4تَعرُجُ المَلائِكَةُ وَالرّوحُ إِلَيهِ في يَومٍ كانَ مِقدارُهُ خَمسينَ أَلفَ سَنَةٍAli UnalThe angels and the Spirit ascend to Him (thereby), in a day the measure of which is fifty thousand years (of your normal worldly years).1“Reaching” God requires traversing great “distances” and ascending innumerable steps. So the stairs of ascent to God, and the measure of the day as being fifty thousand years, imply both our distance from Him despite His infinite nearness to Us, and His indescribable “elevation” and transcendence (see also sūrah 32: 5, note 4). The day may also be referring to the Day of Judgment. In this case, its measure suggests the great distances between the stations or worlds of the Hereafter or both, and the dread and hardships the people of Hell will suffer while they are being driven through these stations and worlds to Hell. In this case, such a great distance constitutes a great threat. As explained in several places in this study, the angels are dutiful in conveying God’s commands throughout the universe. They also convey the worship and life-functions of all creatures before the Presence of God. So, by the stairs of ascent and a day measuring fifty thousand years, the verse may be referring to this fact. The Spirit mentioned in verse 4 is either Gabriel or another angel-like being that is greater than the angels. According to Imam Ghazzālī, he is an angel (or angel-like being) whom God employs in breathing an individual’s spirit into that individual’s body. Bediüzzaman Said Nursi maintains that there is a spirit representing every thing, every being. So the Spirit may be the being responsible for all the spirits.