The Five Oaths on the Angels (79:1-5)
“By those who extract violently, and those who remove with ease, and those who glide [as if] swimming, and those who race ahead in a race, and those who conduct the affairs [of Allah]…”
Classical commentators interpreted these five as:
- Angels extracting the souls of disbelievers with force
- Angels drawing out the souls of believers with gentleness
- Angels gliding between heaven and earth
- Angels racing to fulfill divine commands
- Angels managing the affairs of the cosmos
The five oaths set up the argument for the certainty of the Day of Resurrection — these vast angelic operations are real, purposeful, and directed toward a specific end: the Day when everything is brought to account.
Musa and Pharaoh: The Eternal Paradigm (79:15-26)
“Has the story of Musa reached you? — When his Lord called him in the sacred valley of Tuwa: ‘Go to Pharaoh — indeed, he has transgressed. And say to him: Have you [desire] to purify yourself? And I will guide you to your Lord so that you may fear [Him].’” (79:15-19)
The Quran’s account of Musa and Pharaoh in this surah emphasizes the da’wa (the call to purification) before the confrontation. Musa’s first words to Pharaoh were not accusation but an offer: purification, guidance, fear of Allah. Pharaoh’s response: he denied and disobeyed. “Then Pharaoh turned away and exerted himself [in opposition].” (79:22)
The consequence: “So Allah seized him with the exemplary punishment of the last life and the first.” (79:25) — punishment in both this world (the drowning) and the next.
The Day of Terror (79:34-41)
“But when the Greatest Catastrophe comes — the Day when the human being will remember what he strove for — and Hellfire will be exposed for whoever sees, then as for he who transgressed and preferred the life of the world, indeed, Hellfire will be his refuge. But as for he who feared the position of his Lord and prevented the soul from [his] inclination, indeed, Paradise will be his refuge.”
The surah’s final movement: the division of humanity at the Hour. The criterion is not wealth, lineage, or intelligence — but whether the person feared the maqam (standing position, station) of their Lord and constrained the nafs (ego-self) from its desires.
See also: Al Qaf Surah, Tafsir Overview, Noor Al Quran, Sufi Stations Maqamat, Tazkiyah, Quran Sciences