The Tiding (An-Naba)
Syed Qutb (see here for a caveat), in In The Shade of the Qur'an (Fi Zilal il Qur'an) begins the commentary of the thirtieth part of the Holy Qur'an as follows.
So forceful! And how subtle to end the argument with bliss! He continues:This thirtieth part of the Qur'an has a special, distinctive colour. All the Surahs it includes are Makkan, except two, namely, "The Clear Proof" and "Victory". Although they vary in length, they are all short. More significant, however, is the fact that they form a single group with more or less the same theme. They have the same characteristics of rhythm, images, connotations and overall style. They are, indeed, like a persistent and strong knocking on a door, or loud shouts seeking to awaken some people who are fast asleep, or some drunken men who have lost consciousness, or are in a night club, completely absorbed with their dancing or entertainment. The knocks and the shouts come one after the other: Wake up! Look around you! Think! Reflect! There is a God! There is planning, trial, liability, reckoning, reward, severe punishment and lasting bliss.
Such a nice consideration of human indifference and obstinacy!The same warning is repeated time after time. A strong hand shakes them violently. They seem to open their eyes, look around for a second and return to unconsciousness. The strong hand shakes them again, the shouts and knocks are repeated even more loudly. They may wake up once or twice to say obstinately, "No!" They may stone the person warning them or insult him and then resume their position of inattention. He shakes them anew.
