﴿7 - 15﴾ “So when the sight is stunned, the moon is eclipsed, and the sun and moon are brought together, man will say on that Day, ‘Where is there any escape?’ No indeed! There will be no refuge. To your Lord that Day is the final destination. Man will be informed that Day of what he sent ahead and left behind. Rather, man will be a witness against himself, even though he may put forward his excuses.”
That is, when the Resurrection comes, eyes will be stunned by the immense terror and will stare without blinking, as Allah Most High says: “He only delays them until a Day when eyes will stare in horror. They will rush forth with heads raised, their gaze not returning to them, and their hearts utterly vacant.”
“The moon is eclipsed”—that is, its light and influence will vanish. “And the sun and moon are brought together.” They have never been joined since Allah Most High created them, but Allah will bring them together on the Day of Resurrection. The moon will be eclipsed, the sun will be folded up, and then both will be cast into the Fire, so that His servants may see that they are but two servants subjected to His command, and so that those who worshipped them may see that they were liars.
“Man will say,” when he sees those terrifying upheavals, “Where is there any escape?” That is: Where can we find deliverance and freedom from what has suddenly overtaken and afflicted us (1)?
“No indeed! There will be no refuge.” That is, no one will have any refuge apart from Allah. “To your Lord that Day is the final destination” for all His servants. No one will be able to hide or flee from that place. Rather, everyone must be detained there to be recompensed for their deeds. He therefore says: “Man will be informed that Day of what he sent ahead and left behind”—that is, of all his deeds, good and evil, from the beginning of his life to its end. He will receive a report that he cannot deny.
“Rather, man will be a witness against himself”—that is, a witness who calls himself to account—“even though he may put forward his excuses.” Those excuses will not be accepted and cannot withstand that by which the servant will be made to confess (2); thus, he will acknowledge it. As Allah Most High says: “Read your record! Today your own self is sufficient to call you to account.”
Thus, even if the servant denies or offers excuses for what he did, neither his denial nor his excuses will benefit him at all, because his hearing, sight, and every one of his limbs will testify against him concerning what he used to do. Moreover, the time for seeking to make amends will have passed, and doing so will no longer be of any benefit: “On that Day, the excuses of those who did wrong will not benefit them, nor will they be allowed to make amends.”