Al-Qiyaama (The Resurrection)

26. Nay, he will not believe till his soul reaches the collar bone,

27. And it will be said: “Who can cure him?”

28. And he becomes certain of parting from the world;

29. And one leg will twist around the other [in the throes of death].

30. The path shall be, on that Day, toward your Lord [’s Tribunal].

The blessed Verses treat of the throes of death opening a window to the other world, saying that he shall never believe till his soul reaches his throat. It will be on that Day that his purgatory eyes will open, the veils will be cast asunder, and he shall see the tokens of torment and chastisement. He will be aware of his deeds and will intend to believe, though it will be of no avail to him.

The Arabic word taraqi is the plural form of tarquwa (“collar bone”). The expression “the soul reaches the collar bone or throat” connote the throes of death, the last breath, and the last moments of life, since when the soul leaves the body, the organs further remote from the heart, e.g. hands and feet, fail to function earlier than other organs, as if the soul gradually leaves the body till it reaches the throat.

The blessed Verse 27 says that then the people around the person in the throes of death will hastily look for some way out, saying:

“Who can cure him?”

They utter the words desperately, though they know that it is all over and physicians may not cure him. The Arabic word raq, derived from r-q-y, denotes climbing and ascending and the cognate word ruqya implies the prayers and invocations leading to cure. The cognate raqi is used in the sense of physician, since he delivers man from diseases.

Therefore, the blessed Verse says that those surrounding the patient and at times the patient himself cry out of severe angst and inquire whether there is one to say a prayer and cure the patient.

It is also suggested that the blessed Verse inquires:

“Which of the angels take his soul to the heaven, those in charge of torment or those of mercy?”

However, the former exegesis sounds to be further befitting and accurate.

The blessed Verse 28 makes a reference to the total despair of the person in the throes of death, saying:

“He totally loses his hope and becomes certain of parting from the world.”

The blessed Verse 29 says:

“And one leg will twist around the other [in the throes of death].”

Such twisting is owing to the intensity of the angst cause by the soul leaving the body or it may reflect that the limbs are rendered dysfunctional as the soul is leaving them.

Further exegeses have been suggested for the blessed Verse, an instance of which includes a tradition narrated from the Noble Imam Baqir (as):

“The world twists around the Hereafter.”

The tradition is to be found in ‘Ali ibn Ibrahim’s exegetic work.¹

The blessed Verse 30 says:

“The path shall be, on that Day, toward your Lord [’s Tribunal].”

Everyone shall return unto Him to attend His Tribunal of Justice. All paths will lead unto Him. The blessed Verse lays further emphasis on Resurrection and raising all His servants from the dead. It may also reflect the orientation of the spiritual growth of the servants toward the Pure and Boundless Divine Essence.

Some traditions have been narrated in this respect, three instances of which include:

It is narrated from the Noble Imam Zayn al-‘Àbidin (as) that in reply to a question concerning death he said:

“Death to the believer is like taking off a filthy garment infected with insects, unfettering heavy shackles and turning them into the best attires, the most sweet smelling perfume, the most convenient of the mounts, and the most comfortable homes; the similitude of death to the disbeliever includes taking off a majestic attire, and departing from comfortable homes and turning them into the filthiest and the coarsest of garments, the most horrible homes, and the most excruciating torments.”2

It is narrated from the Noble Imam Sadiq (as) that he was inquired regarding a depiction of death.

The Imam (as) replied:

“It is like a sweet scent to the believer by which he falls into a state of sleep in which he is totally untouched by pain and torment, but to the disbeliever, it is like the bites of serpents and scorpions or even more painful than them.”3

It is worthy of note that death is like a door to the world of survival. In this respect, it is narrated from the Noble Imam ‘Ali (as) as saying:

“Every house has a door and that of the Hereafter is death.”4

It is narrated from the Noble Imam Sadiq (as) as saying:

“Remembrance of death effaces the concupiscent desires and eradicates negligence from the heart. It inspires hopes and softens human disposition, withers the tokens of following the desires of the flesh, quenches the fire of avarice, and belittles the world in the eyes.”

This is what the Noble Prophet (S) intended by saying that one hour spent on reflection is worth one year spent on worshipping.² The Prophetic tradition applies to one of the clear instances of reflection rather than the exclusive reference to the topic.