Meaning

Ayah

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

THE EXPLANATION

1.   {وَالسَّمَاءِ ذَاتِ الْبُرُوجِ}  

      Allah adjured by the sky.  Imam Yahya Ibn Salam al-Basriyy said:  dhatil-buruj (ذَاتِ الْبُرُوجِ) means ‘the sky that has constellations.’  There are twelve (12) constellations that are homes for the stars, the sun, and the moon.  The sun covers them in a year and the moon in twenty eight (28) days. The moon runs in every constellation two and one-third (2 1/3) days--a total of twenty-eight (28) days, and then it hides for two (2) nights.  The sun runs a month in every constellation.  These constellations are:

(i) Aries (الحمل) (ii) Taurus (الثور) (iii) Gemini (الجوزاء) (iv) Cancer (السرطان) (v)Leo (الأسد) (vi) Virgo (السنبلة) (vii) Libra (الميزان) (viii)                        Scorpio (العقرب) (ix) Sagittarius (القوس) 

(x) Capricorn (الجدْىُ) (xi) Aquarius (الدلو) Pisces (الحوت)

            There are twenty-eight (28) constellations of the moon.  They are:

(1).       Ash-sharatan (الشَّرَطان)                       (15).     Al-ghafr (الغَفْر)

(2).       Al-butayn (البُطيْن)                                 (16).     Az-zubaniyy (الزُّبانى)

(3).       Ath-thurayya (الثريا)                             (17).     Al-iklil (الإكليل)

(4).       Ad-dabaran (الدَّبَران)                            (18).     Al-qalb (القلب)

(5).       Al-haq^ah (الهقعة)                                 (19).     Ash-shawlah (الشَّوْله)

(6).       Al-han^ah (الهنعة)                                  (20).     An-na^a’im (النعائم)

(7).       Adh-dhira^ (الذِراع)                              (21).     Al-baldah (البلدة)

(8).       An-nathrah (النَّثْرَة)                               (22).     Sa^d adh-dhabih (سعد الذابح)

(9).       At-tarf (الطرْف)                                    (23).     Sa^d bula^ (سعد بُلع)

(10).     Al-Jabhah (الجبهه)                                (24).     Sa^d as-su^ud (سعد السعود)

(11).     Az-zubrah (الزُبرة)                                 (25).     Sa^d al-akhbiyah (سعد الأخبية)

(12).     As-sarfah (الصَّرفه)                                (26).     Al-far^ al-muqqaddam (الفرع المقدَّم)

(13).     Al-^awwa’ (العوَّاء)                                (27).     Al-far^ al-mu'akhkhar (الفرع المؤخر)

(14).     As-simak I (السماك)                              (28).     Batn al-hut (بطن الحوت)

            Mujahid, al-Hasan and ^Ikrimah said, the term al-buruj (البُرُوجٍ) refers to ‘palaces’ as in the saying of Allah in Surah an-Nisa’ ayah 78 {وَلَوْ كُنْتُمْ فِي بُرُوجٍ مشيدة} which means:  [Even if you were in well-built palaces.] 

2.  {وَالْيَوْمِ الْمَوْعُودِ}                 

            This is a second adjuration whereby Allah adjures by the Promised Day.  By consensus the Promised Day is the Day of Judgment.

3.  {وَشَاهِدٍ وَمَشْهُودٍ}               

            ^Aliyy and Ibn Jubayr, in interpreting this ayah, said that ash-shahid (الشَاهِدٍ) is the day of Friday and al-mashhud (المَشْهُودٍ) is the day of ^Arafah.  Friday was called shahid because it testifies for every doer that which he did.  The day of ^Arafah was called mashhud because the day of ^Arafah is when people observe the Hajj season and the angels attend.  Al-Hasan Ibn ^Aliyy said ash-shahid is Muhammad and al-mashhud is the Day of Judgment. 

            Az-Zajaj and al-Mubarrad said:  The answer statement that clarifies the subject matter of the adjuration in the first three (3) verses becomes clear in ayah #12:

 (إِنَّ بَطْشَ رَبِّكَ لَشَدِيدٌ) which means,  'Allah’s torture of the unjust ill-doers is severe.' Hence, the adjuration and its answer statement are:  [I adjure by the sky and with its constellations (ayah #1), and by the promise of the Day of Judgment (ayah #2), and by the witness and the witnessed (ayah#3) that Allah’s torture of the unjust ill-doers is severe.]  The ayahs in between ayah #3 and ayah #12 confirm the adjuration. 

