Verses 1–19
بِسۡمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
In the name of Allah, the most Merciful, the most Compassionate
The Prophetic mission called the idolaters to believe in Divine Unity in Lordship (tawḥīd al-rubūbiyyah): that God was their Lord (rabb) and the Lord of all things. The Prophet called them to this belief with a mixture of glad tidings and warnings, warning especially those who denied that God could punish them in this world by destroying them and in the Hereafter with everlasting punishment on the Day of Judgement. This is essential for the success of the Prophet’s mission as, were there no accounting or recompense on the Day of Resurrection, then there would be no point or benefit for believing in monotheism or prophethood.
By taking up deities other than God, the polytheists had grievously rejected the doctrines of Divine Unity (tawḥīd), Prophethood (nubuwwah), and the Resurrection (maʿād). They were especially obstinate in their rejection of the Resurrection and would persistently deny it and mock it in any way they could. This was because in the falsity of the Resurrection they saw the falsity of the other two doctrines.
This sūrah discusses the Resurrection and their denial of it; it begins with this discussion and concludes with it. However, it does not discuss the Resurrection in of itself but insofar as it is a Day of recompense (jazāʾ) and that it is God, their Lord, who has promised them this day, and there is no doubt in God’s promise.
Therefore, when the discussion turns to arguments for the Resurrection, God employs evidence for Divine Unity in the heavens, the earth, and souls, as well as the punishments God inflicted on previous nations after inviting them to believe in Divine Unity and their rejection of His messengers. This is done only in order to establish Divine Unity to establish thereby the Day of Recompense which God has promised, and that God does not break His promises which He has given to His messengers. In this way, He undercuts their rejection of the Recompense, which they had relied on in their efforts to nullify the doctrine of divine unity and the prophetic mission because, without the Resurrection, belief in these two doctrines is meaningless, as we have already said.
The sūrah is of Meccan provenance, as shown by the tone of its verses, and there is no disagreement about this. One of its finest verses is: I did not create the jinn and the humans except that they may worship Me ().
The first group of verses we will discuss represent the opening of the discussion, which declare that the recompense they have been promised is real and that their rejection of it is a falsehood. Then it describes the Day of Recompense and the condition of the Godwary and the deniers on it.
Commentary
وَالذَّارِيَاتِ ذَرْوًا ١ فَالْحَامِلَاتِ وِقْرًا ٢ فَالْجَارِيَاتِ يُسْرًا ٣فَالْمُقَسِّمَاتِ أَمْرًا ٤
(51:1–4) By the stirrers who stir; then the bearers of burdens; then those which glide gently; then those who dispense a command….
“To stir” (dharw) means when the wind stirs up the dust and carries it into the air; a “burden” (wiqr) means a heavy load, whether carried on the outside or the inside.
These verses are a series of oaths, signifying emphasis (taʾkīd) upon emphasis on what will be made their object, namely the recompense for people’s actions.
By the stirrers who stir… is an oath sworn by the winds that stir up the dust.
Then the bearers of burdens… is an oath sword by the rain-clouds laden with water; then (fa) signifies emphasis and that it follows from the winds that stir.
Then those which glide gently… follows on from above and is an oath sworn by the ships that sail gently through the seas.
Then those who dispense a command… again follows from the above; this is an oath upon the angels who act in accordance with the divine command and dispense according to their different stations.
The divine command of the Lord of the Throne to create and govern is a single command, but insofar as each group of angels enacts it according to their own functions, the command branches out and is dispensed in as many forms as there are functions of angels. Then when another group receives it, it is further subdivided according to their functions, until it reaches those angels who are proximal to particular cosmic phenomena. So the command is subdivided and multiplied according to the number and function of angels.
These four verses, as you can see, speak about divine governance in general, in that they give one example of what the command governs on land—namely the winds that scatter—and one example of what it governs by sea—the ships sailing gently—and another example of what it governs in the air—the rain-clouds bearing water. But then all of these are united by the angels who are the intermediaries of this governance—it is they who dispense a command.
In other words, these verses mean: “I swear by all of the causes which govern this world that such-and-such is the case…” and it is narrated by both the elect and the masses that [Imām] ʿAlī has interpreted these verses in the fashion we have just described.
