When He mentioned their denial of resurrection and argued against them by describing His power and knowledge, He informed them that what they denied and rejected, they would soon experience at their death and at the time of the Hour. He indicated the nearness of that by expressing it in the past tense, as in His saying: 'And the agony of death came in truth.' And the blowing in the trumpet, and the agony of death: it is the intense state that takes away reason. The 'by' in 'in truth' indicates causation, meaning: and the agony of death brought forth the reality of the matter which Allah has made known in His Books and sent His Messengers with. Or the reality of the matter and the clarity of the situation: concerning the happiness or misery of the deceased. It was said: the truth for which man was created is that every soul will taste death. It may also be that the 'by' is similar to that in His saying: 'It grows by the oil,' meaning it came mixed with the truth, that is: with the reality of the matter. Or with wisdom and the correct purpose, as in His saying: 'He created the heavens and the earth in truth.' Abu Bakr and Ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with them, read: 'the agony of truth in death,' attributing the agony to the truth and indicating that it is the agony that has been decreed upon man and is obligatory for him, and that it is wisdom. The 'by' indicates causation, as it is the reason for the soul's departure due to its intensity, or because death follows it, as if it came with it. It may mean: it came along with death. It was said that the agony of truth is the agony of Allah, attributed to Him to emphasize its significance and to magnify it. It was read: 'the agonies of death.' That refers to death, and the address is to man in His saying: 'And We have certainly created man,' in a manner of turning. Or it is to the truth, and the address is to the disbeliever: 'It turns away and flees.' Some of them asked Zayd ibn Aslam about this, and he said: the address is to the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him. He reported this to Salih ibn Kaysan, who said: By Allah, it is neither lofty nor eloquent nor knowledgeable of the speech of the Arabs; it is for the disbeliever. He then reported it to Al-Husayn ibn Abdullah ibn Abbas, who said: I disagree with both of them: it is for the righteous and the wicked. 'That is the Day of Warning,' implying the omission of the addition, meaning: at that time is the Day of Warning. The reference is to the source of the blowing: 'a driver and a witness,' two angels: one drives him to the gathering, and the other witnesses his deeds. Or one angel combining both matters, as if it were said: with it is an angel who drives it and witnesses it. The position of 'with it' is in the accusative as a state of every one to be recognized by its addition to what is in the status of knowledge. It was read: 'Indeed, you were.' 'Your cover was upon you,' with a kasra on 'your sight,' addressing the soul, meaning: it is said to her: 'Indeed, you were.' He made heedlessness as if it were a cover that covered his entire body or a veil that covered his eyes so that he sees nothing. When the Day of Resurrection comes, he will awaken, and the heedlessness will be removed from him, and its cover will be lifted, and he will see what he did not see of the truth. And his blind sight will return to sight due to his awakening.