His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "And Hell will be brought forth that Day; and man will remember, and how will there be for him the remembrance?" "He will say, 'Oh, I wish I had sent ahead [some good] for my life.'" "So that Day, no one will punish as He will, and no one will bind as He will." "O tranquil soul, return to your Lord, well-pleased and pleasing [to Him]." "And enter among My servants, and enter My Paradise."

It has been narrated regarding His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "And Hell will be brought forth that Day" that it will be driven to the gathering with seventy thousand leads, each lead held by seventy thousand angels. A neck will emerge from it, and the tyrants among the disbelievers will be selected from it..." in a long hadith with differing words. And "Hell" here refers to the fire in its entirety. It has been narrated that when "And Hell will be brought forth that Day" was revealed, the color of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, changed.

And His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "On that Day, man will remember" means: he will remember his disobedience and tyranny, and he will look at what he has missed of righteous deeds. Then He said, exalted and majestic is He: "And how will there be for him the remembrance?" meaning: and how will the remembrance be of any benefit to him? Then He mentioned about him that he will say: "Oh, I wish I had sent ahead [some good] for my life." There is a difference in the meaning of his saying: "for my life." The majority of the interpreters said: its meaning is for my everlasting life; he means the Hereafter. Some of the interpreters said: the meaning is for my life in my grave at my resurrection, which I used to deny and believe that I would not return alive. And he said: "for my life" here is metaphorical, meaning: I wish I had sent forth righteous deeds so that I may enjoy them today and live a good life. This is like when a person says: revive me in this matter. Some of the interpreters said: the meaning is for the time or duration of my past life in this world, just as you say: I came for the rising of the sun and for the date of such and such.

The majority of the reciters, Ali ibn Abi Talib, Ibn Abbas, and Abu Abd al-Rahman read: "He will punish" and "He will bind" with a kasra on the dhāl and thā. And on this reading, the pronoun in "His punishment" and "His binding" refers to Allah, exalted is He, and the source is attributed to the doer. Therefore, there are two meanings: one is that Allah, exalted is He, does not entrust the punishment of the disbelievers that Day to anyone, and the other is that His punishment is of such intensity that no one has ever been punished like it in this world. It is possible that the pronoun refers to the disbeliever, and the source is attributed to the object.

And Al-Kisai, Ibn Sirin, Ibn Abi Ishaq, and Suwad al-Qadi read: "He will punish" and "He will bind" with a fatḥa on the dhāl and thā. I have narrated much from the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, so the pronouns - on this - refer to the disbeliever who is like his entire kind, and the source is attributed to the object, and "punishment" is placed in the place of "punishing" as he said:

And after your giving, a hundred [is] a great reward?

And it is possible that the pronouns in this reading refer to Allah, exalted is He, as if He, glorified and exalted is He, said: No one has ever been punished in this world with the punishment of Allah, exalted is He, for the disbelievers. So the source is attributed to the doer, and in this interpretation, there is an exaggeration. And Al-Khalil ibn Ahmad read: "His binding" with a kasra on the wāw.

And when Allah, the Most High, finished mentioning those who are punished, He followed it by mentioning the souls of the believers and their state. He, the Most High, said: "O tranquil soul". The meaning of "tranquil" is: the one who is certain to the utmost certainty. Do you not see that Ibrahim, peace be upon him, said: "But [I ask] that my heart be assured"? So it is a degree that is additional to faith, which is that there remains no desire in the soul in its certainty that moves it to seek it.

People have differed regarding when this call occurs. Ibn Zayd and others said: It is when the soul of the believer exits from his body in this world. It has been narrated that Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him, asked the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, about that, and he said to him: "Indeed, the King will say it to you, O Abu Bakr, at your death." The meaning of "Return to your Lord" - according to this interpretation - is: return by death. And His saying, the Most High: "Among My servants" means: among the ranks of My righteous servants. This is the reading of the majority with the plural "My servants". It is said that the call occurs at the resurrection of the bodies from the graves. So His saying, the Most High: "Return to your Lord" means: by being resurrected from your death, return to Allah, the Most High. It is said that "the Lord" here refers to the human being with a soul, meaning: enter into the bodies. And "the soul" is a generic name. Some scholars said: This call is now for the believers, as Allah, the Most High, mentioned the state of the disbelievers. He said: O believers, remain steadfast and strive until you return, pleased and pleasing. So the soul - according to this - is a generic name. Ibn Abbas, Ikrimah, Abu Shaykh, ad-Dahhak, al-Yamani, Mujahid, and Abu Ja'far read: "So enter among My servants," and the soul - according to this - is not a generic name, but rather it addresses an individual. Abu Shaykh said: The spirit enters into the body. In the Mushaf of Ubayy ibn Ka'b, it is: "O secure tranquil soul, which is pleased with your Lord and pleasing, so return among My servants." And Salim ibn Abdullah read: "So enter among My servants and enter My Paradise." The reading of "My servant" can mean that "the servant" is a generic name, making His servants like a single entity indicating unity, as he, blessings and peace be upon him, said: "And they are a hand against others." Others said: This call is only in the standing when the people of the Fire are driven to the Fire. So the call of the souls - according to this - is indeed the call of the lords of the souls with the souls. And the meaning of "Return to your Lord" - according to this - is to the mercy of your Lord, and "the servants" here are the righteous and pious.

The interpretation of [Surah al-Fajr] has been completed, and all praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.