Why does Surah An-Naba open with a question?

Answer

Surah An-Naba opens with “About what are they asking one another?” (78:1) as a rhetorical device. Rather than stating the topic directly, the Qurʾān first holds up a mirror to how absorbed the Makkans had become in disputing the Resurrection. al-Qurṭubī notes the interrogative magnifies the matter — it is so momentous that it is posed as a question before the answer is given. al-Saʿdī reads it as a rebuke: their questioning was obstinate doubt, not sincere inquiry. The form draws every listener in, and then 78:2–5 deliver the answer and a double warning that they will indeed come to know the truth of what they reject.