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

Tafsir of Surah Al-Ghashiyah

And it is Makki, there is no disagreement about that among the people of interpretation.

His saying, exalted is He:

﴿Has the story of Al-Ghashiyah reached you?﴾ ﴿Faces on that Day humbled﴾ ﴿Laboring, weary﴾ ﴿They will burn in a blazing fire﴾ ﴿They will be given to drink from a boiling spring﴾ ﴿They will have no food except from a thorny plant﴾ ﴿Which will neither nourish nor avail against hunger﴾ ﴿Faces on that Day blissful﴾ ﴿Pleased with their effort﴾ ﴿In a high garden﴾ ﴿Therein you will not hear any idle talk﴾

Some of the interpreters said: "Has" means "Indeed". The skilled ones said: It is in its original form, its benefit is to stir the listener's soul to receive the news. It was said: The meaning is: Was this from your knowledge had We not taught you? In this interpretation, there is a confirmation of the blessing. And "Al-Ghashiyah" refers to the Day of Resurrection because it covers the entire world with its terror and changes its structure. This was said by Sufyan and the majority of the interpreters. Ibn Jubair and Muhammad ibn Kab said: Al-Ghashiyah is the fire. And Allah, exalted is He, said: ﴿And the fire will cover their faces﴾ [Ibrahim: 50], and He said: ﴿And above them are coverings﴾ [Al-A'raf: 41]. So it covers its inhabitants. The first statement is supported by His saying, exalted is He: ﴿Faces on that Day humbled﴾, and the humbled faces are the faces of the disbelievers. Their humility is their humiliation and their change due to the punishment.

People have differed in His saying, exalted is He: "Laboring, weary". Ibn Abbas, Al-Hasan, Ibn Jubair, and Qatadah said: Its meaning is: Laboring in the fire, weary in it. And the weariness is the toil; because they were arrogant about working for Allah, exalted is He, in this world, so He made them labor in the Hereafter in His fire. And Ikrimah and Al-Suddi said: The meaning is: Laboring in this world, weary on the Day of Resurrection. So the work - according to this - is the efforts of this world. And Ibn Abbas, Zayd ibn Aslam, and Ibn Jubair said: The meaning is: They are laboring in this world, weary in it.

(p-597) Because they are upon misguidance, so there is no fruit for their work except toil, and its end is the fire. They said: The verse is about the monks and the idol worshippers and every diligent one in disbelief. This interpretation was adopted by Umar ibn Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, regarding the interpretation of the verse, and he wept out of mercy for a Christian monk he saw striving. And in the hadith, it is mentioned that the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, mentioned the Qadariyyah and wept and said: 'Indeed, among them is the diligent one.'

Ibn Kathir read - in the narration of Shibl and Ibn Muhaysin - "‘Amilatun Nasibah" with the meaning of blame, and the Nasib is an implied verb whose estimation is: I blame or I mean this, and the six and Hafs from Asim, and Al-A'raj, and Talhah, and Abu Ja'far, and Al-Hasan read: "Tasla" with the opening of the 'ta' and the silence of the 'sad', according to the form of the verb for the subject, meaning the faces. Abu Bakr read from Asim, and Abu Amr - with a difference from him - and Abu Raja, and Abu Abd al-Rahman, and Ibn Muhaysin - and there was a difference from Nafi and Al-A'raj -: "Tusla" with the 'ta' being pronounced and the 'sad' silent, and this may be from "Salaytuha al-nara" meaning I subjected it, and it may be from 'Aslaytu' meaning like 'Takarrama'. Some people read: "Tusalla" with the 'ta' being pronounced and the 'sad' opened and the 'lam' doubled, according to the transitive form with emphasis, as narrated by Abu Amr ibn al-Ala. And "Al-Hamiya": the intensely heated and blazing. And "Al-Aniya": that which has ended its heat, as Allah, the Most High, said: "And between hot water and a boiling spring" [Ar-Rahman: 44], this was said by Ibn Abbas, Al-Hasan, and Mujahid. Ibn Zayd said: The meaning of "Aniya": present for them, from their saying: 'Ana al-shay' when it is present.

People differed regarding "Al-Dhari". Al-Hasan and a group of the interpreters said it is Al-Zaqqum; because Allah, the Most High, has informed in this verse that the disbelievers have no food except from Al-Dhari, and He has informed that Al-Zaqqum is the food of the sinful, so this necessitates that Al-Dhari is Al-Zaqqum. Said ibn Jubair said: Al-Dhari is stones in the fire. Ibn Abbas, Mujahid, Qatadah, and Ikrimah said: Al-Dhari is Shabraq (p-598) of the fire. Abu Hanifah said: Al-Dhari is Shabraq, which is a pasture of evil that does not provide fat or meat for the grazing animals, and from it is the saying of Abu Izzarah Al-Hudhali:

And we kept in the destruction of Al-Dhari, so all of it is a bleeding hand, wild.

