قالوا يا وَيلَنا مَن بَعَثَنا مِن مَرقَدِنا ۜ ۗ هٰذا ما وَعَدَ الرَّحمٰنُ وَصَدَقَ المُرسَلونَ

They will say: ‘Woe to us! Who raised us from our place of sleep?’ ‘This is what the All-Beneficent had promised, and the apostles had spoken the truth!’

EXEGESIS

Yā-waylanā (woe to us); the word wayl denotes an imprecation, a word of punishment, praying for the removal of good or prosperity, or the fall of destruction. According to many lexicologists, it is a word said to anyone who falls into perdition, trial, or misfortune upon whom one does not wish God’s mercy.^{‎[1]Lane, p. 2970.}

Marqad (place of sleep) is derived from ruqūd, which means sleeping. The grave is called marqad because it is supposed to be a place of eternal rest and sleep.

EXPOSITION

For long moments after waking from this long sleep, the feeling of bewilderment and wonder persists, They will say: ‘Are we being returned to our earlier state? What, when we have been decayed bones?!’ (79:10-11). While this new body was being fashioned, they were still asleep and unaware; thus, they could not understand from where it had appeared. The body may appear different in many ways, yet even its fingerprints are the same as before.

Human beings will emerge like scattered ants from the earth and remain waiting next to their graves. It will take some time for the stupor of their long sleep to dispel. They will be wiping away the dust and grime from their faces as they look around in amazement, unsure about what exactly has happened. They do not know how they have awakened in a new body after what seemed just a short nap. Their multitudes resemble moths that flutter in a vast and desolate desert, The day mankind will be like scattered moths (101:4). At this juncture, the faithless see themselves at great loss and say Woe to us!

They will say: ‘Woe to us!’ This is not a statement by everyone but by the faithless only, those who used to deny the resurrection and now suddenly see themselves resurrected. The first question they ask is Who raised us from our place of sleep? The word they are quoted to use here is marqad from ruqūd, which means sleep. Most probably, this does not refer to their lives in barzakh, as they were quite wakeful there. It must refer to that state of limbo between the two blowings of the trumpet in which all souls were put to unconsciousness.

Who raised us from our place of sleep? They are still blinded by their disbelief, not seeing the power of God and that it is only He who can give life and take life. They are still in their old ignorance of seeing power in the hands of agents other than God; that is why they are bewildered as to who has raised them from their slumber.

This is what the All-Beneficent had promised, and the apostles had spoken the truth! This is either a statement by them realising the truth or a statement by the believers bringing them out of their ignorance. If the former, it is a confession to what they used to deny in the world and an acknowledgement of God as al-raḥmān and the veracity of His messengers. If the latter, it implies that the believers now guide them to the truth. In both cases, they are enlightened about the situation they are now in.

INSIGHTS FROM HADITH

1. Imam al-Bāqir (a) said about this verse: ‘Verily, the people are in the graves, and when they get up they think they were asleep, so they say: Woe to us! Who raised us from our place of sleep? The angels say: This is what the All-Beneficent had promised, and the apostles had spoken the truth!’^{‎[2]Qummi, 2/103-105, 216.}
2. Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) said: ‘Abū Dharr – may God have mercy upon him – used to say in his sermon: “Between the death and the resurrection is nothing but a sleep that you slept and then woke up from it.”’^{‎[3]Mizan, 17/103-105.}
3. The Messenger of God said: ‘As you sleep, you will die, and as you wake up, you will be resurrected.’^{‎[4]Safi, p. 352.}
4. Imam Ali (a): ‘Those who deny the death, neither the death goes away from them leaving a break, nor are the survivors cautious of committing sins. They emulate each other, continuing their life without any responsibilities, proceeding towards the final end and the time of annihilation. After that, when everything is over, the ages have passed, and the time of resurrection is set, God would take them out from the openings of the graves, the nests of birds, the dens of beasts, and the places where people die. They would hasten towards His command and run towards the fixed place for the reckoning, group by group, quiet, and standing arrayed in rows.’^{‎[5]Nahj, sermon 83.}

REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE

Why do they mention place of sleep rather than the grave? Rāzī considers that when they wake up they doubt whether they were sleeping and were awakened or dead and resurrected. So, they hesitated between the resurrection and the awakening, which may be why they used words that suit both. To indicate sleep, they use place of sleep. On the other hand, to indicate resurrection, they use raised us. Hence, they considered their graves as their sleeping places.^{‎[6]Razi, 26/89.}

INSIGHTS FROM OTHER TRADITIONS

1. Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.^{‎[7]Daniel 12:2-3.}
2. Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out – those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned.^{‎[8]John 5:28-29.}

[1] Lane, p. 2970.
[2] Qummi, 2/103-105, 216.
[3] Mizan, 17/103-105.
[4] Safi, p. 352.
[5] Nahj, sermon 83.
[6] Razi, 26/89.
[7] Daniel 12:2-3.
[8] John 5:28-29.