An-Naazi'aat — Those who drag forth
سُورَةُ النَّازِعَاتِ
Verses
46
Revealed
81st
Period
Makkan
Juz
30
An-Naazi'aat takes its name from its dramatic opening oath: wan-nazi'at gharqa — “by those who drag forth violently.” Most commentators understand the five oaths that open the surah as describing the angels who take souls at death and who carry out Allah's commands across the cosmos. It is a surah about death, resurrection, and the certainty of standing before the Lord — delivered with some of the most rapid, percussive rhythm in the Qur'an.
The surah answers the Makkans who scoffed, “Will we really be returned to our former state once we are decayed bones?” Its reply is that the entire return will happen with a single shout. To settle the matter, it tells the story of Moses and Pharaoh — the man who declared “I am your most exalted lord” and was seized by Allah as a warning to anyone who fears. It then turns to the sky and the earth as proofs of a Creator who can easily recreate, and closes by dividing humanity by a single criterion: did you fear the standing before your Lord and restrain the soul from its desires — or did you transgress and prefer this fleeting world?
The angels and deathDoubting resurrectionMoses and PharaohThe sky and earth as signsTwo souls, two destinations
Before you begin
Start with sincerity — ask Allah to make this easy for you and to let what you learn benefit you. A short dua to begin with:
رَبِّ زِدْنِي عِلْمًا
Rabbi zidni ‘ilma — “My Lord, increase me in knowledge.” (Qur'an 20:114)
0/5 sections learned
Core message
The surah swears by five forces — understood as the angels — who drag souls out violently, draw them out gently, glide swiftly, race ahead, and then arrange the affair by Allah's command. The thing being sworn to is the certainty of resurrection. Then the Day arrives: the first blast convulses everything, a second follows, and hearts that day will pound while eyes are cast down — even as those same people now scoff, “Will we be returned once we are decayed bones?”
1–5
وَٱلنَّٰزِعَٰتِ غَرْقًۭا•وَٱلنَّٰشِطَٰتِ نَشْطًۭا•وَٱلسَّٰبِحَٰتِ سَبْحًۭا•فَٱلسَّٰبِقَٰتِ سَبْقًۭا•فَٱلْمُدَبِّرَٰتِ أَمْرًۭا
By those [angels] who extract with violence And [by] those who remove with ease And [by] those who glide [as if] swimming And those who race each other in a race And those who arrange [each] matter,
6–7
يَوْمَ تَرْجُفُ ٱلرَّاجِفَةُ•تَتْبَعُهَا ٱلرَّادِفَةُ
On the Day the blast [of the Horn] will convulse [creation], There will follow it the subsequent [one].
8–9
قُلُوبٌۭ يَوْمَئِذٍۢ وَاجِفَةٌ•أَبْصَٰرُهَا خَٰشِعَةٌۭ
Hearts, that Day, will tremble, Their eyes humbled.
10–12
يَقُولُونَ أَءِنَّا لَمَرْدُودُونَ فِى ٱلْحَافِرَةِ•أَءِذَا كُنَّا عِظَٰمًۭا نَّخِرَةًۭ•قَالُوا۟ تِلْكَ إِذًۭا كَرَّةٌ خَاسِرَةٌۭ
They are [presently] saying, "Will we indeed be returned to [our] former state [of life]? Even if we should be decayed bones? They say, "That, then, would be a losing return."
13–14
فَإِنَّمَا هِىَ زَجْرَةٌۭ وَٰحِدَةٌۭ•فَإِذَا هُم بِٱلسَّاهِرَةِ
Indeed, it will be but one shout, And suddenly they will be [alert] upon the earth's surface.
Memory hook — five oaths in escalating rhythm
The opening five verses form a tight staircase, each ending on the same doubled sound: nazi'ati gharqa, nashitati nashta, sabihati sabha, sabiqati sabqa, mudabbirati amra — each pairs a verb-form with its echo. Then two “quaking” verses (ar-rajifa / ar-radifa, vv.6–7) and two “heart” verses (wajifa / khashi'a, vv.8–9) come in matched pairs. The whole section moves in twos — learn it as a series of couplets.
