51:1 Adh-Dhaariyat (The Winnowing Winds)

هذا قسم من الله الصادق في قيله، بهذه المخلوقات العظيمة التي جعل الله فيها من المصالح والمنافع، ما جعل على أن وعده صدق، وأن الدين الذي هو يوم الجزاء والمحاسبة على الأعمال، لواقع لا محالة، ما له من دافع، فإذا أخبر به الصادق العظيم وأقسم عليه، وأقام الأدلة والبراهين عليه، فلم يكذب به المكذبون، ويعرض عن العمل له العاملون. والمراد بالذاريات: هي الرياح التي تذروا، في هبوبها { ذَرْوًا } بلينها، ولطفها، ولطفها وقوتها، وإزعاجها.

قال شعبة بن الحجاج عن سماك عن خالد بن عرعرة أنه سمع علي رضي الله عنه وشعبة أيضا عن القاسم بن أبي بزة عن أبي الطفيل أنه سمع عليا رضي الله عنه وثبت أيضا من غير وجه عن أمير المؤمنين علي بن أبي طالب رضي الله عنه أنه صعد منبر الكوفة فقال: لا تسألوني عن آية في كتاب الله تعالى ولا عن سنة عن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم إلا أنبأتكم بذلك فقام إليه ابن الكواء فقال يا أمير المؤمنين ما معنى قوله تعالى "والذاريات ذروا" قال علي رضي الله عنه: الريح.

Which was revealed in Makkah

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

Affirming the News of the Resurrection The Commander of the faithful,

`Ali bin Abi Talib may Allah be pleased with him, ascended the Minbar in Kufah and declared, "Any Ayah in the Book of Allah the Exalted and any Sunnah from Allah's Messenger ﷺ you ask me about today, I will explain them." Ibn Al-Kawwa stood up and said, "O Leader of the faithful! What is the meaning of Allah's statement,

وَالذَرِيَـتِ ذَرْواً

(By the scattering Dhariyat)," and `Ali said, "The wind." The man asked,

فَالْحَـمِلَـتِ وِقْراً

"(And the laden Hamilat)" `Ali said, "The clouds." The man again asked,

فَالْجَـرِيَـتِ يُسْراً

"(And the steady Jariyat)" `Ali said, "The ships." The man asked,

فَالْمُقَسِّمَـتِ أَمْراً

"(And the distributors of command)" `Ali said, it refers to "The angels." Some scholars said that Al-Jariyat Yusra refers to the stars that float in their orbits with ease. This would mean that the things mentioned were ascendant in their order, beginning with the lower, then mentioning the higher one after that, etc. The winds bring the clouds, the stars are above them and the angels who distribute by Allah's order are above that, and they descend with Allah's legislative orders and the decrees He determines. These Ayat contain a vow from Allah that Resurrection shall come to pass. Allah's statement,

إِنَّمَا تُوعَدُونَ لَصَـدِقٌ

(Verily, that which you are promised is surely true.), it is a truthful promise,

وَإِنَّ الدِّينَ

(And verily, Ad-Din) the Recompense,

لَوَاقِعٌ

(will occur), it will surely come to pass. Then Allah the Exalted said,

وَالسَّمَآءِ ذَاتِ الْحُبُكِ

(By the heaven full of Hubuk,) Ibn `Abbas said; "Full of beauty, grace, magnificence and perfection." Mujahid, `Ikrimah, Sa`id bin Jubayr, Abu Malik, Abu Salih, As-Suddi, Qatadah, `Atiyah Al-`Awfi, Ar-Rabi` bin Anas and others said similarly. Ad-Dahhak, Al-Minhal bin `Amr and others said, "The meandering of the water, sand and plants when the wind passes over them; carving paths out of them, that is the Hubuk." All of these sayings return to the same meaning, that of beauty and complexity. The sky is high above us, clear yet thick, firmly structured, spacious and graceful, beautified with stars such as the sun and orbiting planets such as the moon and the planets of the solar system.

The Differing Claims of the Idolators

Allah the Exalted said,

إِنَّكُمْ لَفِى قَوْلٍ مُّخْتَلِفٍ

(Certainly, you have different ideas.) Allah says, `you disbelievers who deny the Messengers have different and confused opinions that do not connect or conform to each other.' Qatadah commented on the Ayah, "You have different ideas about the Qur'an. Some of you agree that it is true while some others deny this fact." Allah said,

يُؤْفَكُ عَنْهُ مَنْ أُفِكَ

(Turned aside therefrom is he who is turned aside.) Allah says, these confused and different opinions only fool those who are inwardly misguided. Surely, such falsehood is accepted, embraced and it becomes the source of confusion only for those who are misguided and originally liars, the fools who have no sound comprehension, as Allah said,

فَإِنَّكُمْ وَمَا تَعْبُدُونَ - مَآ أَنتُمْ عَلَيْهِ بِفَـتِنِينَ - إِلاَّ مَنْ هُوَ صَالِ الْجَحِيمِ

(So, verily you and those whom you worship cannot lead astray, except those who are predetermined to burn in Hell!)(37:161-163) Ibn `Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, and As-Suddi said:

يُؤْفَكُ عَنْهُ مَنْ أُفِكَ

(Turned aside therefrom is he who is turned aside.) "He who is misguided is led astray from it. " Allah said;

قُتِلَ الْخَرَصُونَ

(Cursed be Al-Kharrasun), Mujahid said; "The liars. This is similar to what is mentioned in (Surah) `Abasa:

