Surah An-Naba Ayah 38 (78:38) — Meaning & Tafsir | Quran.GG

Surah An-Naba, Ayah 38

78:38 · Meaning and tafsir

يَوْمَ يَقُومُ ٱلرُّوحُ وَٱلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةُ صَفًّا ۖ لَّا يَتَكَلَّمُونَ إِلَّا مَنْ أَذِنَ لَهُ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنُ وَقَالَ صَوَابًا ٣٨

The Day that the Spirit [i.e., Gabriel] and the angels will stand in rows, they will not speak except for one whom the Most Merciful permits, and he will say what is correct.

Surah An-Naba 78:38 in Arabic with its translation: “The Day that the Spirit [i.e., Gabriel] and the angels will stand in rows, they will not speak except for one…”

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Tafsir Ibn Kathir (abridged)

No one will dare to speak before Allah -- not even the Angels - without first receiving Permission

Allah informs of His magnificence and His majesty, and that He is the Lord of the heavens and the earth, and whatever is in them and between them. He explains that He is the Most Gracious, Whose mercy covers all things. Then He says,

لاَ يَمْلِكُونَ مِنْهُ خِطَاباً

(With Whom they cannot dare to speak.) meaning, no one is able to begin addressing Him except by His permission. This is as Allah says,

مَن ذَا الَّذِى يَشْفَعُ عِندَهُ إِلاَّ بِإِذْنِهِ

(Who is he that can intercede with Him except with His permission) (2:255) It is also similar to His statement,

يَوْمَ يَأْتِ لاَ تَكَلَّمُ نَفْسٌ إِلاَّ بِإِذْنِهِ

Continue reading the tafsir of ayahs 37–40

Ma'arif al-Qur'an

یوْمَ يَقُومُ الرُّ‌وحُ وَالْمَلَائِكَةُ صَفًّا ۖ لَّا يَتَكَلَّمُونَ إِلَّا مَنْ أَذِنَ لَهُ الرَّ‌حْمَـٰنُ وَقَالَ صَوَابًا (on the Day when the Spirit and the angels will stand in rows. They will not speak, except the one who is permitted by the Rahman [ the All-Merciful ] and speaks aright -78:38). Ruh (Spirit), according to some of the commentators, refers to the angel Jibra'il He has been mentioned before the other angels in general in order to show the greatness of his status. According to certain Prophetic traditions, Ruh is not an angel but a huge army of Allah. They have heads, hands and legs. In this interpretation, there will be two rows. One row will be that of Ruh and the other will be that of the angels.

Tazkirul Quran

The atmosphere of Paradise will be free of all vain talk and falsehood. Therefore, only those who can prove that they have the inclination to live their lives in this world without indulging in trivialities and deceit, will be chosen to inhabit the pure and sublime atmosphere of Paradise.

Uthmani text of the Madinah mushaf (King Fahd Complex). Translation: Saheeh International. Tafsir via Quran.com.