Fakhr al-Rāzī says in Tafsīr al-Kabīr that the most appropriate reading of the verses is to see them as being connected with the winds; for just as the winds stir up the dust, they also carry the rain-laden clouds, propel the ships that glide gently upon the seas, and distribute the clouds around the world. However, in truth what he considers likely is far-fetched, as what we have mentioned above is more eloquent than what he has suggested.
إِنَّمَا تُوعَدُونَ لَصَادِقٌ ٥ وَإِنَّ الدِّينَ لَوَاقِعٌ ٦
(51:5–6) …indeed what you are promised is truthful (ṣādiq) and indeed the retribution will surely come to pass!
In the Arabic, what (mā) in what you are promised is a relative noun which refers to an implicit phrase, namely “that which you have been promised.” Alternatively it could be infinitive (maṣdariyyah).
Indeed the retribution will surely come to pass is general and encompasses all forms of recompense. Some have said it encompasses all forms of warnings—a reading supported by the verse: So admonish by the Qur’an him who fears My threat ().
A promise being “truthful” (ṣādiq) is a figure of speech in the same way that a contented life () is, in that the quality of the one making the promise (or living the life, namely being truthful or contented) is attributed to the promise (or the life) itself rather than the subject. And the retribution (dīn) means the recompense (jazāʾ).
In any case, indeed what you are promised is truthful is the object of the oath pronounced in the above verses; and indeed the retribution will surely come to pass is semantically connected to it and serves as an explanation (tafsīr) of its meaning. In other words: “I swear by such-and-such that what you have been promised—by the Qur’an or the Prophet—regarding the Day of Resurrection and that God will recompense you for your deeds, good for good and evil for evil, is truthful, and indeed the recompense will come to pass!”
وَالسَّمَاءِ ذَاتِ الْحُبُكِ ٧
(51:7) By the heavens full of adornment (ḥubuk)…
Ḥubuk means either (1) embellishment or beauty; (2) skilful creation; or (3), as plural of ḥubaykah or ḥubbāk, meaning a “trail” (ṭarīqah) like that which appears on water if it is disturbed by the wind passing over it.
So if ḥubuk here is used in the first sense, it means: “I swear by the heavens with their beauty and embellishment.” This is like the verse: Indeed We have adorned the lowest heaven with the finery of the stars (). In the second sense, it means: “I swear by the heavens with their skilful creation.” This is like the verse: We have built the sky with might (). In the third sense, it means: “I swear by the heavens with their many trails.” This is like the verse: Certainly We created above you the seven tiers (ṭarāʾiq) ().
It appears that the third meaning is the most apposite for the object of this oath, which is the disagreement of people and the divergent paths they take. This is just as the previous series of oaths beginning By the stirrers who stir…, which shared meanings of movement and travel, were appropriate for their object indeed what you are promised..., which referred to journeying towards God and returning to Him.
إِنَّكُمْ لَفِي قَوْلٍ مُخْتَلِفٍ ٨ يُؤْفَكُ عَنْهُ مَنْ أُفِكَ ٩
(51:8–9) …indeed you are of different opinions (qawl mukhtalif)! He is turned away from it who has been turned away.
Qawl mukhtalif means that which is contradictory or opposing. As the present discussion is focused on the truthfulness of the promises made by the Qur’an, the prophetic mission or the Prophet himself with regards to the Resurrection and the Recompense, then the most appropriate meaning for qawl mukhtalif given the context is that their opinions differ about the matter of the Qur’an when they try to deny it. So sometimes they say: “It is magic and the one who brought it is a magician!” Other times, they say: “It is nonsense and the one who brought it is a madman!” And still other times, they say: “He is a soothsayer who receives it from devils and jinn.” While at times they say: “It is poetry and the one who brought it is poetry!” And at others: “These are legends of the ancients he has written!”
He is turned away from it who has been turned away—it refers to the Book, insofar as it contains the promise of the Resurrection and Recompense. In other words: “Whoever has turned away from the Qur’an has been turned away.” It is said that it refers to the Prophet and it means: “Whoever turns away from believing in him has been turned away.” However, it is clear that the first reading is more faithful to the context, even if the upshot of both readings is effectively the same.
