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

Tafsir of Surah Al-Waqi'a

It is a Makki surah by consensus of those whose words are considered among the mufassirun. It has been said that it contains Madani verses or verses that were revealed during travel. All of this is unproven. It has been narrated from the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, that he said: "Whoever consistently recites Surah Al-Waqi'a will never be in need." And Uthman ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him, was invited to take a gift, but he refused to accept it. It was said to him: 'Take it for your family.' He said: 'They recite Surah Al-Waqi'a. I heard the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, say: 'Whoever recites it will never be in need.'"

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

In it is a mention of the Day of Resurrection and the fortunes of the soul in the Hereafter. Understanding this is wealth, and there is no poverty with it. Whoever understands it occupies himself with preparation.

His saying, exalted is He:

﴿When the Event occurs﴾ ﴿There is no denying of its occurrence﴾ ﴿It is a lowering and a raising﴾ ﴿When the earth is shaken with a shaking﴾ ﴿And the mountains are ground to dust﴾ ﴿So they become like scattered dust﴾ ﴿And you will be in three groups﴾ ﴿So the companions of the right, what are the companions of the right?﴾ ﴿And the companions of the left, what are the companions of the left?﴾ ﴿And the foremost, the foremost﴾ ﴿Those are the ones brought near﴾ ﴿In the Gardens of Bliss﴾

"Al-Waqi'a" is a name from the names of the Day of Resurrection, like Al-Sakhkhah, Al-Azif, and Al-Tammah. This was said by Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him. All of these are names that imply its greatness and the severity of its matter. Al-Dahhak said: Al-Waqi'a is the cry, and it is the blowing of the trumpet. Some of the mufassirun said: Al-Waqi'a is the rock of Bayt Al-Maqdis that falls at the Day of Resurrection. All of these are meanings related to the Day of Resurrection.

And "kadhibah" may be a source like "a'qibah" and "'afiyah" and "khainat al-ayun." The meaning is: There is no denial of it nor any duality in its occurrence. This is the saying of Qatadah and Al-Hasan. It may also be a description of something implied, as if He, exalted is He, said: There is no falsehood in its occurrence. The speech may have two meanings: One of them is "kadhibah" meaning: it is denied in what it has informed about it, and it is called "kadhibah" for this reason, as you say: A false story, meaning: there is falsehood in it. The second is a false state, meaning: its occurrence will not pass, as you say: So-and-so, if he carries, does not lie.

And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿It is a lowering and a raising﴾ is raised on the news of the subject, meaning: It is a lowering and a raising. Al-Hasan, Isa Al-Thaqafi, and Abu Haywah read: "Khafidatan Raf'atan" in the accusative as a state after the state which is "There is no denying of its occurrence." You may continue the states as you may continue the news of the subject. The first reading is more famous and has a more brilliant meaning, and that is because the position of the state in the speech is the position of that which, if it were not mentioned, would be sufficient, and the position of the sentences which the news affirms is the position of that which is intended.

And the people differed in the meaning of this lowering and raising in this verse. Qatadah and 'Uthman ibn 'Abdullah ibn Surakah said: The Day of Resurrection lowers some people to the Fire and raises others to Paradise. Ibn 'Abbas, 'Ikrimah, and Al-Dahhak said: The shout lowers its sound so that the nearer may hear, and raises it so that the farther may hear. A majority of the interpreters said: The Day of Resurrection, with the splitting of the heavens, the earth, and the mountains, and the collapse of this structure, raises a group of bodies and lowers another. It is as if it is an expression of the intensity of horror and turmoil.

The operative in His saying, 'When the earth is shaken' and 'the occurrence' is because this is a substitute for the first 'when.' They said: 'the occurrence' is the operative in the first, because the meaning of the condition in both is strong. It is like 'if' and what is in the condition operates in what follows it from the actions. It has been said that 'when' is added to 'the occurrence,' so it is not correct for it to operate in it, and rather the operative in it is an implied action.

The meaning of 'shaken' is shaken and violently moved, as Ibn 'Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said. From it, the arrow is shaken in the target when it trembles after its fall. The shaking among people is the matter that moves them. The linguists differed in the meaning of 'bust.' Ibn 'Abbas, Mujahid, and 'Ikrimah said: Its meaning is: it was crumbled as the basisa is crumbled, which is the flour. It is said: I 'bassed' the flour when I sprinkled it with water and it remained crumbled. Al-Tabari recited in this:

Do not knead dough and bust it.

