36:52

قَالُواْ يَٰوَيۡلَنَا مَنۢ بَعَثَنَا مِن مَّرۡقَدِنَاۜۗ هَٰذَا مَا وَعَدَ ٱلرَّحۡمَٰنُ وَصَدَقَ ٱلۡمُرۡسَلُونَ

Qaloo ya waylana man baAAathana min marqadina hatha ma waAAada alrrahmanu wasadaqa almursaloona

They will say, "O woe to us! Who has raised us up from our sleeping place?" [The reply will be], "This is what the Most Merciful had promised, and the messengers told the truth."

Word by word
  1. قَالُواْThey [will] say
  2. يَٰوَيۡلَنَاO woe to us
  3. مَنۢWho
  4. بَعَثَنَاhas raised us
  5. مِنfrom
  6. مَّرۡقَدِنَاۜۗour sleeping place
  7. هَٰذَاThis (is)
  8. مَاWhat
  9. وَعَدَ(had) promised
  10. ٱلرَّحۡمَٰنُthe Most Gracious
  11. وَصَدَقَand told (the) truth
  12. ٱلۡمُرۡسَلُونَthe Messengers
Ya-Sin · 36:52Makkah

Who woke us up? The promise did.

Waking up to what was always promised


Two voices
"Woe to us!"who raised us from sleep?
is answered by
"This was promised"by the Most Merciful
the messengerstold the truth
What the waking reveals
a surprisenobody told us
a kept promisetold again and again

Ibn Kathir says the grave will feel like a short nap next to what comes after. Waking, the deniers ask who raised them. The reply, from the believers or the angels, is that this is what the Most Merciful promised.

The alarm goes off and for a second you do not know where you are. Then it all comes back: the meeting, the deadline, the thing you put off. You knew it was coming. The verse asks you to remember that feeling before the real waking.

If it were really true, someone would have warned me properly.

I have been told, clearly and kindly, and the Merciful keeps His word.

Try this

Think of one reminder you keep snoozing. Act on a small part of it today.

Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft
Tafsir Ibn Kathir (shared passage from 36:51)

And the Trumpet will be blown and behold from the graves they will come out quickly to their Lord (51)They will say: "Woe to us! Who has raised us up from our place of sleep." (It will be said to them): "This is what the Most Gracious had promised, and the Messengers spoke truth! (52)It will be but a single 'Şayḥah', so behold they will all be brought up before Us (53)This Day, none will be wronged in anything, nor will you be requited anything except that which you used to do (54)

The Trumpet Blast of the Resurrection

This will be the third blast of the trumpet, the trumpet blast of the resurrection when people will come forth from their graves. Allah says:

فَإِذَا هُمْ مِنَ الْأَجْدَاثِ إِلَىٰ رَبِّهِمْ يَنْسِلُونَ 

(and behold from the graves they will come out quickly to their Lord.) 'Yansilūn' means they will be walking quickly. This is like the Ayah:

يَوْمَ يَخْرُجُونَ مِنَ الْأَجْدَاثِ سِرَاعًا كَأَنَّهُمْ إِلَىٰ نُصُبٍ يُوفِضُونَ 

(The Day when they will come out of the graves quickly as racing to a goal.)(70:43).

قَالُوا يَا وَيْلَنَا مَنْ بَعَثَنَا مِنْ مَرْقَدِنَا ۜ ۗ 

(They will say: "Woe to us! Who has raised us up from our place of sleep.") meaning, their graves, which in this world they thought they would never be raised from. When they see with their own eyes that in which they had disbelieved,

قَالُوا يَا وَيْلَنَا مَنْ بَعَثَنَا مِنْ مَرْقَدِنَا ۜ ۗ 

(They will say: "Woe to us! Who has raised us up from our place of sleep.") This does not contradict the fact that they will be punished in their graves, because in comparison to what is to come afterwards, that will seem like a nap. Ubayy bin Ka'b, may Allah be pleased with him, Mujahid, Al-Hasan and Qatadah said, "They will sleep before the Resurrection." Qatadah said, "That will be between the two trumpet blasts, they will say, 'Who has raised us up from our place of sleep?'"

When they say that, the believers will respond. This was the view of more than one of the Salaf.

هَٰذَا مَا وَعَدَ الرَّحْمَٰنُ وَصَدَقَ الْمُرْسَلُونَ

((It will be said to them): "This is what the Most Gracious had promised, and the Messengers spoke truth!") Al-Hasan said, "The angels will reply to them in this manner. There is no contradiction because both are possible. And Allah knows best.

إِنْ كَانَتْ إِلَّا صَيْحَةً وَاحِدَةً فَإِذَا هُمْ جَمِيعٌ لَدَيْنَا مُحْضَرُونَ 

(It will be but a single 'Şayḥah', so behold they will all be brought up before Us!) This is like the Ayat:

فَإِنَّمَا هِيَ زَجْرَةٌ وَاحِدَةٌ - فَإِذَا هُمْ بِالسَّاهِرَةِ

(But it will be only a single Zajrah, when behold, they find themselves (on the surface of the earth) alive (after their death).)(79:13-14),

وَمَا أَمْرُ السَّاعَةِ إِلَّا كَلَمْحِ الْبَصَرِ أَوْ هُوَ أَقْرَبُ ۚ 

(And the matter of the Hour is not but as a twinkling of the eye, or even nearer)(16:77), and

يَوْمَ يَدْعُوكُمْ فَتَسْتَجِيبُونَ بِحَمْدِهِ وَتَظُنُّونَ إِنْ لَبِثْتُمْ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا

(On the Day when He will call you, and you will answer (His call) with (words of) His praise and obedience, and you will think that you have stayed (in this world) but a little while!)(17:52) which means, 'We will issue but one command, and all of them will be gathered together.'

فَالْيَوْمَ لَا تُظْلَمُ نَفْسٌ شَيْئًا

(This Day, none will be wronged in anything,) means, with regard to his deeds.

وَلَا تُجْزَوْنَ إِلَّا مَا كُنْتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ

(nor will you be requited anything except that which you used to do.)