The Day the earth is changed. It is established as a substitute for the Day that comes to them. Or as a circumstance for vengeance.

And the meaning is: the Day this earth that you know is changed into another earth different from this known one, and likewise the heavens. And changing means alteration. It can be in entities, as when you say: I changed the dirhams into dinars. From it is His saying: 'We changed them for other skins' and 'We changed their two gardens for two gardens.' And it can be in descriptions, as when you say: I melted the ring into a bracelet, if you melted it and shaped it into a bracelet, thus transferring it from one form to another. From it is His saying: 'Indeed, Allah changes their evil deeds into good deeds.' There is a difference of opinion regarding the changing of the earth and the heavens. It is said: Their descriptions are changed, so the mountains will move from the earth and its seas will burst forth. And it will be leveled so that no crookedness or elevation is seen in it. And Ibn Abbas said: It is that earth, but it has changed. He recited: 'And the people are not the same people you knew... nor is the house the house you used to know.' [He means: the people today are not the same people you knew before, due to the death of the living among them, and the house today is not the house you used to know, due to the change of its conditions and descriptions.]

And the sky is changed by the scattering of its stars, the eclipse of its sun, the obscuring of its moon, its splitting, and its becoming doors.

And it is said: He creates in place of it other earths and heavens. And from Ibn Mas'ud and Anas: The people will be gathered on a white earth on which no one has committed a sin. And from Ali, may Allah be pleased with him: It will be changed into an earth of silver, and heavens of gold.

And from Al-Dhahak: An earth of white silver like sheets. And it was read: 'The Day We change the earth,' with the pronoun 'We.'

If you say: How did He say 'the One, the Subduer'? I say: It is like His saying: 'To whom belongs the dominion today? To Allah, the One, the Subduer.' Because when the dominion belongs to one who is overpowering, who cannot be resisted or opposed, there is no refuge for anyone to anyone else, nor is there any place of safety. The matter will be extremely difficult and severe, with some being bound together. Or they are bound with their hands to their feet, shackled. And His saying: 'In chains' may relate to being bound, meaning they are bound in chains. Or it may not relate to it, and the meaning would be: bound and shackled. And the chains are the fetters. It is said to be the shackles. And a verse was recited by Salamah ibn Jundal:

'And Zayd the horseman has encountered shackles... biting with his forearm and with the bone of his leg.' [This refers to Salamah ibn Jundal. Zayd the horseman is the one whom the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, called Zayd the good. He encountered shackles, meaning he received from his enemies a binding, i.e., a chain and fetter. The biting refers to the grip of the hard, dry shackle in a figurative manner, and the 'with' indicates attachment, and the mention of the bone is for emphasis in the biting until it reached the bone.]

As for 'the tar,' there are three pronunciations: qitran, qitran, and qitran, with the 'q' being opened or broken with the 'ta' being silent. It is what oozes from a tree called Al-Abhal, which is cooked, and the camels that have mange benefit from it, as it burns the mange with its heat and sharpness, and the skin. Its heat can reach the inside, and it is known to ignite quickly, and it can be used for lighting. It is black in color and has a foul smell, and the skins of the people of the Fire are coated with it until its coating returns to them like garments. This is to gather upon them four things: the sting of the tar, its burning, the quickness of the fire in their skins, the wild color, and the foul smell. The difference between the two tars is like the difference between the two fires, and everything that Allah has promised or has promised regarding the Hereafter, there is a difference between it and what we observe of its kind that cannot be measured. It is as if what we have of it are only the names and the named there. By His vast generosity, we seek refuge from His wrath, and we ask Him for success in what saves us from His punishment.

And it was recited: from qataran, and qatar is copper or molten brass. And al-ani is the extreme heat. And the fire will cover their faces, as His saying, 'Is he who protects his face from the evil of the punishment on the Day they are dragged upon their faces in the Fire?' because the face is the most honored part of the outward body and the most noble, like the heart in its inward aspect. And for that reason, He said, 'It penetrates to the hearts.' And it was recited: and it covers their faces, meaning it will cover: that is, what is done to the criminals is done so that Allah may recompense every soul for what it has earned, or every soul that is criminal and obedient, because when He punishes the criminals for their crimes, He also rewards the obedient for their obedience.