Tafsir of Al-Qiyamah 75:16

The pronoun in "with it" refers to the Qur'an. When the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was receiving revelation, he would struggle with Gabriel in the recitation, not waiting for him to finish, out of eagerness to memorize it and fear that it might escape him. He was then commanded to listen to him, casting his heart and hearing toward him until the revelation was completed, and then to follow it with study until it was firmly established in him.

The meaning: Do not move your tongue to recite the revelation as long as Gabriel (peace be upon him) is reciting, "in order to hasten with it," meaning to take it in haste for fear it might escape you.

Then He explained the prohibition of haste by saying, "Indeed, upon Us is its collection" in your breast, "and its recitation" upon your tongue. "So when We have recited it"—attributing Gabriel’s recitation to Himself, for the Qur'an is the recitation—"follow its recitation," meaning follow him in it and do not compete with him. Be at ease, for it will not remain unmemorized; we guarantee its preservation. "Then, upon Us is its clarification," should any of its meanings become difficult for you. It is as if he were hastening both to memorize and to ask about the meanings simultaneously, as one sees in some who are greedy for knowledge. Similar to this is: "And do not hasten with the Qur'an before its revelation is completed to you" (Ta-Ha: 114).

"No!" (Kalla): A rebuke to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) regarding the habit of haste, a disapproval of it, and an exhortation toward patience and deliberation. He emphasized this by following it with: "Nay, you love the immediate (the worldly life)." It is as if He said: "Rather, you, O children of Adam—because you were created from haste and fashioned upon it—hasten in everything, and therefore you love the immediate and abandon the Hereafter." (It is also recited with the ya [referring to the people], which is more eloquent).

If you ask: How does "Do not move your tongue with it" connect to the mention of the Resurrection? I say: Its connection lies in the transition from this to the rebuke for loving the immediate and neglecting the Hereafter.

"Radiant" (Nadirah): Derived from the radiance of bliss. "Looking at their Lord" (Ila Rabbiha Nazirah): They look specifically at their Lord, not at anything else. This is the meaning of placing the object first. Do you not see: "To your Lord that Day is the destination," "To your Lord that Day is the drive," "To Allah return all matters" (Ash-Shura: 53), "And to Allah is the final destination" (Al-Imran: 28), "And to Him you will be returned" (Al-Baqarah: 245), "Upon Him I have relied, and to Him I turn" (Hud: 88)? How the placement [of the prepositional phrase] at the beginning indicates the meaning of exclusivity.

It is known that they look at things that cannot be counted or numbered in a gathering where all creatures are assembled. The believers are the "onlookers" of that day because they are the secure ones who have no fear and will not grieve. For Him to be looked at—if He were a physical object—is impossible. Therefore, it must be interpreted in a way that allows for exclusivity. The interpretation that allows for this is like when people say, "I am looking to so-and-so to see what he will do for me," meaning expectation and hope. From this is the poet's saying: And when I look to you for a gift, while the sea is between us, you increase me in blessings.

I heard a Sarwiyya woman begging in Mecca at noon, when people were closing their doors and retiring to their resting places, saying: "My eyes are looking to Allah and to you." The meaning is that they do not expect grace and honor except from their Lord, just as in the world they did not fear or hope for anything but Him.

"The Basir" (The Frowning): One who is intensely frowning. "The Basil" (The Stern): More intense than the former, but it has become dominant for the brave man when his scowling is severe. "You expect" (Tazunnu): You anticipate that there will be done to them an act that is, in its intensity and horror, "a back-breaking calamity" (Faqirah)—a disaster that breaks the vertebrae of the spine—just as the radiant faces expected that every good would be done to them.

"No! When it reaches the collarbones, and it is said, 'Who is a healer?' And he realizes that it is the departure, and the leg is wound about the leg, to your Lord that Day is the drive."