The deniers' objection — vv.10–12
The Makkans' actual words are quoted: will we be brought back fil-hafira — to our former state — after becoming 'izaman nakhira (crumbling bones)? They call such a return karratun khasira — “a losing return.” The surah lets their doubt speak in its own voice before crushing it.
Note — “one shout” and they are awake
Verses 13–14 answer the entire objection in two lines: it is but a single shout (zajratun wahida), and at once they are awake upon the surface of the earth (as-sahira). What the deniers imagined as impossible takes one command. The word as-sahira evokes a wide, open plain — the gathering-place of the resurrected.
Section 1 — The oaths and the blast (vv. 1–14)
وَٱلنَّٰزِعَٰتِ
wan-nazi'at
By those who drag forth
v.1 — the surah's title; pulling souls out forcefully
غَرْقًا
gharqa
Violently / deeply
v.1 — the intensity of the extraction
ٱلْمُدَبِّرَٰتِ
al-mudabbirat
Those who arrange the affair
v.5 — angels carrying out the command
ٱلرَّاجِفَةُ
ar-rajifa
The convulsing blast
v.6 — the first quaking of creation
ٱلرَّادِفَةُ
ar-radifa
The one that follows
v.7 — the second blast after the first
وَاجِفَةٌ
wajifa
Pounding / trembling
v.8 — hearts that Day
ٱلْحَافِرَةِ
al-hafira
The former state of life
v.10 — what they doubt being returned to
زَجْرَةٌ وَٰحِدَةٌ
zajratun wahida
A single shout
v.13 — all it takes to raise them
Section 2 — Moses and Pharaoh (vv. 15–26)
طُوًى
tuwa
Tuwa
v.16 — the sacred valley where Moses was called
طَغَىٰ
tagha
He transgressed
v.17 — Pharaoh exceeding all bounds
تَزَكَّىٰ
tazakka
Purify yourself
v.18 — the gentle invitation to Pharaoh
ٱلْءَايَةَ ٱلْكُبْرَىٰ
al-aya al-kubra
The greatest sign
v.20 — the miracle shown to Pharaoh
أَدْبَرَ
adbara
He turned his back
v.22 — Pharaoh turning away to scheme
رَبُّكُمُ ٱلْأَعْلَىٰ
rabbukum al-a'la
Your most exalted lord
v.24 — Pharaoh's blasphemous boast
نَكَالَ
nakala
An exemplary punishment
v.25 — how Allah seized him
عِبْرَةً
'ibra
A lesson / warning
v.26 — for whoever has awe of Allah
Section 3 — The sky and earth as signs (vv. 27–33)
سَمْكَهَا
samkaha
Its ceiling / height
v.28 — the canopy of the heaven, raised
فَسَوَّىٰهَا
fa-sawwaha
And proportioned it
v.28 — perfectly balanced and ordered
أَغْطَشَ
aghtasha
He darkened
v.29 — the night brought over the sky
ضُحَىٰهَا
duhaha
Its morning brightness
v.29 — the daylight drawn out
دَحَىٰهَا
dahaha
He spread it out
v.30 — the earth laid out for living
مَرْعَىٰهَا
mar'aha
Its pasture
v.31 — the grazing land brought forth
أَرْسَىٰهَا
arsaha
He set them firm
v.32 — the mountains anchored
مَتَٰعًا
mata'a
Provision / enjoyment
v.33 — all of it for you and your livestock
Section 4 — The calamity and two destinations (vv. 34–41)
ٱلطَّآمَّةُ ٱلْكُبْرَىٰ
at-tammat al-kubra
The greatest Overwhelming Calamity
v.34 — a name for the Day of Resurrection
يَتَذَكَّرُ
yatadhakkar
He will remember
v.35 — man recalling all he strove for
بُرِّزَتِ
burrizat
Was laid bare / exposed
v.36 — Hellfire made fully visible
طَغَىٰ
tagha
He transgressed
v.37 — the first of the two souls
ءَاثَرَ
athara
He preferred
v.38 — choosing the worldly life over the next
مَقَامَ رَبِّهِ
maqama rabbih
The standing before his Lord
v.40 — what the saved soul feared
ٱلْهَوَىٰ
al-hawa
Desire / lower inclination
v.40 — what he restrained the soul from
ٱلْمَأْوَىٰ
