Allah, the Exalted, says:

"So I do not swear by the Lord of the East and the West. Indeed, We are capable of replacing them with better than them, and We are not to be outstripped."

"So leave them to plunge and play until they meet their Day which they are promised."

"The Day they emerge from the graves quickly as if they were rushing to an erected idol."

"Their eyes humbled, humiliation will cover them. That is the Day which they were promised."

The majority read: "So I do not swear," and this is based on the idea that "no" is extra, or that it is a response to the actions and words of the disbelievers. Then the oath follows. Ibn Kathir read: "So I will swear" without the extra alif.

"The Easts and the Wests" are the places where the sun and the moon rise and set, and the locations of other stars, as they differ in preference. Therefore, it is mentioned in the plural. Abdullah ibn Muslim and Ibn Muhaysin read: "By the Lord of the East and the West" in the singular. Whenever "the East and the West" is mentioned in the singular, it refers to the specific location of the rising and setting in general, even if it can be detailed. Whenever "the two Easts and the two Wests" are mentioned, it refers to the two ends of the location of the rising and the two ends of the location of the setting. Allah, the Exalted, swore in this verse by His creations to affirm His ability to replace them with better than that world, and that nothing precedes His will.

And His saying: "So leave them to plunge" is a threat, and whatever meaning of reconciliation it contains has been abrogated by the verse of the sword. It has been narrated from Ibn Kathir that he read: "they throw" without the alif, which is the reading of Abu Ja'far and Ibn Muhaysin.

And "the Day they emerge" is a substitute for His saying: "their Day." The majority read: "they emerge" with a opened ya and a closed ra. Abu Bakr narrated from Asim: closed the ya and opened the ra.

And "the graves" are the tombs. And "the erected idol" refers to what is erected for a person, and he rushes towards it, whether it is knowledge, a building, or an idol for the people of idols. This name has become common for idols until they are called "the erected ones." It is also said that the net of the hunter is called "erected ones." Abu Aliah said: "to an erected idol they rush" means: to goals they compete for. The majority of the seven reciters and Abu Bakr from Asim read: "erected" with an opened noon, which is the reading of Abu Ja'far, Mujahid, Shaiba, Ibn Wathab, and Al-A'raj. Al-Hasan and Qatadah read - with a difference from them - "erected ones" with a closed noon. Ibn Amer and Hafs from Asim read: "erected ones" with a closed noon and a closed sad, which is the reading of Al-Hasan from Abu Aliah, Zaid ibn Thabit, and Abu Rija'. Mujahid and Abu Imran Al-Jawni read "erected" with an opened noon and sad. And "they rush" means: they hurry, and from it is the saying of the poet:

"I will describe a rushing ostrich, A creature that has remained seeking a refuge."

'And 'khashi'ah' is in the accusative as a state, and its meaning is: humbled and broken. And 'tarhaquhum' means: it appears upon them and presses in upon them, and their souls become constricted. And from this word 'al-murhaq,' it is from the burden of people's needs, and 'al-murhaq' is with regard to religion. 'And there is created in it rahaq,' meaning: hastening to people. And 'the sword of so-and-so has rahaq,' and from it is 'murahiqah of dreams,' and 'irhaq of prayer' means: crowding its time. The interpretation of [Surah Al-Ma'arij] has been completed, and all praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.