Tafsir for verse: 38:23
إِنَّ هَٰذَآ أَخِي لَهُۥ تِسۡعٞ وَتِسۡعُونَ نَعۡجَةٗ وَلِيَ نَعۡجَةٞ وَٰحِدَةٞ فَقَالَ أَكۡفِلۡنِيهَا وَعَزَّنِي فِي ٱلۡخِطَابِ ٢٣ ﴿23
23This is my brother; he has ninety nine ewes, and I have a single ewe; still he said, ‘Give it into my charge.’ And he overpowered me in speech.”
AI-Assisted Translation: This translation was produced by AI agents carefully trained over several months and thoroughly reviewed. It does NOT replace the scholarship of traditional scholars and is intended as a step in the right direction to make classical tafsir more accessible. There may still be inaccuracies—please report them promptly so we can improve the translation quality.

Commentary

My brother is a substitute for this or a news for 'inna. The intended meaning is brotherhood of religion, or brotherhood of friendship and affection, or brotherhood of partnership and companionship, due to His saying, 'And indeed, many of the companions.' Each one of these brotherhoods is a right that prevents aggression and injustice. And it was read: ninety-nine, with the 'ta' opened. And a ewe, with the 'nun' broken. This is from the variation of languages, like 'nati' and 'nati', and 'laqwa' and 'laqwa'. 'Akfilniha' means make me responsible for it as I am responsible for what is in my hand. 'Wa 'azzani' means He honored me and overcame me. It is said: 'Azzahu ya'izzuhu. He said: 'A quatah 'azzaha sharq fa batat... tajadhabuhu wa qad 'allaqa aljanah.' This refers to Qais ibn al-Mulawwah, the madman of Layla al-Amiriyah, and 'quatah' is the subject of 'ka' (as if). 'Azzaha' means he overcame her and held her back. It is said: 'Azz ya'izz bil-kasr: he is exalted, and with the opening: he is strong. 'Azzahu ya'izzuhu - with the dhamma - means he overcame him. What is here is of the third type: it is like his heart when he heard of her departure, like a dove whose wing is held by the net in the abundance of fluttering and agitation. He means: he came to me with arguments that I could not respond to. And he intended by the address: addressing the disputant. Or he meant: I proposed to the woman and he proposed to her, so he addressed me with a speech, meaning: he overcame me in the proposal and married her without me. And it was read: 'Wa 'azani', from 'al-mu'azah', which is the act of overcoming. Abu Haywah read: 'Wa 'azzani', with the lightening of the 'z', seeking ease, and this lightening is strange, as if he compared it to 'dhallat' and 'masta'. If you say: what is the meaning of mentioning the ewes? I say: as if he is arguing with them in himself as a representation and their words as a representation, because representation is more effective in reproaching what we mentioned, and to alert to a matter that one is shy to reveal, so it is alluded to as one alludes to what is shameful to express. And to conceal the matter of Dawood, may peace be upon him, and to preserve his honor. The reason for the representation is that the story of Uriah with Dawood is likened to the story of a man who has one ewe and his companion has ninety-nine, so his companion wanted to complete the hundred and coveted his companion's ewe and wanted him to give it up to him, and he argued with him in that, eager to achieve his goal. The evidence for this is His saying, 'And indeed, many of the companions.' He specifically mentioned this story because it contains a hint to the purpose by mentioning the ewe. If you say: the method of representation is only valid if you interpret the address as a dispute, if you interpret it as a mutual proposal, it would not be valid. I say: the correct way with this interpretation is to make the ewe a metaphor for the woman, as they have used the sheep metaphorically in His saying: 'O sheep, what a hunt for the one who is allowed to it.' This is from 'Antarah' in his mu'allaqah, remembering his beloved after the war between him and her tribe, therefore it was forbidden to him. It is said: his father married her, so she became forbidden to him. He likened her to the wild sheep in beauty and grace, and the fleeing from men, and that everyone hunts by trickery in the way of explicit metaphor, and the mention of hunting is an emphasis, because it suits the sheep. And 'wa' is extra, meaning: O sheep of the hunt, come forth, this is a time to reflect on your matter. It is said: the address is omitted, meaning: O people, bring forth a sheep of the hunt, and they were astonished by her condition. 'Al-qans' is hunting, and 'al-qans' - with movement - and 'al-qanis' is the hunted. It is narrated: 'O sheep from the hunt', it was said: 'from' is extra, based on the opinion of the Kufans, allowing the addition of names. And it is said: it is an indefinite noun described. And 'qans' is its description from the description by the source, meaning: O sheep, a person who is hunting. 'And for whom it is allowed' is related to an omitted description for her, and 'it is forbidden to me' is a shift in the saying by addressing her, which is a description for her, or an introduction to her affair, and wishing for her not to be forbidden: regret for what has happened due to the cause of the prohibition. 'So I threw, neglecting his eye from his sheep.'