4.  {قُتِلَ أَصْحَابُ الأخْدُودِ}        

            Those who ditched the ditches of fire are damned.  That is, they are deprived of goodness.  Al-ukhdud (الأُخْدُودِ) is an excavation ditched in the ground.  The plural is akhadid (أخاديد).  In the past, a group of blasphemers dug a ditch in the ground and set it ablaze with a fervid fire.  They threatened to throw the believers in it if they would not quit their Religion.  Those who left their Religion were released; those who persisted on adhering to the belief were thrown in and burned.  Ashab al-ukhdud (أَصْحَابُ الأخْدُودِ) are those blasphemers who burned the believers.

            Al-Farra said:  There was a king who ordered a ditch dug, filled with wood, and ignited.  He threw some of the believers in that blazing ditch (wanting to burn them alive) while those who had dug the ditch sat around to watch.  Allah made the fire rise up from the ditch and burn the blasphemers instead of the believers.  This is the meaning of the saying of Allah in ayah #10 (فَلَهُمْ عَذَابُ جَهَنَّمَ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابُ الْحَرِيقِ) – [They shall have the torture of Hellfire in the Hereafter and the torture of burning in this world.]  Abu al-^Aliyah has a saying close to that of al-Farra’.  However, Abu Hayyan said their saying opposes the saying of the majority of the scholars (the jumhur).  It was said that in the aforementioned story, the fire actually burned those in it but those above it were saved. 

            The interpreters mentioned about the ditch-diggers more than ten (10) sayings.  Ibn Kathir said:  It is likely that similar incidents happened frequently in the world, as mentioned by Ibn Abi Hatim.  Of these ten (10) sayings is what Hafidh Ibn Hajar said in his book, Al-Fath:  " Ash-Shafi^iyy, ^Abdur-Razzaq and others narrated with a hasan chain that ^Aliyy said:  The majus had a Book revealed to them which they read, and from which they took knowledge.  One day, their leader drank alcohol, became drunk, and as a result fornicated with his own sister."  When he woke up, he gathered his greedy subjects, bribed them, and told them, trying to justify his abhorrent act, ‘Adam used to marry his sons to his daughters.’  Some followed him and those who opposed where killed."

            Hafidh Ibn Hajar proceeded to say: " ^Abd Ibn-Hamid narrated with a sahih chain from the route of ^Abdur-Rahman Ibn Abziyy about the interpretation of Surah al-Buruj that when the Muslims defeated the Persians, ^Umar ordered the people to gather.  He told them, ‘The Majus are not People of a Book to enforce al-jizyah on them, and they are not idolaters to enforce the pertinent rules on them.’  ^Aliyy said:  ‘But they are a People of a Book, and he told the aforementioned story.  However, he said the king fornicated with his daughter, not his sister.  He ended the story by mentioning that the king prepared the ditch of fire for the people who opposed him.

5.  {النَّارِ ذَاتِ الْوَقُودِ}               

            Ibn al-Jawziyy said that the fire (النَّارِ) in this ayah has a permutative application that replaces al-ukhdud (الأخْدُودِ).  Therefore, it is as if Allah said:  [Damned are the ditchers of the Fire.]  Ar-Raghib al-Asbahaniyy said that al-waqud (الْوَقُودِ) is a term used to mean ‘the wood used for fuel and for the resulting flame of fire.’  Abu Razin al-^Aqiliyy, Abu ^Abd ar-Rahman as-Sulamiyy, al-Hasan, Mujahid,Abu al-^Aliyah, Ibn Ya^mar, and Ibn Abu ^Ablah recited the term al-wuqud (الْوُقُودِ) with a dammah on the waw.

6.  {إِذْ هُمْ عَلَيْهَا قُعُودٌ}              

            The king and his companions were seated by the ditch, offering blasphemy to the believers.  They pushed in whoever refused to concede.

7.  {وَهُمْ عَلَى مَا يَفْعَلُونَ بِالْمُؤْمِنِينَ شُهُودٌ}            

            They witnessed what they did to the believers.  In these ayahs, Allah told us about a people whose certainty of belief was so strong that they preferred to be thrown in the ditch of fire rather than quit their religion. 