قُتِلَ الإِنسَـنُ مَآ أَكْفَرَهُ

(Be cursed man! How ungrateful he is!)(80:17) Al-Kharrasun are those who claim that they will never be brought back to life, doubting the coming of Resurrection." `Ali bin Abi Talhah reported from Ibn `Abbas;

قُتِلَ الْخَرَصُونَ

(Cursed be Al-Kharrasun), "Cursed be the doubters." Mu`adh said similarly, may Allah be pleased with him. During one of his speeches he said, "Destroyed be the doubters." Qatadah said, "Al-Kharrasun are the people of doubt and suspicion." Allah said;

الَّذِينَ هُمْ فِى غَمْرَةٍ سَـهُونَ

(Who are under a cover of Sahun,) Ibn `Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, and others said; "In disbelief and doubt, they are heedless and playful." Allah said,

يَسْـَلُونَ أَيَّانَ يَوْمُ الدِّينِ

(They ask: "When will be the Day of Ad-Din") They utter this statement in denial, stubbornness, doubt and suspicion. Allah the Exalted replied,

يَوْمَ هُمْ عَلَى النَّارِ يُفْتَنُونَ

((It will be) a Day when they will be Yuftanun in the Fire!) Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid, Al-Hasan and several others said that Yuftanun means punished. Mujahid said: "Just as gold is forged in the fire." A group of others also including Mujahid, `Ikrimah, Ibrahim An-Nakha`i, Zayd bin Aslam, and Sufyan Ath-Thawri said, "They will be burnt."

ذُوقُواْ فِتْنَتَكُمْ

(Taste you your trial!), Mujahid said, "Your burning" while others said, "Your punishment."

هَـذَا الَّذِى كُنتُمْ بِهِ تَسْتَعْجِلُونَ

(This is what you used to ask to be hastened!) This will be said admonishing, chastising, humiliating and belittling them. Allah knows best.

إِنَّ الْمُتَّقِينَ فِى جَنَّـتٍ وَعُيُونٍ ءَاخِذِينَ مَآ ءَاتَـهُمْ رَبُّهُمْ إِنَّهُمْ كَانُواْ قَبْلَ ذَلِكَ مُحْسِنِينَ كَانُواْ قَلِيلاً مِّن الَّيْلِ مَا يَهْجَعُونَ وَبِالاٌّسْحَـرِ هُمْ يَسْتَغْفِرُونَ

By the scatterers the winds that scatter dust and other things that scatter dharwan is a verbal noun; one may also say tadhrīhi dharyan ‘it blows it sweeping it away’;

Affirmation of After-Life

The subject-matter of Surah Adh-Dhariyat, like its predecessor Surah Qaf, is mainly the Hereafter, Resurrection, Reckoning, Judgment, and Allah's reward and punishment. The first few verses contain an oath from Allah that the promise of Resurrection is true, and shall come to pass. In these verses Allah swears an oath by four phenomena, as follows:

وَالذَّارِ‌يَاتِ ذَرْ‌وًا ﴿1﴾ فَالْحَامِلَاتِ وِقْرً‌ا ﴿2﴾ فَالْجَارِ‌يَاتِ يُسْرً‌ا ﴿3﴾ فَالْمُقَسِّمَاتِ أَمْرً‌ا ﴿4﴾

(I swear) by those (winds) that scatter dust, then by those (clouds) that bear loads, then by those (boats) that sail with ease, then by those (angels) who distribute things, (51:1-4)

There is a Hadith whose attribution to the Holy Prophet ﷺ has been held by Ibn Kathir as da` eef [ weak ], but it is also reported as a saying of Sayyidna ` Umar ؓ and Ali ؓ . It explains these four things as follows: The expression Dhariyat [ scatterers ] refers to the wind that blows up dust; the expression hamilat-i-wiqran literally denotes burden-bearers and contextually refers to the clouds that carry the burden of water or rain; the expression jariyat-i-yusran refers to the ships that sail smoothly and with ease in the water; and the expression muqassimat-i-amran refers to the angels who distribute to all creatures their sustenance and water, and different kinds of difficulties and comfort as determined by Allah's orders and decrees (Ibn Kathir, Qurtubi and Ad-Durr-ul-Manthur quote these narrations both as mar' mawquf).

By the scatterers scattering. This is an allusion to the dawn winds that carry the moaning of the yearners to the courtyards of exaltedness, then bring the breeze of proximity to the nostrils of the secret cores of the folk of love, letting them find ease from the overpowering force of rapture. I will let the winds guide me to your breeze when their blowing comes from your direction. I will ask them to carry my greetings to you. If they arrive one day, respond to me! When the announcers of the good news of dawn appear, the army of brightness breaks out of its ambush, and the east wind begins to blow love into the world's air, then a dawn wind is sent into the road like a messenger from the Gardens of Eden in order to convey the divine inbreathings to the nostrils of the secret cores of the friends. Exalted is the hour and great the moment when, on the carpet of We are nearer [50:16] in the seclusion of He is with you [57:4], He conveys the wine of “I am the sitting companion of him who remembers Me” to His friends, secret to secret, without the intrusion of others! In the attribute of clemency the caller of exaltedness calls out in the world of being so as to caress the poor: “Who will lend to one who is neither lacking nor wrongdoing?” What wonder if at that moment He says in the heart of the servant, “My servant, fear not, thou art among the secure” [28:31].