al-ma'wa
The refuge / final abode
v.39 & v.41 — Hell for one, Paradise for the other
Section 5 — The Hour and the warner (vv. 42–46)
ٱلسَّاعَةِ
as-sa'a
The Hour
v.42 — the moment of resurrection they ask about
مُرْسَىٰهَا
mursaha
Its arrival / anchoring
v.42 — when it will finally come
مُنتَهَىٰهَآ
muntahaha
Its finality / end-point
v.44 — known to the Lord alone
مُنذِرُ
mundhir
A warner
v.45 — the Prophet's only role concerning it
يَخْشَىٰهَا
yakhshaha
Has awe of it
v.45 — those the warning reaches
عَشِيَّةً
'ashiyya
An evening / late afternoon
v.46 — how short worldly life will feel
Note on rhythm and length
At 46 verses, An-Naazi'aat is among the longer surahs in Juz Amma, but its verses are short and its rhyme insistent — most of the surah rides a clipped -a ending that gives it real momentum. The Moses passage and the heaven/earth passage are the two longest runs; the rest moves in fast couplets. It is commonly split across two rak'ahs in qiyam.
Full surah — single rak'ah
Verses 1–46 · the complete arc in one breath
Reciting the whole surah in one rak'ah carries its argument intact: the oaths → the doubted resurrection → Moses and Pharaoh → the signs in sky and earth → the two destinations → the question of the Hour. Roughly 2.5–3 minutes at a measured pace.
The closing image — life shrunk to 'ashiyyatan aw duhaha, an evening or a morning — is a quiet, reflective ending well-suited to the night prayer.
Two-part split — common division
Split at v.26 or v.33
Option 1 — split at v.26 (recommended): Rak'ah 1 covers vv.1–26 — the oaths, the doubt of the deniers, and the full Moses and Pharaoh story, ending on inna fi dhalika la-'ibratan li-man yakhsha. Rak'ah 2 covers vv.27–46 — the signs in creation, the two destinations, and the Hour.
Option 2 — split at v.33: Rak'ah 1 covers vv.1–33 — through the heaven-and-earth passage, ending on mata'an lakum wa-li-an'amikum. Rak'ah 2 covers vv.34–46 — the Overwhelming Calamity, the two souls, and the closing.
Three-part split — extended qiyam
Breaks at v.14 and v.33
Rak'ah 1 — vv.1–14: The oaths, the two blasts, and the deniers' objection answered by a single shout. A complete opening movement.
Rak'ah 2 — vv.15–33: The story of Moses and Pharaoh followed by the signs in the heaven and earth — narrative then proof.
Rak'ah 3 — vv.34–46: The Calamity, the mirrored fate of the two souls, and the question of the Hour. Ends on the haunting final image.
Natural stopping points used by reciters
v.14
fa-idha hum bis-sahira — end of the opening movement. The deniers' doubt has just been answered by “one shout,” making a clean close before the Moses story.
v.26
inna fi dhalika la-'ibratan li-man yakhsha — end of the Moses and Pharaoh story. “A lesson for whoever has awe” is a complete, self-summarising line.
v.33
mata'an lakum wa-li-an'amikum — end of the heaven-and-earth passage. The provision for mankind and livestock closes the signs section.
v.36
wa burrizat al-jahimu li-man yara — Hellfire laid bare. A vivid pause before the surah divides humanity into two.
v.41
fa-inna al-jannata hiya al-ma'wa — end of the two-destinations mirror. Closing on Paradise as the refuge makes a balanced, hopeful stop.
v.46
lam yalbathu illa 'ashiyyatan aw duhaha — the final verse. Life reduced to an evening or a morning needs no further words. Reflective before ruku'.