Commentary
Did you feel secure? The hamzah is for denial, and the fa is for conjunction with an omitted phrase, its meaning being: you were saved, so you felt secure, which led you to turn away. If you say: what caused the side of the land to be in the accusative? I say: it is the object of the verb 'to be swallowed', like the earth in His saying: 'So We caused the earth to swallow him and his house.' And 'with you' is an adverbial phrase. The meaning is that the side of the land may be swallowed, meaning it may be overturned while you are upon it. If you say: what is the meaning of mentioning the side? I say: it means that all sides and directions are equal in His power. He has in every side, whether land or sea, a cause that is a means of destruction. The side of the sea is not exclusively responsible for that; rather, if drowning occurs on the side of the sea, there is something similar on the side of the land, which is swallowing, because it is being buried under the earth just as drowning is being submerged under water. Thus, land and sea are equal in His sight; He has power over the land in the same way He has power over the sea. Therefore, a wise person should have equal fear of Allah in all directions and wherever they may be. Or He may send upon you a violent wind, which is the wind that pelts, meaning: or if He does not strike you with destruction from beneath you by swallowing, He may strike you from above with a wind that He sends upon you in which there are pebbles that pelt you with them, which would be more severe upon you than drowning in the sea. And who is there to rely on to avert that from you? Or do you feel secure that He will strengthen your desires and fulfill your needs until you return and board the sea from which He saved you, so you turned away? Then He will take revenge on you by sending upon you a violent wind, which is the wind that has a loud sound, as if it is breaking, or it is said that it does not pass by anything except it breaks it. And it may drown you; it has been recited with the 't' (ت) meaning the wind, and with the 'n' (ن), and likewise: We will swallow, and We will send, and We will return you. It has been recited with the 'y' (ي) and the 'n' (ن). The 'tabeer' refers to the claims, from His saying: 'Following in what is known,' meaning a demand. Al-Shamakh said: 'As the debtor seeks refuge from the claim.' Al-Shamakh describes a punishment from which the foxes of the two eastern regions flee, which is the name of a place, or the direction of the south and the north, like the two east. 'As he sought refuge' means he fled and took refuge; 'the debtor' means the one in debt; 'from the claim' means the creditor who demands from him. It is said: so-and-so is a claim upon so-and-so for his right, meaning he has control over him, demanding his right from him. The meaning is: we do what we do to them, then you will not find anyone demanding us for what we have done, as a form of retribution and seeking vengeance from our side. This is similar to His saying: 'And he does not fear its consequences.' Because of your disbelief in the blessing, meaning: their turning away when He saved them.
Explore Other Scholars on This Verse
Compare different scholarly perspectives on Surah Al-Isra verse 68