Tafsir of At-Takweer 81:14

The Meaning of the Timeframe The answer to the conditional particle Idha (in the preceding verses) is that the intended meaning refers to a single, extended period of time that encompasses the events mentioned. Its beginning is just before the first blast of the Trumpet, and its conclusion is the separation of judgment between all creatures. This does not mean that the soul knows what it knows during every fraction of that long duration, or upon the occurrence of each of these terrifying events; rather, it refers to the time when the records are spread. However, because some of these terrifying events are its precursors and others are its aftermath, knowledge of it is attributed to the entire period of their occurrence to magnify the terror and make the situation more severe.

The Meaning of "What It Has Brought" "What it has brought" refers to its deeds, both good and evil. Regarding the presence of these deeds: it may be the presence of their records, as implied by the spreading of them; or it may be the presence of the deeds themselves. This is based on the view that the deeds which appear in this current existence in accidental forms will emerge in the final existence in substantial forms appropriate to them in beauty or ugliness, in specific qualities and defined states—to the extent that sins and transgressions will become embodied and visualized there. Evidence for this is found in the Almighty's saying, "Indeed, those who consume the wealth of orphans unjustly—they only consume into their bellies fire." There are narrations from Ibn Abbas that support this, as does the Hadith regarding the slaughtering of death. It is said there is nothing far-fetched in this; one only needs to consider how knowledge appears in the World of Images ('Alam al-Mithal) in the form of milk, as is not hidden from those with experience in the states of the Five Presences. It has been recounted from some of the great scholars that they witness deeds in this life when they are ascended to the heavens, and that this occurs through a form of embodiment.

The attribution of bringing them to the soul, despite them being brought about by the command of Allah—as indicated by His saying, "The Day every soul will find what it has done of good present"—is because, having done them in the world, it is as if the soul itself brought them to the assembly.

The meaning of its "knowledge" of them, under the first interpretation, is its acquaintance with them in detail within the records, such that nothing is omitted—as is indicated by their saying, "What is with this book that leaves nothing small or great except that it has counted it?" Under the second interpretation, it means the soul witnesses them exactly as they are in reality. If they are righteous, it sees them in forms more beautiful than it perceived in the world (since acts of obedience in this life are never free from a degree of hardship). If they are evil, it sees them in a state contrary to how it perceived them in the world, where they were adorned and aligned with its desires.

The Indefinite Form of "Soul" (Nafs) The use of the indefinite Nafs (soul)—which signifies the confirmation of knowledge for an individual or some of the souls—is to signal that its confirmation for every single individual among them is of such clarity and prominence that not a shred of doubt can hover around it. Everyone will know it, even if an expression was used that might suggest the contrary. It also serves as a symbol that those souls knowing what was mentioned, despite their abundant individuals and vast numbers, are negligible in relation to the Majesty and Greatness of the Divine—the wonders of whose affairs have been alluded to, signifying the vastness of His authority.

Al-Kashshaf states that this is a reversal of people’s speech, where they intend hyperbole in what they are ostensibly reversing. An example is the Almighty’s saying, "Perhaps those who disbelieve will wish they were Muslims," which means "often" and is more emphatic. Similarly, when one says, "I have left the people, their fingertips yellowed, as if their garments were dipped in mulberry juice." Or, when one says to a military commander, "How many cavalrymen do you have?" and he replies, "I have a lone horseman," meaning "Do you not find even a single horseman with me?" while he actually possesses battalions. His intent in using the term of reduction is to manifest his modesty and to show that he is someone who minimizes the greatness of what he has, rather than exaggerating it. Thus, the meaning of abundance is understood from the expression of scarcity with certainty and conviction.

Al-Kashf explains that this construction provides this meaning, along with the special benefits unique to each context. It mentions that one of the benefits here is the magnification of that Day by minimizing the souls performing the deeds (even though they are all of them), showing that this is the speech of One of ultimate Greatness and Majesty, and that He who alters these great celestial bodies and replaces them with attributes and essences makes the human souls seem entirely insignificant in the face of His power.

Abu al-Sa'ud critiqued this with an argument that is not free from scrutiny, as is obvious to any scholar of significant insight, let alone one of precise insight. He suggested that it might be to indicate that if one soul knows at that time what it has brought, then every soul must consider its own deeds for fear that it might be the one that brought what was brought—and how much more so, when every soul knows this, following the style of saying to one you advise, "Perhaps you will regret what you have done." One does not intend by that to say the regret is merely hoped for and not certain, nor that it is rare; rather, one means that a rational person must avoid a matter from which regret is expected or that rarely occurs—so how much more so when it is certain to exist and frequent in occurrence?

It is well-known that the indefinite here carries a generalizing meaning ('umum). The indefinite can generalize in affirmative statements if the context or the like requires it. From this is the saying of Ibn Umar to a man from Syria who asked him about a pilgrim who kills a locust, "Should he give a date as a ransom for it?" [He replied], "A date is better than a locust." It is said that because of this generalization, it is permissible to begin a sentence with an indefinite noun. Some say there is no generalization, but rather the meaning of universality comes from the equality of the part's relation to all members of the genus. This is said to be based on the belief that universality conflicts with singularity and individuality, but you know that this only conflicts with collective universality, not distributive universality.

Some have said it is not far-fetched to say that generalization is derived by placing it in the realm of negation, because "a soul knows" is in the meaning of "no soul is ignorant," since affirming a thing entails the negation of its opposite. However, this is invalid, for if it were true, every indefinite in an affirmative statement would be generalized through such an interpretation.

It is narrated from Abdullah ibn Mas’ud that a reciter recited this Surah in his presence, and when he reached "A soul will know what it has brought," he said, "And my back has broken."