It has been related from some commentators that the pronoun from it refers to what they have been promised or the religion. God first swears by the winds etc. that the Resurrection and Recompense are true, then He swears by the heavens that they are of different opinions—so some of them are sceptical while others disbelieve wilfully—and then says: “Whoever turns away from believing in the Resurrection and Recompense has been turned away.” This meaning is similar to the previous one.
Other commentators have suggested that the pronoun it refers to the different opinions and from (ʿan) is explanatory, as we see in the verse We are not going to abandon our gods for (ʿan) what you say (). In this case this sentence is an adjective for opinion (qawl), and this renders the meaning: “You are in different opinions which turn away those who turn away.” And this is also a viable interpretation.
It is said that the pronoun you (kum) in you are of different opinions refers to both Muslims and disbelievers and different opinions means that the Muslims believe that the Resurrection and Recompense will take place while the disbelievers think it will not. However, the context does not appear to support such a reading. Still other interpretations have been offered, but these are incongruous and not worth repeating.
قُتِلَ الْخَرَّاصُونَ ١٠ الَّذِينَ هُمْ فِي غَمْرَةٍ سَاهُونَ ١١ يَسْأَلُونَ أَيَّانَ يَوْمُ الدِّينِ ١٢
(51:10–12) Perish the liars (kharrāṣūn), who are heedless in a stupor! They ask, “When will be the Day of Retribution?”
Kharṣ originally means to speak on supposition and conjecture without knowledge, and because speaking without knowledge is very close to a lie, one who lies is called kharrāṣ. However, it is most likely that kharrāṣūn here refers to those who speak without knowledge rather than liars because they are delving into the matter of the Resurrection and Recompense to deny it but without having any knowledge.
Perish the liars is an invocation against them which asks they be denied success, which is the meaning relied upon by those who interpret this as a curse (laʿn).
Who are heedless in a stupor (ghamrah)!—According to al-Rāghib, ghamrah means a body of water which completely covers its location, and it became a figure of speech for ignorance which covers its bearer. And commentators have said heedless (sahw) here means any kind of unawareness (ghaflah).
So this verse describes the kharrāṣūn: they are drowning in ignorance and completely unaware of the reality of which they have been informed.
They ask, “When will be the Day of Retribution?” They are the kharrāṣūn and they ask this derisively, asking that it be hastened, as when they say: And they say, “When will this promise be fulfilled, should you be truthful?” ()
Through this question they demand to know at what future time the Day of Retribution will occur—signified by their use of the interrogative particle ayyān (“when”)—but this is only because the Day of Retribution is something that has been promised (mawʿūd), and this means it falls under the rubric of temporal events (zamāniyyāt). They ask about this event like they would any other, using interrogatives like “when?” (ayyān or matā), in the same way you might ask: “When is the day of Eid?” because Eid also falls under the rubric of temporal events.
It could also represent an expansion of the notion of temporality such that the particular qualities of the time are treated as an extension of it. In this case, asking about the time of a time is equivalent to when it occurs in relation to other times; is it before or after a certain amount of time? For example, when we ask: “When is the day of Eid?” we might answer: “in ten days’ time” or “before Sunday.” This is an expansion that is common in everyday speech (ʿurf), and the Qur’an contains many instances of it.
يَوْمَ هُمْ عَلَى النَّارِ يُفْتَنُونَ ١٣
(51:13) It is the day when they will be tormented in the Fire
They are the liars mentioned in the previous verse. The original meaning of torment (fatan) is to put gold into fire to test its quality; from there it came to be used for all forms of burning and punishment.
This verse is in response to their question, but instead of telling them the time of the Day of Retribution, it gives a description of their condition on that day, as its time belongs to the Unseen and is known only to God: They question you concerning the Hour, when will it set in? Say, “Its knowledge is only with my Lord: none except Him shall manifest it at its time” ().
The meaning of the verse is: “The Day of Retribution will come to pass on the day the liars are punished in the Fire.”
ذُوقُوا فِتْنَتَكُمْ هَٰذَا الَّذِي كُنْتُمْ بِهِ تَسْتَعْجِلُونَ ١٤
(51:14) “Taste your torment. This is what you used to hasten.”
