The two des c r i p tions of the Day of Judgment in the above verses have many symbols and they lift the curtain from many of the secrets of that Day and rejuvenate mankind.

In the first verse 37 of Surah Noor God says:

“ They fear the Day when the hearts and the eyes will be overturned.

In the second verse 42 of Surah Ibrahim God says:

“ But He gives them respite to a Day when the eyes will stare with horror.”

The Day of Gathering is very horrifying in many ways; because of the heart wrenching events that will occur at the very onset, the preparation of the angels to take the witness for the accounting of deeds, the opening of the books of deeds that contain all the smaller and greater deeds, the manifestation of the signs of Hell and God’s punishments, the impossibility to undo the deeds or revert to the past and the absence of any help or friend. Each event is enough to make the hearts tremble and every one of them will take place; men will be surrounded by them, his eyes will rotate involuntarily and he will stare dumbfounded here and there which the Qura’n has termed as wild perplexity. At times his eyes will not move at all and he will not bat his eyelids standing baffled as if he is dead.

The point to be noted is that the first verse is about the believers in God and the second is about the unjust. This tells us that on that terrible Day everyone will be is despair, the good as well as the bas, because no one will know his result because of the strict accounting of the deeds.

The word “Tataqallabo” means to be topsy-turvy. The commentators have explained it in different styles which depict this extra ordinary terror and despair that will engulf the people internally and externally.

“Taskhas” derived from “shakhos” means the eyes and the eyelid to be frozen and to stare fixedly. The real source of the word “Shakhos” means to rise and to exit. A”Shakhos” is so called because he is visible even from a distance. The transfer of one person from one place to another is also called “Shakhos”

“Shakhas” is also derived from the same source which means elevated things which is used to determine the time. (1)

When in extreme surprise it seems that a person’s eyes will bulge out of their sockets so this des c r i p tion is used for such instances. The condition of man on the Day of Judgment will be such that his eyes will cease to move and will be so stunned that they will bulge out. Some times this condition is seen at the time of death.

It is determined that the sinners and criminals will be effected severely with this condition. So the Qura’n in verse 97 of Surah Anbiya says:

“And the true promise shall draw near, and then you shall see the eyes of the disbelievers fixedly stare in horror.”

1. Mafuradat Raghib, Maqayis-ol-Loghata, Misbah and At-Tahqiq fi Kalemat-0l- Qura’n.