كَلّا إِذا بَلَغَتِ التَّراقِيَ
No indeed! When it [the soul] reaches up to the collar bones.
EXEGESIS
Tarāqī (collar bones) is from the root raqiya, meaning gradual ascent. From the same root comes the verbal noun irtiqāʾ, meaning to climb up or ascend to heights. Tarāqī is the plural of tarquwah, which means the collar bones, or clavicle. It is called that because the breath raises up to it from within a person, or because the soul rises up to it when one is dying.
The word nafs (soul) is implied here, but is not explicitly mentioned, since it is obviously inferred from what is being said. It is similar to the verse, So when it reaches the throat [of the dying person] (56:83).
EXPOSITION
The surah now turns its attention to give a powerful example highlighting its main theme of man’s internal conscience being his own judge. It draws our attention to the moment of death, which is the time when most people will turn to introspection and self-review.
The refrain No indeed! echoes the one in verse 20, and like there it is addressed to those who refuse to ponder the Quranic message. Here it also serves to snap the attention of the reader away from the scene of the Day of Judgement, inviting them to act before they find themselves in that inevitable day.
The soul is described as reaching the collar bones, or the throat (56:83). Of course, the human soul is not physical that it should move from one point or place to another. The expression naturally alludes to the ‘final breath’ of a person, a figure of speech signifying the moment of death. Keep in mind that in Arabic rūḥ (spirit) and rīḥ (wind) have a shared etymology.
At the moment of death, nafs ammārah, the part of a person that calls him to chase his worldly desires and lusts, is silenced. In this silence, even the person who is completely engrossed in worldly life will suddenly hear their conscience again and will begin to blame themselves for time wasted and opportunities lost. Thus we read the example of Pharaoh in the Quran who, despite his exceeding evil and stubborn disbelief, at the moment of impending death, claimed: I believe that there is no god except Him in whom the Children of Israel believe, and I am one of those who submit [to Him]! (10:90). Of course by then it was too late, and God declares: What! Now? When you have been disobedient heretofore and were among the agents of corruption?! (10:91).
Because of this powerful effect that the recognition of one’s mortality and coming to close proximity with death can have, there are numerous reports that encourage the believers to remember death, to participate in washing the dead, and in funeral prayers and rites, and to visit the graveyards, such as the report from the Prophet: ‘Remember the destroyer of pleasures more often,’ by which he then clarified he meant death. We are hereby invited to remember death and take advantage of the quenching effect it has on the nafs ammārah, so that we can hear the voice of our conscience clearly and not delay repentance for when it is too late and it can no longer avail us.
Finally, we should also note the final word of the verse, tarāqī, which is the third shift in the surah’s rhyme scheme, which had continued up to now from verses 14-25. This change in rhyme scheme is rather short, lasting only until verse 30, and marks the shift where the surah discusses the matter of death. Once it is done discussing death, the surah changes to a novel rhyme once again. However, the truly interesting matter to note here is that the ending of this verse does not quite fully rhyme with the next four verses (which end in āq instead of āqī). The transition in rhyme scheme is therefore somewhat imperfect. This creates a slightly disjointed effect that causes the shift to become much more noticeable. This is of course purposeful, and eloquently hints at how the moment of death marks a tumultuous point of transition in man’s life, tearing him away from one existence and launching him into another, brief transitional life.
[1] Tahqiq, 4/215, r-q-y.
[2] Zubaydi, 19/471.
[3] Tabrisi, 10/604.
[4] Tibyan, 10/200.
[5] Tibyan, 10/200; Raghib, p. 363, r-q-y.
[6] Tibyan, 10/200.
[7] Uyun, 2/75, h. 325; Wasail, 2/436, h. 2572; Ahmad, 2/293; Ibn Majah, 2/1422, h. 4258; Tirmidhi, 3/379, h. 2409; Sulaymān ibn Aḥmad al-Ṭabarānī, al-Muʿjam al-Awsaṭ (N.p.: Dār al-Ḥaramayn, 1995), 1/214. See also Nahj, sermon 99.