Al-Qiyamah (The Resurrection): (7) "So when the sight is dazzled,"

Two Issues Herein:

The first is His saying: {So when the sight is dazzled} (Fa-idhā bariqa al-baṣar).

It has been recited with a kasra (short 'i') on the rā’ (برِق) and with a fatḥa (short 'a') on the rā’ (برَق).

Al-Akhfash said: The version with the kasra is more common in their speech, but the version with the fatḥa is also a valid dialect.

Al-Zajjaj said: "His sight barriqa (with kasra) yabriqu barqan" means his sight became bewildered or confused. The origin of this word is when a person looks excessively at the flashing of lightning, which affects his vision. This term is then used metaphorically for any state of confusion, even if there is no actual looking at lightning. Similar to this, they say "his sight qamara" (became like the moon) if it is damaged from looking at the moon, and then it is metaphorically used for bewilderment. Likewise, they say a man is baʿīl in his affair, meaning he is confused and astonished. This originates from their saying: a woman is baʿalat when her husband suddenly confronts her, causing her to look at him in astonishment.

As for baraqa (with fatḥa on the rā’), it comes from barīq (sparkling/flashing), meaning it flashed due to the extreme protrusion of the eyes.

Abu al-Samāl recited it as baliqa (meaning opened wide), and infitāḥ (opening) is said when a door is opened (baliqa al-bāb), or ablaqtuhu or baalaqtuhu (I opened it).

1. It is said: At the time of death.
   • Those who hold this view say that the sight becomes yabriqu (dazzled/staring) in the sense that the eyes become fixed upon witnessing the causes of death and the angels, as happens to everyone when their death approaches.
   • Those who favor this interpretation say that they asked about the Day of Resurrection, but Allah mentioned this event at the time of death for two reasons:
     • First: The one who denied the saying {When is the Day of Resurrection?} (Al-Qiyamah: 6) did so mockingly. It is said to him: When the sight is dazzled (i.e., when death approaches), the doubts will cease, and he will realize then that his denial of Resurrection and the Hour was wrong.
     • Second: When death approaches and his sight is dazzled, he realizes that his denial of the Resurrection—which was motivated by seeking worldly pleasures—was false.

2. It is said: This only happens at the rising of the Resurrection.
   • This is because the question was specifically about the Day of Resurrection, so the answer must be something characteristic of that Day. Allah says: {Indeed, their appointment is the Day when eyes will stare fixedly} (Ibrahim: 41).

The second sign is His saying: {And the moon is eclipsed (or swallowed up)} (Wa khusifa al-qamar).

The third sign is His saying: {And the sun and the moon are joined} (Wa jumiʿa al-shams wa al-qamar).

1. One view: Allah said, {The sun should not overtake the moon} (Ya-Sin: 40). When the time of the Resurrection comes, each will overtake the other, and they will meet.
2. A second view: They are joined in the loss of light. This is like saying: "Al-Shafi'i joins (reconciles) what is between such-and-such in a ruling."
3. A third view: They will be joined, both blackened and rolled up, as if they were two dark, tethered bulls in the Fire. It is also said they will be joined and then thrown into the sea, where the Great Fire of Allah resides.

Know that these views mentioned regarding {And the moon is eclipsed} and {And the sun and the moon are joined} are only sound according to the doctrine that bariqa al-baṣar (dazzled sight) is a sign of the Resurrection.

However, for those who interpret bariqa al-baṣar as a sign of death:

• The meaning of {And the moon is eclipsed} is that the light of sight vanishes at death. They say an eye is khāsifah (eclipsed/sunken) if it is gouged out until its pupil recedes into the head. The root is from khasafat al-ard (the earth sank).
• The meaning of {And the sun and the moon are joined} is a metaphor for the soul departing to the Hereafter. It is as if the Hereafter is the Sun, for in it, the hidden things appear and the ambiguous matters become clear. The soul is like the Moon, for just as the Moon receives light from the Sun, the soul receives the light of gnosis from the realm of the Hereafter.

Undoubtedly, interpreting these verses as signs of the Resurrection is preferable and more fitting than interpreting them as signs of death.

Al-Kisā’ī said: The meaning is that the two lights (al-nūrān) or the two radiances (al-ḍiyā’ān) are joined.

Abu ʿUbaydah said: The Moon shared with the Sun in the joining, and the Moon is masculine, so naturally, the masculine form prevailed in the word.

Al-Farrā’ said: I asked those who supported this view: How do you say, "The Sun is joined (jumiʿa) and the Moon"? They replied, "It is joined (jumiʿat)." I asked, "What is the difference between the two instances?" So they retracted this view.

The Answer: Allah is capable of making the moon eclipsed whether the Earth is situated between it and the Sun or not. The proof for this is that physical bodies are similar; whatever is true for one is true for the other. Allah is capable of all possibilities, so He must be capable of removing the light from the Moon in all circumstances.

His saying, the Almighty: {Man will say that day, "Where is the escape?"} (Yaūlu al-insānu yawma'idhin ayna al-mafar).

This means the denier of the Resurrection will say this when he witnesses these events: "Where is the escape?"

The famous recitation is with a fatḥa on the fā’ (مَفَرّ). It has also been recited with a kasra on the fā’ (مِفَرّ).

Al-mafar (with fatḥa) is the verbal noun for fleeing (al-firār). Al-Akhfash and Al-Zajjaj said: It is the verbal noun from the verb yafʿalu (with a fatḥa on the middle vowel), which is the opinion of the majority of linguists. The meaning is: "Where is the flight?"

The statement of the speaker, "Where is the flight?" carries two meanings:

1. He does not see any means or possibility for escape, so he says, "Where is the escape?" just as if one despairs of finding Zayd, he says, "Where is Zayd?"
2. The meaning is "To where should I flee?"

As for al-mifarr (with kasra on the fā’), it means the place (al-mawḍiʿ). Some linguists claimed that al-mafar (with fatḥa) can be a noun for the verbal noun and a noun for the place. Similarly, al-mifarr (with kasra) can be a noun for the place and a verbal noun. Its parallel is al-marjiʿ (the return/the place of return).

! 7 < { Nay, there is no refuge! } > 7 !