This relates what God will say to the liars, or what the angels will say by His command, while they are being punished in the Fire on that day.
In other words, they will be told: “Taste your own personal punishment. This is the punishment that you were hastening when you asked in derision: ‘When is the Day of Retribution?’”
إِنَّ الْمُتَّقِينَ فِي جَنَّاتٍ وَعُيُونٍ ١٥
(51:15) Indeed the Godwary will be in gardens and springs
Now God turns to describe the condition of the Godwary in contrast to that of the liars. Gardens and springs are indefinite (nakirah) to hint at their magnificence—as if they are so wondrous that human language could not describe them. And springs is joined to gardens as an extension of the latter’s locale, meaning that the gardens will contain springs rather than the Godwary actually being in them.
آخِذِينَ مَا آتَاهُمْ رَبُّهُمْ ۚ إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا قَبْلَ ذَٰلِكَ مُحْسِنِينَ ١٦
(51:16) receiving what their Lord has given them, for they had been virtuous aforetime.
Meaning they will accept the gifts of their Lord’s kindness and be pleased with Him and with what He gives them, as suggested by the use of the words give (ītāʾ) and “receive” (akhdh) and the fact that the act of “giving” is attributed directly to their Lord.
For they had been virtuous aforetime is an explanation (taʿlīl) of the above details. In other words: They are in this condition because before that—in this world—they were virtuous in their actions, meaning they did good deeds.
كَانُوا قَلِيلًا مِنَ اللَّيْلِ مَا يَهْجَعُونَ ١٧
(51:17) They used (kānū) to sleep (mā yahjaʿūn) a little (qalīlan) of the night (min al-layl)….
These verses are an exposition (tafsīr) of their virtuousness; hujūʿ means to nap or to slumber for a short time.
There are several ways of reading this verse based on how we read mā in mā yahjaʿūn. It could be a superfluous mā, in which case the verb yahjaʿūn is the predicate of kānū, in which case qalīlan is an adverb associated with it, meaning: “In a little amount of time.”
Alternatively qalīlan in this reading might be the adjective of an absolute object (mafʿūl muṭlaq), meaning “a little sleep”, to which min al-layl is connected, rendering the meaning: “They would sleep in a little amount of time during the night” or “they would sleep a little during the night.”
Mā could also be read as a relative noun (ism mawṣūl) referring to an implicit pronoun while qalīlan is the predicate of kānū, with mā as its subject. This renders the meaning: “It was only a little of the night that they would sleep in.”
Finally, mā could be infinitive (maṣdariyyah) whose verbal noun is formed from it, in which case it becomes the subject of qalīlan which is the predicate of kānū.
In any case, a little of the night can be understood in comparison to the total time of each night, meaning they sleep a little of each night and spend most of it in prayer. Or it can be understood in relation to the total number of nights in their lives (the night being taken as an abstract category in this case), indicating that they would only sleep on a few nights and get up for prayer on most of them. In other words, they would not miss night prayers (ṣalāt al-layl), except on a few nights.
وَبِالْأَسْحَارِ هُمْ يَسْتَغْفِرُونَ ١٨
(15:18) …and at dawns they would plead for forgiveness….
Meaning they would ask God to forgive them for their sins. It has been suggested that pleading forgiveness means prayer, but this is clearly weak.
وَفِي أَمْوَالِهِمْ حَقٌّ لِلسَّائِلِ وَالْمَحْرُومِ ١٩
(15:19) …and there was a share in their wealth for the beggar and the deprived.
The previous two verses () described their behavior towards God, namely that they would rise for prayers at night and plead for forgiveness in the mornings. Meanwhile this verse describes their behavior with other people, giving money to the beggar and the needy.
Saying that there was a share (ḥaqq) specifically for the beggar and the deprived in their wealth—while if there was such a share it would be in everyone’s wealth—shows that because of their pure souls, they think it is right for the beggar and the deprived to have some of their wealth, so they behave in this way purely for the sake of spreading mercy and goodness.
A beggar (sāʾil) is someone who asks for a donation by showing his poverty, while the deprived is someone who cannot find provision or is unsuccessful in attaining it but does not ask for help out of embarrassment.