  8.  {وَمَا نَقَمُوا مِنْهُمْ إِلا أَنْ يُؤْمِنُوا بِاللَّهِ الْعَزِيزِ الْحَمِيدِ}                    

            The blasphemers denounced them for no other reason than that they believed in Allah, the ^Aziz (Undefeated) and the Hamid (Praised for all situations).  Ibn Abi ^Ablah recited naqimu (نقموا) with a kasrah on the qaf.

9.  {الَّذِي لَهُ مُلْكُ السَّمَوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ وَاللَّهُ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ شَهِيدٌ}     

            Allah is the One Who created the Heavens and the Earth and He is their Owner.  What those people did to the believers was not concealed from Him.

 10.  {إِنَّ الَّذِينَ فَتَنُوا الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ ثُمَّ لَمْ يَتُوبُوا فَلَهُمْ عَذَابُ جَهَنَّمَ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابُ الْحَرِيقِ}  

             Those who burnt and tortured the believers and repented neither from that act nor from their blasphemy, shall have the torture in Hellfire for their blasphemy and shall have the torture of burning in fire for their burning the believers.  According to most of the scholars, both of these tortures are in Hell.  Some scholars said the burning in fire is in this life and this is when the ditch-fire rose to them and burned them, as was mentioned earlier about the saying of al-Farra’ and Abu al-^Aliyah (in the explanation of ayah #4). 

11.  {إِنَّ الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ لَهُمْ جَنَّاتٌ تَجْرِي مِنْ تَحْتِهَا الأَنْهَارُ ذَلِكَ الْفَوْزُ الْكَبِيرُ}

             This ayah gives the all-inclusive meaning that the believers shall be rewarded gardens in Paradise, under which rivers run.  For them, this is the great triumph.  Al-Farra’ said that the believers triumphed by escaping the torture of the blasphemers in this life and the torture of Hellfire in the Hereafter.  This is as per his saying that the ditch-fire did not burn the believers, rather rose up and burned the King and his companions. 

12.  {إِنَّ بَطْشَ رَبِّكَ لَشَدِيدٌ}      

            Ibn ^Abbas said:  Allah’s torture of the unjust ones and the tyrants is severe.

13.  {إِنَّهُ هُوَ يُبْدِئُ وَيُعِيدُ}          

            Allah is the One Who brought them into existence and Allah is the One Who will bring them back to life after they will have turned into soil.

14.  {وَهُوَ الْغَفُورُ الْوَدُودُ}          

            After Allah mentioned the severity of His torture, Allah mentioned that He is abundantly forgiving and that He covers the sins of His slaves.  He is kind and generous to them.  It was said:  He is the abundantly forgiving for the sinful believers and He is kind and generous to them.

15.   {ذُو الْعَرْشِ الْمَجِيدُ}          

            Hamzah and al-Kisa’iyy recited al-majid (الْمَجِيدُ) by a kasrah on the dal (دِ).  As such, the meaning would be attributing a great status to the ^Arsh (the ceiling of Paradise).  Others have recited al-majid (الْمَجِيدُ) with dammah on the dal (دُ).  As such, it means the Attribute of Allah, Al-Majid, which means ‘the One attributed with the great and perfect Power and Wisdom.

            Allah, the Exalted, specifically mentioned the ^Arsh next to His Name to honor the ^Arsh.  Also it draws attention to that Allah is the Owner, Subjugator, and Protector of the ^Arsh, which is the greatest in size of all the creations.  Therefore, Allah surely subjugates what is less in size than the ^Arsh.  Allah said in Surah at-Tawbah, 129:

{ وَهُوَ رَبُّ الْعَرْشِ الْعَظِيمِ (129) }.

This ayah means:  [He is the Lord, i.e., Owner, of the great ^Arsh.]

            It is not permissible to delude oneself that Allah’s specifying the ^Arsh (by mentioning it) indicates Allah ‘is established’ over it. Some mushabbihah[1] wrongly claim that this is the meaning of the saying of Allah in Surah Taha, ayah 5:

{الرَّحْمَنُ عَلَى الْعَرْشِ اسْتَوَى (5) }.

Rather, the belief of the Salaf and those who genuinely followed them was to clear Allah from resembling the creation supporting their belief by the saying of Allah in Surah ash-Shura, 11:

{ لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ }

This ayah means:  [Absolutely nothing is like Allah.] 

