'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful'

Tafsir of Surah Al-Humazah

And it is Makki without dispute.

His saying, exalted is He:

﴿Woe to every slanderer, defamer﴾ ﴿Who gathers wealth and continuously counts it﴾ ﴿He thinks that his wealth will make him immortal﴾ ﴿No! He will surely be thrown into the Crusher﴾ ﴿And what can make you know what the Crusher is?﴾ ﴿It is the Fire of Allah, kindled﴾ ﴿Which rises over the hearts﴾ ﴿Indeed, it will be closed in upon them﴾ ﴿In extended columns﴾

"Woe" is a term that encompasses evil and disgrace. It is said to be a valley in Hell. And "the slanderer" is one who slanders people with his tongue, meaning he criticizes them and backbites them. Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said: It is the one who walks with gossip.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

And it is not by it, but they are two attributes that are interconnected. Allah, exalted is He, said: ﴿A slanderer, a gossip﴾ [Al-Qalam: 11]. And Mujahid said: "The slanderer" is the one who eats the flesh of people. It was said to an Arab: Do you slander Israel? He said: Indeed, I am a man of evil, he thinks that it is said to him: Do you fall into his cursing? And "the defamer" is close in meaning to "the slanderer." Allah, exalted is He, said: ﴿And do not defame one another﴾ [Al-Hujurat: 11]. Ibn Mas'ud and Al-Amash read: "Woe to the slanderer, the defamer." And this form, which is "Fa'lah," implies exaggeration in its meaning. Abu Al-Aliya and Al-Hasan said: Slander is in presence and defamation is in absence. And Muqatil said the opposite of this. Ibn Abi Najih said: Slander is with the hand and the eye, and defamation is with the tongue. Allah, exalted is He, said: ﴿And among them are those who defame you regarding the charities﴾ [At-Tawbah: 58].

It is said that this verse was revealed about Al-Akhnas ibn Shariq, and it is said about Jamil ibn Amir Al-Jumahi. Then it encompasses everyone who possesses these attributes.

Ibn Amer, Hamzah, Al-Kisai, and Al-Hasan read: "He gathered" with a strong 'mim,' while the others read it lightly. And His saying, exalted is He: "And he counted it" means: He enumerated it and preserved its count so that it would not decrease. He prevented himself from good deeds and spending on righteousness. Muqatil said: The meaning is that he prepared it and stored it. Al-Hasan read: "And he counted it" with a lightening of the two 'dal's. It is said: The meaning is: He gathered wealth and a count of ten, and it is said: He meant "a count" with emphasis, so he made the doubling permissible. This is questionable.

And His saying: ﴿He thinks that his wealth will make him immortal﴾ means: He thinks that his wealth is the essence of his life and its sustenance, and that he has preserved it for the duration of his life and will continue to preserve it. Then Allah, exalted is He, responded to this assumption and informed him with a confirmed statement that he will be thrown into the Crusher, meaning that which crushes what is in it and devours it. It is read: "He thinks" - with an open 'sīn' - by Al-A'raj, Abu Ja'far, and Shaybah. Ibn Muhaisin and Al-Hasan read - with a difference from him -: "He will surely be thrown" with a broken 'nūn' and a doubled letter before it, meaning: he and his wealth. It was narrated from him that the 'dhāl' is pronounced with a 'dhammah' on the throwing of the group, he and his wealth and his count, or he means the group of slanderers.

Then Allah, the Most High, magnified its status and informed that it is the fire of Allah, the kindled one, which reaches the hearts and is never extinguished. And 'the heart' is the 'fu'ad'. It is possible that the meaning is that no one surpasses it until it takes hold of him by the obligation of his heart's belief and intention. So it is as if it is observing the hearts by the observation of Allah, glorified and exalted is He. Then He informed that it is closed, and its meaning is: sealed or locked. Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, said: The gates of the fire are some above others. And His saying, the Most High: 'in columns' is the plural of 'column', like 'adim' and 'udm'. And according to Sibawayh, they are names of plurals that do not have plural forms following the verb. Ibn Mas'ud read: 'sealed in extended columns', and Ibn Zayd said: the meaning is: in iron columns that are bound for it, and all of it is from fire. And Abu Salih said: This fire is in their graves. And Asim - in the narration of Abu Bakr - and Hamzah and Al-Kisai read: 'columns' with a dammah on the 'ain and the 'mim', while the rest read and Hafs from Asim with a fatha on them. The majority read: 'extended' with a kasrah, describing 'the columns', and Asim read: 'extended' with a rafa' following 'sealed'.