Examining Narrations
- In Tafsīr al-Qummī, the author relates that his father narrated to him, from Ibn Abī ʿUmayr, from Abū ʿAbd Allāh [Imām al-Ṣādiq]:
Ibn al-Kuwā asked the Commander of the Faithful about the verse: By the stirrers who stir (). He said: “The wind.”
And about the verse: then the bearers of burdens (). He said: “They are the clouds.”
And about the verse: then those which glide gently (). He said: “They are boats.”
And about the verse: then those who dispense a command (). He said: “Angels.”
Author’s comments: This tradition has been narrated in Sunni sources as well, as we see in Rūḥ al-Maʿānī.
- In al-Durr al-Manthūr, it is narrated by ʿAbd al-Razzāq, Fāryābī, Saʿīd b. Manṣūr, Ḥārith b. Abī Usāmah, Ibn Jarīr, Ibn Mundhir, Ibn Abī Ḥātim, Ibn al-Anbārī in his Masāḥif, al-Ḥākim—who declared it authentic—and al-Bayhaqī in Shuʿub al-Īmān, through various routes from ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib:
[He was asked] about the verse By the stirrers who stir. He said: “The wind.”
And about the verse: then the bearers of burdens. He said: “Clouds.”
And about the verse: then those which glide gently. He said: “Boats.”
And about the verse: then those who dispense a command (). He said: “Angels.”
- In Majmaʿ al-Bayān, Abū Jaʿfar and Abū ʿAbd Allāh [Imām al-Bāqir and Imām al-Ṣādiq] are narrated to say:
None may swear an oath except by God, but God may swear by whatever He wishes of His creation.
- In al-Durr al-Manthūr, it is narrated by Ibn Manīʿ from ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib that he was asked about the verse By the heavens full of adornment (). He said: “Endowed with a beautiful creation.”
Author’s comments: A similar report appears in Majmaʿ al-Bayān. It reads: “It is said: ‘Endowed with beauty and ornamentation.’”
- And another appears in Jawāmiʿ al-Jāmīʿ. It reads:
From ʿAlī: “Their beauty and their ornamentation.”
Some reports about the verse …indeed you are of different opinions! He is turned away from it who has been turned away () say that this refers to wilāyah.
- In Majmaʿ al-Bayān about the verse, they used to sleep a little of the night ():
It is said to mean they would pray as soon as a little of the night had passed. And this is narrated from Abū ʿAbd Allāh [Imām al-Ṣādiq].
- And in the same source, about the verse and at dawns they would plead for forgiveness ():
Abū ʿAbd Allāh [Imām al-Ṣādiq] says: “They would ask forgiveness from God seventy times during their witr just before dawn.”
- In al-Durr al-Manthūr, it is narrated by Ibn Mardawayh from Anas:
God’s Messenger said: “Spending the last part of the night in night prayers (tahajjud) is dearer to me than the first part of it because God says: and at dawns they would plead for forgiveness.”
- In the same source, it is narrated by Ibn Mardawayh from Ibn ʿUmar from the Prophet about the verse and at dawns they would plead for forgiveness, that he said:
Meaning they offer prayers.
Author’s comments: Perhaps the reason why some say that “pleading forgiveness” (istighfār) means prayer is because ṣalāt al-witr includes a component of pleading forgiveness, just as when the word qurʾān is used to refer to prayer in the verse …and the dawn recital. Indeed the dawn recital is attended ().
- In Tafsīr al-Qummī about the verse and there was a share in their wealth for the beggar and the deprived (), he says:
The beggar is one who asks, while the deprived is the one who cannot work.
- In Tahdhīb al-Aḥkām from Ṣafwān al-Jamāl from Abū ʿAbd Allāh [Imām al-Ṣādiq], it is narrated about this verse:
The deprived (maḥrūm) is someone gainfully employed but who has not profited from buying and selling.
- In another narration from Abū Jaʿfar and Abū ʿAbd Allāh [Imām al-Bāqir and Imām al-Ṣādiq]:
The deprived is someone whose mind is without deficiency but who’s provision is insufficient even though he is gainfully employed.