I continued to tend to it and he continued to guard it ... until I approached when the darkness approached it.

I threw when his eye was inattentive to his sheep ... and I hit the kernel of its heart and its spleen.

This is attributed to Al-A'sha. It is said to be by 'Amr ibn Abi Rabi'ah. The pronoun in 'its shepherd' refers back to the previous line, like a woman or a pasture. Then he said: 'By the Lord of a cautious man’s sheep,' he borrowed the sheep for the beautiful woman in a figurative manner. The cautious man is one who is wary of others and fears their deceit. And caution:

is much caution that is continuous, it is said: with the first letter being pronounced, from the lesser of the four. And his neglect, meaning: the neglect of his eye, so I continued to watch the sheep and he continued to guard it, until I approached it when darkness came and night fell. I threw at his sheep when his eye was inattentive to the sheep he was guarding, and there is a type of mockery in this, and he attributed the neglect to the eye rather than the person because it was mentioned first, and to indicate the shortness of time and the swiftness of success, and because the heart does not forget it due to its preciousness to him, rather it is remembered in sleep. As for the eye, it may become inattentive, so I hit the kernel of its heart, meaning its middle, and I hit its spleen, and throwing is a metaphorical reference, because it is one of the suitable traits of the sheep. It is also valid that this line is a figurative metaphor, where he compared his success in achieving his desire while the guard was inattentive to the state of hitting the sheep with an arrow while the shepherd was inattentive. It is also valid that his saying: 'And a cautious sheep...' until the end of the verses: is a figurative metaphor for that state, and there is no metaphor in the sheep alone in this.

And he compared her to a ewe when he said:

'Like the ewes of the pasture swaying in the sand.'

I said: When she approached and the flowers swayed ... like the ewes of the pasture swaying in the sand.

And they adorned themselves with silk and revealed ... eyes like the dark-eyed ones, wide and beautiful.

This is by 'Amr ibn Abi Rabi'ah. And 'the flowers' is an addition to the pronoun of the connected subject, and its coming without separation is rare. 'Swaying' is originally 'tatahaada,' one of the two 'ta's is omitted, and it is an adjective for 'the flowers.' He compared them to wild ewes in the beauty of their gait, the wideness of their eyes, and their blackness.

And 'the flowers' is the plural of 'zahra,' meaning: white, and 'the pasture' is the empty wilderness. 'Swaying' means deviating from the straight path, and it is a state of the ewes. 'In the sand' is in the accusative case, meaning: they swayed in the sand. 'The woman veiled herself' means: she wore the veil. 'Dark-eyed' is the plural of 'hura,' meaning: pure ones. 'The wide-eyed ones' is the plural of 'najla,' meaning: wide-eyed.

If it were not for the fact that the companions would reject it, unless David would strike the companions as a beginning example for them and their story.

Mawlid said: 'If you say: The method of representation is only used to make the speech from rhetoric, if it is from rhetoric, what is its purpose?' He said: 'The purpose then is to make the ewe a metaphor for the woman, as they borrowed the sheep for her in the saying:

'O sheep, what is the hunt for one who is lawful for him?'

Except that the term 'companions' rejects it: unless it is a beginning example from David, peace be upon him.' Ahmad said: 'The difference between representation and metaphor is that in representation, what David, peace be upon him, understood at first is that the judgment is on its surface, which is the dispute over the ewes that are wandering, then it transitioned through the indication to the understanding that it is a representation of his state. And in metaphor, the understanding from them is the judgment over women expressed by the ewes as a euphemism, then he sensed that he is the one intended by that.'

