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

Tafsir of Surah Al-Mursalat

And it is Makki according to the saying of the majority of the interpreters. Al-Naqqash reported that it was said: In it is from the Madani, His saying, the Exalted: ﴿And when it is said to them, 'Prostrate,' they do not prostrate﴾ [Al-Mursalat: 48], based on the interpretation of one who said that it is a narration about the state of the hypocrites. And it is in the meaning of His saying, the Exalted: ﴿And they are called to prostration, but they are unable﴾ [Al-Qalam: 42]. Ibn Mas'ud said: This surah was revealed while we were with the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, in Khaybar... the hadith is lengthy.

His saying, the Exalted:

﴿And the sent ones, in succession﴾ ﴿And the violent ones, with violence﴾ ﴿And the spreading ones, with spreading﴾ ﴿And the distinguishing ones, with distinction﴾ ﴿And the throwers, with reminder﴾ ﴿As an excuse or a warning﴾ ﴿Indeed, what you are promised is bound to occur﴾ ﴿So when the stars are extinguished﴾ ﴿And when the heaven is split open﴾ ﴿And when the mountains are blown away﴾ ﴿And when the messengers are appointed﴾ ﴿For what day has it been postponed?﴾ ﴿For the Day of Judgement﴾ ﴿And what will make you know what the Day of Judgement is?﴾ ﴿Woe that Day to the deniers﴾

Many of the interpreters said: "The sent ones" refers to the messengers to the people from the prophets, peace be upon them. It is as if the Exalted said: and the groups that are sent. Abu Salih, Muqatil, and Ibn Mas'ud said: The sent ones are the angels sent with revelation and with the alternation over the servants at both ends of the day. Ibn Mas'ud, Ibn Abbas, Mujahid, and Qatadah also said: The sent ones are the winds. Al-Hasan ibn Abi Al-Hasan said: The sent ones are the clouds. And "in succession" means, according to the first saying, in succession from Allah and favor upon His servants by sending the messengers, peace be upon them. From it is the saying of the poet:

Whoever does good will not lack his reward, the good will not be lost between Allah and the people.

And it is possible that by His saying "in succession" He means consecutive, by analogy to the consecutive mane of a horse and the crests of mountains and the like. The Arabs say: "The people are of one mind towards so-and-so" when they turn to him. And it is possible that He means by "the succession" the truth and the command for what is right. These sayings regarding "in succession" are applicable to the saying of one who said: The sent ones are the angels. And to the one who said that the sent ones are the winds, it is applicable in "the succession" to say: the interpretation is specific to the winds which are a blessing with which sustenance and safety at sea and other things that have no punishment are provided. And the other type of wind is in His saying, the Exalted: "And the violent ones, with violence." And it is possible that "in succession" means: and the sent ones are the winds that people know and are familiar with. Then He followed with mentioning the type that is rejected and harmful, which are the violent ones. And it is possible that He means by "the succession" with the winds the consecutive nature like the mane of a horse and the like. The Arabs say: "A breeze came in succession." And the saying regarding the succession, while the sent ones are the winds, applies if the sent ones are the clouds. And 'Isa read: "in succession" with a dammah on the ra. And "the violent one" refers to the strong wind that violently affects trees and others.

People differed regarding His saying, the Exalted: "And the spreading ones." Muqatil and Al-Suddi said: They are the angels who spread the records of the servants with their deeds. Ibn Mas'ud, Al-Hasan, Mujahid, and Qatadah said: They are the winds that spread the mercy of Allah and His rain. Some of the interpreters said: The spreading ones are groups of angels that directly bring forth the dead from their graves for resurrection, as if they are reviving them. Some said: The spreading ones are the bones on the Day of Resurrection, it is said: The dead is spread, and from it is the saying of Al-A'sha:

O wonder for the dead who is spreading.

And it was said: The spreading ones are the lands that come to life with rain, likened to the dead being revived. Abu Salih said: The spreading ones are the rains that revive the earth.

