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

Tafsir of Surah Al-Ma'arij

And it is Meccan, there is no disagreement among the narrators in that.

His saying, exalted is He:

﴿A questioner asked about a punishment that is bound to happen﴾ ﴿for the disbelievers, there is no repeller for it﴾ ﴿from Allah, the Lord of the Ascensions﴾ ﴿the angels and the Spirit ascend to Him on a day the measure of which is fifty thousand years﴾ ﴿so be patient with a good patience﴾ ﴿indeed, they see it as distant﴾ ﴿and we see it as near﴾ ﴿the day the heaven will be like molten brass﴾ ﴿and the mountains will be like wool﴾ ﴿and no friend will ask a friend﴾

The majority of the seven reciters read: "asked" with a softened hamzah. They said: the meaning is: a caller called, and the reference is to one who said from Quraysh: "O Allah, if this is the truth from You, then rain down upon us stones from the sky or bring us a painful punishment," and it has been narrated that the one who said that was Al-Nadr ibn Al-Harith, and to one who said: "Our Lord, hasten for us our share." Some of them said: the meaning is: an inquirer inquired and a questioner questioned. They said: and the reference is to the saying of Quraysh: "When will this promise be?" and what follows it, as said by Al-Hasan and Qatadah.

As for the one who said: the meaning is: a caller called, then the ب in His saying, exalted is He: "about a punishment" is according to its known usage. And as for the one who said: the meaning is: an inquirer inquired, then the ب is connected in the manner of "about," as if He, exalted is He, said: "about a punishment," and this is like the saying of Alqamah ibn Abadah:

If you ask me about women, then I am knowledgeable about the ailments of women, a physician.

And Nafi' ibn 'Amir read: "asked" with the alif being silent, and there was disagreement in its reading. Some of them said: it is "asked" with the hamzah except that it has been softened, as he said:

............................... ∗∗∗ There is the pasture.

And similar to that, and some of them said: it is the language of one who says: "I asked, I inquire, and they inquire," and it is a well-known language narrated by Sibawayh, so the alif comes transformed from the waw which is the root, as in he said and feared. And as for the saying of the poet:

Hudhayl asked the Messenger of Allah shamelessly ∗∗∗ Hudhayl was misguided by what it asked and did not attain.

Indeed, Sibawayh said: it is in the language of softening the hamzah, and others said: it is in the language of one who said: "it flowed," and some of them said regarding the verse: it is from "flowed, flows" if it ran, and it is not from the meaning of questioning. Zayd ibn Thabit and others said: in Hell there is a valley called "the questioner," and the reports here are about it.

The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

And it is possible - if the matter of the valley is not authentic - that the report is about the enforcement of destiny with that punishment, so the term of flow was borrowed for it due to what is known of the enforcement of flow and its design.

And Ibn Abbas read: "flowed a flow" with the ya being silent, and Ubayy ibn Ka'b and Ibn Mas'ud read: "flowed flowed" like "said, said," the ya was omitted from the script for ease, and the intended meaning is "the questioner" thus the questioning of the disbelievers about the punishment - according to the reading of the majority - was indeed because he lied, so Allah, exalted is He, described it as bound to happen as a warning to them.

And His saying, exalted is He: "For the disbelievers". Some grammarians said: The 'lam' connects the meaning as 'ala' does. It has been narrated that in the Mushaf of Ubayy ibn Ka'b, His saying, exalted is He: "Upon the disbelievers". Qatadah and Al-Hasan said: The meaning is as if someone said: To whom is this impending punishment? It was said: "For the disbelievers". And "the ascensions" in the language means the stairs in the celestial bodies, and here it is metaphorically used for ranks and praiseworthy attributes, as said by Ibn Abbas and Qatadah. Ibn Abbas said: "The ascensions" are the heavens where the angels ascend from one heaven to another. Al-Hasan said: They are the ways to the heavens. And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿The angels ascend﴾ means: They rise, according to the original meaning in the language of the term. And "the spirit" according to the majority of scholars is Gabriel, peace be upon him, mentioned specifically for honor. Mujahid said: The spirit is a group of angels who are guardians for the angels who protect the children of Adam; they are not seen by the angels just as we do not see the angels. Some of the commentators said: It is the name of the genus in the spirits of animals.

