The Five Oaths and Their Subject (100:1-5)
“By the [horses] that run panting [wa-l-‘adiyati dabhan], and the producers of sparks [striking] [fa-l-muriyati qadhan], and the chargers at dawn [fa-l-mughirati subhan], stirring up thereby [clouds of] dust, arriving thereby in the center collectively [fa-l-jasiyati bi-hi jam’an].”
The five oaths describe one movement: the war horse’s charge. Each verb adds a sensory detail — the panting breath, the sparks from hooves on stone, the pre-dawn timing of the raid, the dust raised, the penetration to the center of the enemy formation. The horse’s total commitment is the oath’s subject.
The classical scholars debated: is the oath about actual war horses, or is the metaphor about the spiritual journey? Ibn ‘Abbas (Meccan battle interpretation) and Ali ibn Abi Talib (spiritual warfare interpretation — the camels of Hajj) — both represent valid dimensions of the text.
Human Ingratitude — Al-Kanud (100:6-8)
“Indeed, mankind, to his Lord, is ungrateful [kanud]. And indeed, he is to that [a sure] witness. And indeed, he is, in love of wealth, intense.”
Kanud is a more specific word than kafir (disbeliever) or kafur (extremely ungrateful) — it means one who forgets benefits, who receives good and does not acknowledge it. The surah’s internal witness: “and he is to that a sure witness” — the human is not merely described as ungrateful but is declared to know his own ingratitude. There is no genuine ignorance; there is willful not-acknowledging.
Shadid (intense) in “intense in his love of wealth” — not merely loving wealth but having the capacity for intense devotion applied to it. The same shidda (intensity) that, if applied to gratitude and worship, would produce the highest ranks, is instead captured by wealth.
The Exposure (100:9-11)
“But does he not know that when the contents of graves are scattered [scattered into the open], and that within the breasts is obtained — indeed their Lord with them, that Day, is [fully] Acquainted.”
Two exposures:
- Graves opened — the physical body’s resting place is revealed
- Hearts exposed — what was concealed in the chest (ma fi al-sudur) is extracted into the open
The second exposure is the more terrifying: secrets of intention, hidden motives, the private relationship with wealth and with the Lord — all visible on the Day to the Khabir (the Fully Acquainted).
See also: Quran Sciences, Tafsir Overview, Signs Of Qiyamah, Barzakh, Adhkar, Tazkiyah