'The differentiators,' Ibn Abbas, Ibn Mas'ud, Abu Salih, Mujahid, and Al-Dahhak said: they are the angels who differentiate between truth and falsehood, and lawful and unlawful. Qatadah, Al-Hasan, and Ibn Kaysan said: the differentiators are the verses of the Qur'an. As for 'the ones who convey reminders,' the majority say: they are the angels. Muqatil said: it is Gabriel, peace be upon him, and others said: they are the messengers, peace be upon them. The majority of people read: 'the ones who convey' with the lam being silent, meaning they convey it from Allah, the Exalted, by His command to the messengers, peace be upon them. Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, read - as mentioned by Al-Mahdawi - 'the ones who convey' with the lam opened and the qaf opened and doubled, meaning he receives it from Allah, the Exalted. Ibn Abbas also read 'the ones who convey' with the lam opened and the qaf doubled and broken, meaning: they convey it to the messengers, peace be upon them, and 'the reminder' refers to the books and laws and their contents. The readers differed in the saying of Allah, the Exalted: 'an excuse or a warning.' Ibn Kathir, Nafi', Ibn Amir, and Asim - in the narration of Abu Bakr - and Abu Ja'far, and Shaiba read with the dhāl being silent in 'an excuse' and pronounced in 'a warning.' Abu Amr, Hamzah, Al-Kisai, and Hafs from Asim, and Ibrahim Al-Taymi read with the dhāl silent in both. Talhah, 'Isa, and Al-Hasan - differently - and Zayd ibn Thabit, Abu Ja'far, Abu Haywah, and Al-Amash from Ibn Kathir from Asim read with the dhāl pronounced in both. The silent dhāl is understood as two sources, it is said: 'an excuse' and 'a warning,' like 'a reproach' and 'a warning.' The pronounced dhāl can be correct with the source and can also be plural for 'a warning' and 'an excuser' which are active participles. The meaning is that the reminder is conveyed with an excuse and a warning, or it is conveyed by those who are excused and warned. As for the accusative in the saying of Allah, the Exalted: 'an excuse or a warning,' it is correct if they are two sources to be in substitution for 'the reminder,' and it is correct to be the object of the reminder, as if the Exalted said: 'the ones who convey are to mention an excuse,' and it is correct for 'an excuse' to be the object for the purpose, meaning to receive the reminder for the purpose of excusing. As for if 'an excuse or a warning' is plural, then the accusative is in the state, and Ibrahim Al-Taymi read: 'an excuse and a warning' with a waw instead of 'or.' His saying, the Exalted: 'Indeed, what you are promised is bound to happen,' this is what the oath has been made about, and it refers to resurrection. 'The stars being extinguished' means the removal of their light and their leveling with the rest of the celestial body. 'The splitting of the sky' is when it bursts open until openings occur in it. 'The uprooting of the mountains' is after they are made to move, and it is said: their being scattered into dust, which is their being dispersed by the wind. The majority read: 'A time has come' with the hamzah and the qaf doubled. 'Isa and Khalid read with the qaf lightened with the hamzah. Abu Amr alone read 'a time has come' with a waw. Abu Al-Ashhab, 'Isa, and Amr ibn Ubaid read it, and 'Isa said: it is a dialect of the lowly Mudar. Abu Ja'far read with one waw and a light qaf, which is the reading of Ibn Mas'ud and Al-Hasan. Al-Hasan ibn Abi Al-Hasan read: 'and a time has come' with two waws, on the pattern of fa'ulat, meaning: a time has been set for it, so it came and arrived, and the waw in all of this is the original and the hamzah is a substitute.

And His saying, exalted is He: "For what day has it been delayed?" is a wonder and a warning about the greatness and terror of that day. Then He explained what He was astonished by with His saying: "For the Day of Judgment," meaning, exalted is He, the day of separation among the creation in their disputes, their reckoning, and their places in Paradise or Hell. In this verse, the judges derived the deadlines in rulings so that the judgment may be finalized at their completion. Then He magnified, glorified is He, the Day of Judgment with His saying: "And what can make you know what the Day of Judgment is?" in a manner similar to His saying: "And what can make you know what the Striking is?" and others like it. Then He affirmed woe for the disbelievers on that day, meaning, for those who denied it in this world and in all parts of the legislation. And "woe" is war and sorrow over calamities that befall a person. It is narrated from An-Nu'man ibn Bashir, Ibn Mas'ud, and Ammar ibn Yasir that there is a valley in Hell called Woe.