And the interpreters differed regarding His saying, the Most High: "On a Day the extent of which is fifty thousand years." Munthir ibn Sa'id and a group of experts said: The meaning is that the angels and the Spirit ascend to Him on a day of your days, and the extent of the distance - if it were ascended by a human - is fifty thousand years. Ibn Ishaq said this. Whoever made "the Spirit" Gabriel and a type of the angels said: The distance is from the lowest earth to the Throne, as stated by Mujahid. And whoever made "the Spirit" a genus of the souls of living beings said: The distance is from the face of this earth to the utmost of the Throne in height, as stated by Wahb ibn Munabbih. And a group said: The meaning is that the angels and the Spirit ascend to Him on a day whose extent in itself is fifty thousand years of your days. Then they differed in specifying that day. Ikrimah and al-Hakam said: Allah, the Most High, intended the duration of this world, for it is fifty thousand years. No one knows what has passed of it nor what remains. The meaning is that the angels and the Spirit ascend to Him during the duration of this world and the remaining of this structure. And it is possible - based on this - that "the Spirit" could be a genus of the souls of living beings. Ibn Abbas and others said: Rather, the day referred to is the Day of Resurrection. Then they differed. Some of them said: Its extent in length is that of fifty thousand years. And this is the apparent meaning of the saying of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him: "There is no man who does not pay the zakat of his wealth except that he will have plates of fire from the Day of Resurrection, with which his forehead, back, and sides will be branded on a day whose extent is fifty thousand years." Ibn Abbas and Abu Sa'id al-Khudri said: Rather, its extent in its horror, severity, and calamities for the disbelievers is that of fifty thousand years. And this is like saying on a difficult day: It is like a year. Abu Sa'id said: "It was said, O Messenger of Allah, what is the longest day whose extent is fifty thousand years?" He, blessings and peace be upon him, said: "By Him in whose Hand is my soul, it will be lighter on the believer until it will be lighter for him than a prescribed prayer." Ikrimah said: The meaning was the extent of what is resolved in it of judgments and accounts is equivalent to what is resolved with justice in fifty thousand years of the days of this world.

And it has been reported that on the Day of Resurrection, it is like a thousand years. And this seems to be for some groups and not others. The worker in His saying, the Most High: "On the Day" - according to the saying of those who say it is the Day of Resurrection - is His saying, the Most High: "From any defender," and according to other sayings, "They ascend." The majority of the reciters read: "They ascend" with the 'ta' from above, and al-Kisai alone read: "He ascends" with the 'ya' because the feminine form with 'ya' is not real, and with the 'ya' from below, Ibn Mas'ud read because he used to mention the angels, and this is the reading of al-Amash.

Then the Most High commanded His Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, to have beautiful patience, which is the one that is not accompanied by blame from failure, doubt, lack of contentment, or anything else. The command to have beautiful patience is firm in every situation. It is said that this verse was revealed before the command to fight.

And His saying, glorified and exalted is He: "Indeed, they see it as far away" means on the Day of Resurrection; because they deny it, it is in the utmost distance in their view. And indeed, He, glorified and exalted is He, sees it as near from where it is occurring and coming, and every coming is near. Some of the interpreters said: The pronoun in "they see it" refers back to the punishment. And His saying, glorified and exalted is He: "the Day" is an accusative due to an implied verb in place of the pronoun that is in the accusative. And "the molten" refers to the dark oil, as said by Ibn Abbas and others. It resembles that due to its blackness and the dimming of its lights. And "the molten" also refers to what has been melted from silver and the like, as said by Ibn Mas'ud and others. It comes to have mixed colors and liquefaction. The sky also, due to the terrors it experiences, becomes like that. And "the wool" is wool without specification. Some linguists said: It is dyed wool of various colors, and it was said that it is dyed any color. Al-Hasan said: It is the red one. Those who said it is dyed with colors cited the words of Zuhayr:

"Like the fragments of wool in every dwelling, We have settled in it, the grape of the fox has not been crushed."

And the grape of the fox is the grape before its crushing, and it has colors, some of which are red, some yellow, and some green, due to its ripeness. It resembles the mountains in this because they are white, red, and black ridges. The comparison comes from two aspects: one in colors, and the second in spreading. And whoever said that "the wool" is wool without specification made the comparison in spreading and the disintegration of parts only. Al-Hasan said: And the mountains on the Day of Resurrection will move with the winds, then the matter will intensify with them until they become like wool, then the matter will continue with them until they become scattered dust.

And the seven reciters, Al-Hasan, the people of Medina, Talhah, and the others read: "And no one will be asked" in the active voice for the subject. And "the hameem" - in this context - means the near and the intimate. The meaning is: And no one will ask him for help or benefit, knowing that he will not find it with him. Qatadah said: The meaning is: And no one will ask him about his state because it is apparent; everyone has been made aware of the state of all and is preoccupied with himself. Ibn Kathir read - through the route of Al-Suddi, Abu Ja'far, and Shaibah - differently from them, and Abu Haywah read: "And no one will be asked" in the passive voice for the object. The meaning is: And no one will be asked about his sight; for every criminal has a mark by which he is recognized, and likewise, every believer has a mark of good. It was said: The meaning is: He will not be asked about his deeds and sins to take them as his burden and weight.

And "they will be shown to them" - according to this reading, it was said: Its meaning is: in the Fire. Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said: In the gathering, the criminal will see his hameem, then he will flee from it due to being preoccupied with himself. You say: The sight of so-and-so with something and I made him see it: I showed it to him. And from this is the saying of the poet:

"When the wilderness sees you, then travel, And as for now, be moderate and rest."

And Qatadah recited: "They will be made to see them" with a silent ب and a lightly broken ص. Mujahid said: "They will be made to see them" means: the believers will see the disbelievers in the Fire. Ibn Zayd said: the disbelievers will see those who misled them in the Fire, as a lesson and out of pity for them, and as a disgrace for them.