Tafsir of As-Sajdah 32:5

{He arranges the command from the heaven to the earth; then it will ascend to Him in a Day, the measure of which is a thousand years according to what you count.}

{The command}: The commanded acts of obedience and righteous deeds. He sends it down, arranging it {from the heaven to the earth}. Then, it is not acted upon, nor does that which is commanded ascend to Him in a pure state—as He desires and approves—except over a prolonged period. This is due to the scarcity of those who work for God, the scarcity of the sincere among His servants, and the scarcity of deeds that ascend; for only that which is pure is described as ascending. This is indicated by His saying immediately after: {Little are you grateful} (Al-A'raf: 10; Al-Mu'minun: 78).

Or: He arranges the command of the entire world from the heaven to the earth for every day of the days of God, which is a thousand years, as He said: {And indeed, a day with your Lord is like a thousand years of those which you count} (Al-Hajj: 47).

{Then it will ascend to Him}: That is, it returns to Him and is established with Him. In the records of His angels, at every moment of this duration, is written what rises of that command and enters into existence until the duration reaches its end. Then, it is arranged again for another day, and so on, until the Hour is established.

It is said: Revelation descends with Gabriel (peace be upon him) from the heaven to the earth. Then, what resulted from the acceptance or rejection of the revelation returns to Him with Gabriel. This occurs in a time that is, in reality, a thousand years, because the distance is a journey of a thousand years in descent and ascent; for the space between the heaven and the earth is a journey of five hundred years. It is a day of your days due to the speed of Gabriel, for he traverses a journey of a thousand years in a single day.

It is said: He arranges the command of the world from the heaven to the earth until the Hour is established. Then, all of that command ascends to Him—meaning it returns to Him so that He may judge it—{in a Day, the measure of which is a thousand years}, which is the Day of Resurrection.

Ibn Abi 'Ablah read: (yu'raju) in the passive voice. It was also read: (ta'uddun) with a ta' and a ya'.

{That is the Knower of the unseen and the witnessed, the Exalted in Might, the Merciful. Who perfected everything which He created and began the creation of man from clay. Then He made his posterity out of the extract of a liquid disdained. Then He proportioned him and breathed into him from His [created] soul and made for you hearing and vision and hearts; little are you grateful.}