If you say:

How is it correct for the angels, peace be upon them, to inform about themselves of what they have not experienced at all, neither a little nor a lot, nor is it of their nature? I say: It is a depiction of the matter and a supposition for it, so they depicted it in themselves and they were in the form of humans, as you say in depicting matters: 'Zayd has forty sheep, and 'Amr has forty, and you refer to them, so they mixed them and the year has passed, how much is due in it? And what do Zayd and 'Amr have of wool or fleece?

And the sbd: is from hair, and the lbd: is from wool. (A) And you also say in its description: I have forty sheep and forty, so we mixed them. And what do you have of the forty, four or none? If you say: What is the meaning of Ibn Mas'ud's reading: 'And I have a female lamb'? [[Mahran said: 'If you say: What is the meaning of Ibn Mas'ud's reading: 'And I have a female lamb'? He answered that it is said: a woman is a female for the beautiful and lovely, and its meaning: describing her as deeply rooted in the softness of femininity and its gentleness, and that is more charming for her and increases her grace and flexibility. Do you not see how they describe her as lazy and inactive, as in his saying: The slackness of standing is a cut of speech? Ahmad said: But his saying 'And I have a female lamb' was mentioned as a means of minimizing what he has and belittling it, to challenge his opponent by seeking this little insignificant thing while he has a great abundance. So how can it be appropriate to describe what he has, while the intent is to minimize it, with a quality of beauty that justifies an excuse for his opponent? Therefore, the famous reading came by limiting the mention of the lamb, and confirming its scarcity with his saying 'one'. This is a problem for Ibn Mas'ud's reading, which can be answered by saying that the incident that occurred, since it was a woman of Uriah represented by the lamb in it, is famous for beauty, and describing her example in the story of the two adversaries with beauty is an increase in the application, to emphasize that he is the one intended by the representation.]]? I said: It is said to you that a woman is a female for the beautiful and lovely. And the meaning: describing her as deeply rooted in the softness of femininity and its gentleness, and that is more charming for her and increases her grace and flexibility. Do you not see how they describe her as lazy and inactive? And his saying: The slackness of standing is a cut of speech [[The slackness of standing is a cut of speech... Playful at dinner if she did not sleep. Women are wasted by beautiful speech and soft charm and gentle nature. The period: is the weakness of the movement of the limbs in action, so she is often weak in standing. And the cuts of speech: means her fewness, or as if she cannot complete the words due to her softness and shyness, so it is as if she cuts them into pieces, often playful at dinner with her husband, and if she did not sleep: is an indication that she may sleep from the beginning of the night, which is a description of her laziness that is a result of softness and femininity. And when a man is wasted: if his character worsens, he is inherited by his state, and when a man is wasted: if he overcomes them, meaning he overcomes them with beautiful speech, and charm and vanity, and affectation, and gracefulness, and softness, and the softness of voice and its gentleness, and the reluctance with satisfaction. And the plant is long, and the thing is complete, and a complete body: is perfect, and the plural is 'umm', like a bed and beds, and a complete man - in the singular -: meaning perfect, so the intent is that her character, meaning her body, is perfect and beautiful.]] And his saying: She walks slowly, almost stumbling [[I do not forget Salma when she departs... She walks slowly, almost stumbling. The 'a' of 'forget' is omitted for the weight, meaning: I do not forget her, but I remember her at the time of her departure, and 'walks' is a substitute for what preceded it. And he expressed it in the present tense to bring to mind the pleasing image. And 'slowly' is in the accusative with 'walk', meaning: walking with deliberation and care, 'almost stumbling': meaning she is about to break and fall. And 'gorfah' means to cut it, or she is about to be taken from the ground, as water is scooped with the hand, so it is as if she is water due to her delicacy and fragility in her strutting. And a horse that is gorf: is one that takes much from the ground with its legs.

Explore Other Scholars on This Verse

Compare different scholarly perspectives on Surah Sad verse 23

Al-ZamakhshariAbū al-Qāsim Maḥmūd ibn ʿUmar al-Zamakhsharī
Learn more about Al-Zamakhshari
2242 / 2978