Abu Dhuhayb said:

He grazed the Shabraq until it withered, and it returned to be Al-Dhari from which the menstruation appeared.

It is said: Al-Dhari is Al-Ashraq. The Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, said: "Al-Dhari is thorns in the fire." Some linguists said: Al-Dhari is the dry 'Urfuji when it is crushed. Others said: It is the moist 'Urfuji. Al-Zajjaj said: It is a plant like Al-Awsaj. Some interpreters said: Al-Dhari is a plant in the sea (p-599) that is green, foul-smelling, hollow, and elongated, with a great light in it. Ibn Abbas also said: Al-Dhari is a tree from fire. And all who mentioned something from what we have estimated mean that it is from fire and must be, and everything in the fire is fire. Some said: Al-Dhari is a valley in Hell. A group of the interpreters said: Al-Dhari is the food of the people of the fire, and he did not intend to specify anything from what he mentioned. Some linguists said: This is something that the Arabs do not know. It is said: "Al-Dhari" is the skin that is on the bone beneath the flesh, and I do not know who interpreted the verse with this. The people of these sayings say: Al-Zaqqum is for one group, and Al-Dhari is for another group, and Al-Ghislin is for another group.

And there was a difference of opinion regarding the meaning of what is called [UNTRANSLATED-LATIN: dhari'a]. It was said: it is [UNTRANSLATED-LATIN: dhari'] meaning [UNTRANSLATED-LATIN: mudhir] or [UNTRANSLATED-LATIN: muḍ'if] for the body, emaciated. This is from the saying of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, regarding the sons of Ja'far ibn Abi Talib about them: "What is it that I see them as [UNTRANSLATED-LATIN: dhari'ayn]?" He means emaciated. And from [UNTRANSLATED-LATIN: fa'il] meaning [UNTRANSLATED-LATIN: muf'il], the saying of Amr ibn Ma'adi Karb:

Is it from the fragrance of the caller, the All-Hearing, That keeps me awake while my companions are asleep?

He means: the hearing. And it was said: [UNTRANSLATED-LATIN: dhari'] is [UNTRANSLATED-LATIN: fa'il] from [UNTRANSLATED-LATIN: muḍara'a], meaning because it resembles good pasture and resembles it in appearance, while it is not so.

And when He, the Exalted, mentioned the faces of the people of the Fire, He followed that by mentioning the faces of the people of Paradise to clarify the difference. And His saying, the Exalted, "for their striving" means: for their deeds in this world and their obedience. The meaning is: for the reward of their striving and the enjoyment therein. And the Exalted described Paradise as high, and this is correct in terms of distance and place, and in terms of its status and rank as well.

(Narration 600) Nafi' read alone, and Ibn Kathir, and Abu Amr - with a difference from them - and Al-A'raj, and the people of Mecca and Medina: "You will not hear therein any [UNTRANSLATED-LATIN: laghiyah]" with the 'ta' pronounced from above, and he raised "[UNTRANSLATED-LATIN: laghiyah]." Some of them interpreted it: you will not hear therein any word that is [UNTRANSLATED-LATIN: lagh] meaning one that is empty, so it is on the attribution. And some of them interpreted it as meaning: you will not hear therein any group or gathering that is speaking ill. Abu Ubaidah said: "[UNTRANSLATED-LATIN: laghiyah]" is a source like [UNTRANSLATED-LATIN: 'aqibah] and [UNTRANSLATED-LATIN: jathiyah]. And Al-Jahdari read "You will not hear" with the 'ta' pronounced from above, "[UNTRANSLATED-LATIN: laghiyan]" in the accusative. Ibn Kathir and Abu Amr read: "You will not hear" with the 'ya' from below, pronounced "[UNTRANSLATED-LATIN: laghiyah]" in the nominative, which is the reading of Ibn Muhaisin and 'Isa and Al-Jahdari as well. However, he read "[UNTRANSLATED-LATIN: laghiyah]" in the accusative meaning: no one will hear any word that is [UNTRANSLATED-LATIN: laghiyah], from your saying: I made Zayd hear. And the others read and Nafi' - in the narration of Khareejah - and Al-Hasan, and Abu Rajaa, and Abu Ja'far, and Qatadah, and Ibn Sirin, and Abu Amr - with a difference from him - "You will not hear" with the 'ta' opened "[UNTRANSLATED-LATIN: laghiyah]" in the accusative, and the meaning is either on the word or on the group, and the subject of "You will hear" is either the faces or Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him - as Al-Hasan said - and indeed you, O addressed one, are in general. And "[UNTRANSLATED-LATIN: lagh]" is the fall of speech, and that encompasses obscenity and all other base speech that is lacking. And there is no deficiency or fault in action or speech in Paradise, and all praise is due to Allah, the Lord of Blessings.