            The famous Hafidh, Imam al-Bayhaqiyy, said in his book, Al-‘I^tiqad ^Ala Madhhab as-Salaf Ahl as-Sunnah Wal Jama^ah: 

It must be known that the istiwa’ (استواء) of Allah, Whom we clear of resembling the creations, is not an istiwa’ of straightening up from a tilted position, nor of being established in a place, nor touching any of His creations.  Rather, He has an istiwa’ over his ^Arsh just as He told--without a manner of being.  It is without a place and different from all His creations.  His ityan (إتيان) is not from one place to another.  His maji’ (مـجىء) is not that of a motion.  His nuzul  (نزول) is not that of transfer.  His Self is not a body.  His wajh (وجه) is not a picture.  His yad (يد) is not a limb.  His ^ayn (عين) is not a pupil.  Rather, these attributes belong to Allah as they are, and in using them we clear Allah from any manner of being. Allah said in Surah ash-Shura, 11: {لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ} which means:  [Absolutely nothing is like Him in any way.]  Allah said in Surah al-‘Iklas, 4: {وَلَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌ} [He has none similar to Him] and Allah said in Surah Maryam, 65: {هَلْ تَعْلَمُ لَهُ سَمِيًّا } which means:  [Do you know any similar to Him?  There is none.] 

Then al-Bayhaqiyy narrated with his own chain of narration that al-‘Awza^iyy, Malik, Sufyan ath-Thawriyy, and al-Layth Ibn Sa^d were asked about these hadiths (Hadith an-Nuzul and what is similar to it).  They replied, “Take them as they are, however, without a manner of being.”  Then al-Bayhaqiyy said:  “The one who attributes to Allah a manner of being has likened Allah to his creations and their created attributes.”  Some of Ahl as-Sunnah interpreted the istiwa’ to mean conquering, subjugating, and defeating.

16.  {فَعَّالٌ لِمَا يُرِيدُ}                 

            Nothing makes Allah powerless.

17.  {هَلْ أَتَاكَ حَدِيثُ الْجُنُودِ}   

            The ayah means:  O Muhammad, you have received the news of the throngs of the previous nations who engaged in tyranny and the punishment that befell them.  Likewise, a torture shall befall the blasphemers of Quraysh like the torture that befell those forces.  The throngs of tyranny are those who came together and prepared to fight the prophets of Allah.  In the following ayah, Allah named them.

18.  {فِرْعَوْنَ وَثَمُودَ}                 

            This ayah names the throngs of Pharaoh and Thamud.

19.  {بَلِ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا فِي تَكْذِيبٍ}                      

            The blasphemers of Makkah do not believe in you, O Muhammad, or the Qur’an.  They have not learned their lesson from the previous nations.

20.  {وَاللَّهُ مِنْ وَرَائِهِمْ مُحِيطٌ}    

            None of the blasphemers’ doings escapes the Knowledge of Allah.

21.  {بَلْ هُوَ قُرْءَانٌ مَجِيدٌ}          

            Rather, this is a generous Qur’an.  It is the Speech of Allah; not a form of poetry, fortune telling, or sorcery.

 22.  {فِي لَوْحٍ مَحْفُوظٍ}             

            The Qur’an was copied from the Guarded Tablet, as were the rest of the Revealed Books. The Qur’an is preserved from any perversion--addition or omittance--and is protected from the devils. 

            Nafi^ recited mahfudh (مَحْفُوظٍ) with a double dammah on the dha’ (ظ) (mahfudhun) making it an adjective to the term Qur’an in the previous ayah.  Read like this, the meaning is that ‘the Qur’an is protected from perversion and change.’  The remaining of the seven (7) reciters read mahfudh (مَحْفُوظٍ) with jarr on the dha’ (ظٍٍٍٍٍ).  (Mahfudhin) recited as such is an adjective to lawh (لَوْحٍ).  Read like this, the meaning is ‘the tablet is protected and preserved.’ 

Abu Al-^Aliyah, Abu Al-Jawza', Abu ^Imran and Ibn As-Sumayfi^ recited Qur'anu majidi

(ِقُرْءَانُ مَجِيد) without tanwin and with a kasrah on majid.

The scholars hold different opinions whether the Guarded Tablet is above or below the ^Arsh.  And Allah knows best.