And he said this is the saying of a thief who was hurried by fear from the dough and said this to his companions. Some linguists said: 'bust' means 'was moved.' They said: and the bread is the strong movement and striking the ground with the hands, and 'buss' is the gentle movement. They recited the verse:

Do not knead bread and bust it gently, and keep it away from Nahshal and Absa.

This was mentioned by Abu 'Uthman the linguist in his book 'The Actions.'

And 'dust' is what flies in the air from fine particles and is hardly seen except in the sun when it enters through a window, as Ibn 'Abbas and Mujahid said. Qatadah said: Dust is what flies from the dryness of plants. Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, said: Dust is what flies from the hooves of horses and animals. Ibn 'Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, also said: Dust is what flies from the sparks of fire, and when it is extinguished, nothing is found. And 'scattered' - with the three dots - is what is widespread in all the air. Al-Nakha'i read: 'scattered' with two dots, meaning: cut off. This was mentioned by Al-Thaalabi, and the first saying about dust is the best of the sayings.

And the address in His saying, 'And you were' is for all of creation; because those described as companions of the left are not in the nation of Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him. And 'the spouses' are the types and categories. Qatadah said: These are the abodes of people on the Day of Resurrection.

And His saying, exalted is He: "So the companions of the right" is an initiation, and "what" is a second initiation, and "the companions of the right" is the news of "what." The sentence is the news of the first initiation. In the speech is a meaning of glorification, as you say: "Zayd, what a Zayd!" And the like of this in the Qur'an is many. And "the right" is most evident in its derivation that it is from the side of the right. It is said: from the blessing. Likewise, "the left" may either be from the left hand or from misfortune. This verse has been interpreted with these two meanings; for the companions of the right are the blessed among themselves, as stated by Al-Hasan and Al-Rabi. It seems that blessing and misfortune are derived from the right and the left, and this is in accordance with their way in the past and the future. Likewise, blessing and the north are derived from the right and the left.

And His saying, exalted is He: "And the foremost" is an initiation, and "the foremost" is a second. Some grammarians said: it is an adjective for the first, and the opinion of Sibawayh is that it is the news of the initiation. This is like saying: the people are the people, and you are you. This is in a meaning of magnifying the matter and glorifying it. The meaning is that you say: the foremost in faith are the foremost to Paradise and mercy; those are... And this meaning is directed towards the initiation and the news.

And His saying, exalted is He: "Those are the near ones" is an initiation and news. It is in the position of the news according to the saying of those who said: "the foremost" is a description, and "the near ones" means: from Allah in the Garden of Eden. A group of scholars said: This verse implies that the world on the Day of Resurrection is in three categories: believers who are on the right side of the Throne, and there is Paradise; and disbelievers who are on the left side of the Throne, and there is Hell. The mention of the right side of the Throne and its left is similar to what has been mentioned in Surah Al-Kahf regarding the right and the left. It has been said regarding the companions of the right and the right side: they are those who take their book in their right hand, and regarding the companions of the left and the left side: they are those who take it in their left hand. Therefore, the attribution of the right and the left is not to the Throne. And Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, said: The companions of the right are the children of the believers. It is said: what is meant is the right of Adam, peace be upon him, and his left mentioned in the Hadith of Isra in the black ones.

'The foremost' means: happiness has preceded them. Their deeds in this world have preceded them to deeds of righteousness and to abandoning sins. This is general for all people. The commentators have specified some things from this. 'Uthman ibn Abi Sawda said: They are the foremost to the mosques. Ibn Sirin said: They are those who prayed towards the two qiblas. Ka'b said: They are the people of the Qur'an. It is said: They are other than this, which is part of righteous deeds. It has been narrated that the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, was asked about the foremost and he said: 'They are those who, when given the truth, accept it, and when asked for it, they give it, and they judge for the people by their own judgment.' Talha ibn Musarif read: 'In the Garden of Delight' in the singular form. 'The nearest' is a phrase referring to the highest ranks of humanity in the Hereafter. It is said that they will be on adorned couches, and it was said to 'Amir ibn Abd Qays on the Day of Halba: Who is foremost? He said: The nearest.