إِلَىٰ رَبِّكَ يَوْمَئِذٍ ٱلْمَسَاقُ 30
Translations
To your Lord, that Day, will be the procession.
Transliteration
Ilá Rabbika yawma'idhin al-masāq
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah means 'On that Day, the driving [to your Lord] will be the [only] matter of concern' or 'the return to your Lord will be the [sole] destination.' According to Ibn Kathir and Al-Qurtubi, this refers to the Day of Resurrection when all creation will be driven and hastened toward Allah for judgment, with no other concern or distraction mattering. The term 'al-masāq' (the driving/herding) emphasizes the inevitability and urgency of this divine summons, as people will be gathered like livestock toward their ultimate accountability before their Lord.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in Surah Al-Qiyamah, a Meccan chapter that focuses extensively on the themes of resurrection, the afterlife, and the certainty of the Day of Judgment. It forms part of a passage describing the events of the final day, reinforcing the Quranic emphasis on preparing believers for the hereafter during the early Meccan period when belief in resurrection was contested by the polytheists of Mecca.
Related Hadiths
Sahih Muslim records that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: 'On the Day of Resurrection, people will be gathered naked, barefoot, and uncircumcised,' emphasizing the universality and inescapability of the gathering. Additionally, Sahih Bukhari contains hadith about the blowing of the Trumpet, which directly precedes this gathering mentioned in the ayah.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah serves as a powerful reminder that regardless of worldly distractions and pursuits, every soul will eventually face Allah and account for their deeds. Believers should cultivate awareness (taqwa) that the true destination and purpose of existence is the meeting with one's Lord, which should motivate righteous conduct in this life.
Related Ayahs
قُل لِّعِبَادِىَ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ يُقِيمُوا۟ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَيُنفِقُوا۟ مِمَّا رَزَقْنَـٰهُمْ سِرًّا وَعَلَانِيَةً مِّن قَبْلِ أَن يَأْتِىَ يَوْمٌ لَّا بَيْعٌ فِيهِ وَلَا خِلَـٰلٌ
[O Muḥammad], tell My servants who have believed to establish prayer and spend from what We have provided them, secretly and publicly, before a Day comes in which there will be no exchange [i.e., ransom], nor any friendships.
وَيَوْمَ يَحْشُرُهُمْ كَأَن لَّمْ يَلْبَثُوٓا۟ إِلَّا سَاعَةً مِّنَ ٱلنَّهَارِ يَتَعَارَفُونَ بَيْنَهُمْ ۚ قَدْ خَسِرَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَذَّبُوا۟ بِلِقَآءِ ٱللَّهِ وَمَا كَانُوا۟ مُهْتَدِينَ
And on the Day when He will gather them, [it will be] as if they had not remained [in the world] but an hour of the day, [and] they will know each other. Those will have lost who denied the meeting with Allāh and were not guided.
وَأُمِّهِۦ وَأَبِيهِ
And his mother and his father
وَأَنذِرِ ٱلنَّاسَ يَوْمَ يَأْتِيهِمُ ٱلْعَذَابُ فَيَقُولُ ٱلَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا۟ رَبَّنَآ أَخِّرْنَآ إِلَىٰٓ أَجَلٍ قَرِيبٍ نُّجِبْ دَعْوَتَكَ وَنَتَّبِعِ ٱلرُّسُلَ ۗ أَوَلَمْ تَكُونُوٓا۟ أَقْسَمْتُم مِّن قَبْلُ مَا لَكُم مِّن زَوَالٍ
And, [O Muḥammad], warn the people of a Day when the punishment will come to them and those who did wrong will say, "Our Lord, delay us for a short term; we will answer Your call and follow the messengers." [But it will be said], "Had you not sworn, before, that for you there would be no cessation?