad related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Khaythama, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, on the authority of Ubayy ibn Kaʿb, concerning His statement يَا وَيْلَنَا مَنْ بَعَثَنَا مِنْ مَرْقَدِنَا ("Woe to us! Who has raised us up from our resting-place?"), he said: they slept one sleep before the resurrection.
Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Muʾammal related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of a man called Khaythama, concerning His statement يَا وَيْلَنَا مَنْ بَعَثَنَا مِنْ مَرْقَدِنَا ("Woe to us! Who has raised us up from our resting-place?"), he said: they sleep one sleep before the resurrection.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda قَالُوا يَا وَيْلَنَا مَنْ بَعَثَنَا مِنْ مَرْقَدِنَا ("They will say: Woe to us! Who has raised us up from our resting-place?"): this is the statement of the people of error. And the slumber (al-raqda) is that which lies between the two blasts of the Trumpet.
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us, all on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His statement يَا وَيْلَنَا مَنْ بَعَثَنَا مِنْ مَرْقَدِنَا هَذَا ("Woe to us! Who has raised us up from our resting-place? This..."), he said: the unbeliever (kāfir) says it.
And by His statement مِنْ مَرْقَدِنَا هَذَا ("from our resting-place") He means: who has awakened us from our sleep. This is derived from their expression: "He roused his she-camel (baʿatha) and she stood up," when he drove her up and she rose. And it has been reported that in the recitation of Ibn Masʿūd this appears as: مِنْ أَهَبَّنَا مِنْ مَرْقَدِنَا هَذَا ("Who has awakened us from our resting-place?"). And in His statement هَذَا ("this") there are two possibilities: the first is that it is a reference to "what" (mā), and that this forms a new sentence after the completion of the first statement with His statement مَنْ بَعَثَنَا مِنْ مَرْقَدِنَا ("Who has raised us up from our resting-place?"); then "what" (mā) is in the nominative by "this" (hādhā), and the meaning of the utterance is: this is the promise of the Most Merciful, and the messengers spoke the truth. The other possibility is that it belongs to the description of the resting-place (al-marqad), is in the genitive, and connects with "the resting-place," and with the completion of the statement about the first; then the meaning of the utterance is: who has raised us up from this our resting-place. Then a new sentence begins and it is said: "What the Most Merciful promised," in the meaning: your resurrection is the promise of the Most Merciful; then "what" (mā) is in the nominative according to this meaning.
The people of interpretation (ahl al-taʾwīl) differed over who it is then that says: "This is what the Most Merciful promised." Some of them said: the people of faith in Allah say that.
* Mention of those who said that:
Al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid هَذَا مَا وَعَدَ الرَّحْمَنُ ("This is what the Most Merciful promised"): this is among that with which the believers are gladdened; they say this at the moment of the resurrection.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His statement هَذَا مَا وَعَدَ الرَّحْمَنُ وَصَدَقَ الْمُرْسَلُونَ ("This is what the Most Merciful promised, and the messengers spoke the truth"), he said: the people of guidance said: this is what the Most Merciful promised, and the messengers spoke the truth.
And others said: no, both statements — I mean يَا وَيْلَنَا مَنْ بَعَثَنَا مِنْ مَرْقَدِنَا هَذَا مَا وَعَدَ الرَّحْمَنُ وَصَدَقَ الْمُرْسَلُونَ ("Woe to us! Who has raised us up from our resting-place? This is what the Most Merciful promised, and the messengers spoke the truth") — are from the statement of the unbelievers.
* Mention of those who said that:
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said, concerning His statement يَا وَيْلَنَا مَنْ بَعَثَنَا مِنْ مَرْقَدِنَا ("Woe to us! Who has raised us up from our resting-place?"): then some of them said to others هَذَا مَا وَعَدَ الرَّحْمَنُ وَصَدَقَ الْمُرْسَلُونَ ("This is what the Most Merciful promised, and the messengers spoke the truth"); they had informed us that after death we would be raised up, called to account, and recompensed.
The first statement is the most consistent with the literal meaning of the Revelation, namely that it is from the statement of the believers. For the unbelievers, in their statement مَنْ بَعَثَنَا مِنْ مَرْقَدِنَا ("Who has raised us up from our resting-place?"), show that they were ignorant of who had raised them up from their resting-place; and precisely because of their ignorance they sought confirmation. And it is impossible that they would obtain that confirmation from anyone other than someone whose description in that regard contradicted their description.
