Lit., "what the earth diminishes of them" - implying that God's promise of resurrection takes the fact of the dead bodies' decomposition fully into account. Consequently, resurrection will be like "a new creation" (cf. 10:4,21:104, 30:11, 85:13, etc.), recalling the recurrent process of creation and re-creation visible in all organic nature (cf. 10:34. 27:64. 30:27).

Lit., "and it has no gaps [or "breaks"] whatever".

The term "brethren" (ikhwan) is used here metonymically, denoting a group of people who share the same views or, alternatively, the same environment. Since the people referred to formed Lot's social environment (cf. 7:83 or {11:77-83}), they are described as his "brethren" although his moral concepts and inclinations were entirely different from theirs.

I.e., by the creation of the universe or, more specifically, of man.

The first part of the above sentence - i.e., the phrase yatalaqqa al-mutalaqqiyan - may be understood in either of two senses: "the two that are meant to receive do receive", or "the two that aim at meeting each other do meet". The classical commentators adopt, as a rule, the first sense and, consequently, interpret the passage thus: "...the two angels that are charged with recording man's doings do record them, sitting on his right and on his left". In my opinion, however, the second of the two possible meanings ("the two that aim at meeting each other") corresponds better with the preceding verse, which speaks of what man's innermost self (nafs) "whispers within him", i.e., voices his subconscious desires. Thus, "the two that aim at meeting" are, I believe, the two demands of, or, more properly, the two fundamental motive forces within man's nature: his primal, instinctive urges and desires, both sensual and non-sensual (all of them comprised in the modern psychological term "libido"), on the one side, and his reason, both intuitive and reflective, on the other. The "sitting (qa'id) on the right and on the left" is, to my mind, a metaphor for the conflicting nature of these dual forces which strive for predominance within every human being: hence, my rendering of qa'id as "contending". This interpretation is, moreover, strongly supported by the reference, in verse {21}, to man's appearing on Judgment Day with "that which drives and that which bears witness" - a phrase which undoubtedly alludes to man's instinctive urges as well as his conscious reason (see note [14] below).

I.e., full insight into one's own self.

Lit., "his intimate companion" (qarinuhu). The term qarin denotes something that is "connected", "linked" or "intimately associated" with another thing (cf.41:25 and 43:36, where qarin is rendered as "[one's] other self"). In the present instance - read together with verse {21} - the term apparently denotes "one part" of man, namely, his awakened moral consciousness.

In this instance, as well as in verse {26}, the imperative "cast" has the dual form (alqiya). As many classical philologists (and almost all of the commentators) point out, this is linguistically permissable for the sake of special stress, and is equivalent to an emphatic repetition of the imperative in question. Alternatively, the dual form may be taken as indicative of an actual duality thus addressed: namely, the two manifestations within man's psyche alluded to in verse {17} and described in verse {21} as sa'iq and shahid (see note [14] above), both of which, in their interaction, are responsible for his spiritual downfall and, hence, for his suffering in the life to come.

Lit., as in verse {23}, "his intimate companion" (qarin): but whereas there it may be taken as denoting man's moral consciousness or reason (cf. note [15] above), in the present instance the "speaker" is obviously its counterpart, namely, the complex of the sinner's instinctive urges and inordinate, unrestrained appetitites summarized in the term sa'iq ("that which drives") and often symbolized as shaytan ("satan" or "satanic force": see Razi's remarks quoted in note [31] on 14:22.) In this sense, the term qarin has the same connotation as in 41:25 and 43:36.

I.e., man's evil impulses and appetites cannot gain ascendancy unless his conscious mind goes astray from moral verities: and this explains the purport, in the present context, of verses {24-25} above.

See last sentence of 24:31 and the corresponding note [41].

This connects with verses {12-14} above. It should be borne in mind that in ancient Arabic usage the term - qarn - here rendered as "generation" - often denotes "a period of time succeeding another": hence, a "century", or "people of one and the same period" and, finally, a "civilization" in the historical sense of this word. That this last significance is intended here becomes evident from the sequence.

Thus Zamakhshari; literally, the phrase reads, "who has a heart".

The whole of this passage (verses {36-38}) stresses God's omnipotence, which can be perceived by "anyone whose heart is wide-awake". The above reference to God's having created the universe "in six aeons" is the oldest in the chronology of Qur'anic revelation. In this connection it is to be noted that in ancient Arabic usage the term yawm does not always denote the twenty-four hours of the earthly "day", but is also applied to any period of time, however long or short. In the cosmic sense in which it is used here and elsewhere in the Qur'an, the plural ayyam is best rendered as "aeons". The mention of the impossibility of God's ever being "wearied" by the process of creation connects the present passage with verse {15} of this surah and, thus, alludes to God's power to resurrect the dead.

I.e., "remember His almightiness at all times of day".