73:17 Al-Muzzammil (The Enshrouded One)

أي: فكيف يحصل لكم الفكاك والنجاة من يوم القيامة، اليوم المهيل أمره، العظيم قدره ، الذي يشيب الولدان، وتذوب له الجمادات العظام.

يحتمل أن يكون يوما معمولا لتتقون كما حكاه ابن جرير عن قراءة ابن مسعود فكيف تخافون أيها الناس يوما يجعل الولدان شيبا إن كفرتم بالله ولم تصدقوا به؟ ويحتمل أن يكون معمولا لكفرتم فعلى الأول كيف يحصل لكم أمان من يوم هذا الفزع العظيم إن كفرتم وعلى الثاني كيف يحصل لكم تقوى إن كفرتم يوم القيامة وجحدتموه وكلاهما معنى حسن ولكن الأول أولى والله أعلم. ومعنى قوله "يوما يجعل الولدان شيبا" أى من شدة أهواله وزلازله وبلابله وذلك حين يقول الله تعالى لآدم ابعث بعث النار فيقول من كم؟ فيقول من كل ألف تسعمائة وتسعة وتسعون إلى النار وواحد إلى الجنة. قال الطبراني حدثنا يحيى بن أيوب العلاف حدثنا سعيد بن أبي مريم حدثنا نافع بن يزيد حدثنا عثمان بن عطاء الخراساني عن أبيه عن عكرمة عن ابن عباس أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قرأ "يوما يجعل الولدان شيبا" قال "ذلك يوم القيامة وذلك يوم يقول الله لآدم قم فابعث من ذريتك بعثا إلى النار قال من كم يا رب؟ قال من كل ألف تسعمائة وتسعة وتسعون وينجو واحد" فاشتد ذلك على المسلمين وعرف ذلك رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ثم قال حين أبصر ذلك في وجوههم "إن بني آدم كثير وإن يأجوج ومأجوج من ولد آدم وإنه لا يموت منهم رجل حتى ينتشر لصلبه ألف رجل ففيهم وفي أشباهم جنة لكم" هذا حديث غريب وقد تقدم في أول سورة الحج ذكر هذه الأحاديث.

The Command to be Patient with the Harms of the Disbelievers and a Discussion of what They will rece

Allah commands His Messenger to be patient with what the foolish who reject him among his people say. Allah also commands him to keep away from them in a nice way. This means in a way that is not blameworthy. Then Allah says to him, as a threat and a warning to his people - and He (Allah) is the Most Great, Whose anger nothing can stand before,

وَذَرْنِى وَالْمُكَذِّبِينَ أُوْلِى النَّعْمَةِ

(And leave Me alone to deal with the deniers, those who are in possession of good things of life.) meaning, `leave Me to deal with the rich rejectors, who own great wealth.' For verily, they are more able to obey than others besides them, and they are requested to give the rights (to people) because they have what others do not have.

وَمَهِّلْهُمْ قَلِيلاً

(And give them respite for a little.) meaning, for a little while. This is as Allah says,

نُمَتِّعُهُمْ قَلِيلاً ثُمَّ نَضْطَرُّهُمْ إِلَى عَذَابٍ غَلِيظٍ

(We let them enjoy for a little, then in the end We shall oblige them to (enter) a great torment.) (31:24) Thus, Allah says,

إِنَّ لَدَيْنَآ أَنكَالاً

(Verily, with Us are Ankal,) and these are fetters. Ibn `Abbas, `Ikrimah, Tawus, Muhammad bin Ka`b, `Abdullah bin Buraydah, Abu `Imran Al-Jawni, Abu Mijlaz, Ad-Dahhak, Hammad bin Abi Sulayman, Qatadah, As-Suddi, Ibn Al-Mubarak, Ath-Thawri and others have all said this.

وَجَحِيماً

(and Jahim.) This is a blazing fire.

وَطَعَاماً ذَا غُصَّةٍ

(And a food that chokes,) Ibn `Abbas said, "This means it will get stuck in the throat and it will not enter or come out."

وَعَذَاباً أَلِيماًيَوْمَ تَرْجُفُ الاٌّرْضُ وَالْجِبَالُ

(and a painful torment. On the Day when the earth and the mountains will (Tarjuf) shake,) meaning, they will quake.

وَكَانَتِ الْجِبَالُ كَثِيباً مَّهِيلاً

(And the mountains will be a heap of sand poured out.) meaning, they will become like hills of sand after they had been firm rocks. Then they will be utterly destroyed and nothing will remain of them. This will occur until the entire earth becomes a flat land and no curvature will be seen in it. Thus, there will be no valleys and no hills. This means that no part of it will be low or elevated.

Your Messenger is like the Messenger to Fir`awn, and You know what happened to Fir`awn

Then addresses the disbelievers of the Quraysh, and along with them the rest of mankind,

إِنَّآ أَرْسَلْنَآ إِلَيْكُمْ رَسُولاً شَـهِداً عَلَيْكُمْ

(Verily, We have sent to you a Messenger to be a witness over you,) meaning, witnessing your deeds.

إِنَّآ أَرْسَلْنَآ إِلَيْكُمْ رَسُولاً شَـهِداً عَلَيْكُمْ كَمَآ أَرْسَلْنَآ إِلَى فِرْعَوْنَ رَسُولاً - فَعَصَى فِرْعَوْنُ الرَّسُولَ فَأَخَذْنَـهُ أَخْذاً وَبِيلاً

(as We did send a Messenger to Fir`awn. But Fir`awn disobeyed the Messenger; so We seized him with a severe punishment.)

أَخْذاً وَبِيلاً

(severe punishment) Ibn Abbas, Mujahid, Qatadah, As-Suddi, and Ath-Thawri said that this means severe. This means, `you should beware of denying this Messenger, lest you be afflicted by that which befell Fir`awn. Allah seized him with the seizing of One Mighty and Powerful.' This is as Allah says,

فَأَخَذَهُ اللَّهُ نَكَالَ الاٌّخِرَةِ وَالاٍّوْلَى

(So Allah seized him with punishment for his last and first transgression.) (79:25) `Therefore, you will be even more deserving of destruction and ruin if you deny your Messenger, because your Messenger is more noble and a greater than Prophet Musa, the son of `Imran.' This has been reported from Ibn `Abbas and Mujahid.

The Threat of the Day of Judgement

Allah says,

فَكَيْفَ تَتَّقُونَ إِن كَفَرْتُمْ يَوْماً يَجْعَلُ الْوِلْدَنَ شِيباً

(Then how can you proctect yourselves from the punishment, if you disbelieved, on a Day that will make the children gray-headed) Ibn Jarir quoted in the recitation of Ibn Mas`ud: "How can you, O people, fear a Day that makes the children grey-headed, if you disbelieve in Allah and do not testify to Him" So the first interpretation would mean, `how can you attain safety for yourselves from the Day of this great horror if you disbelieve' It could imply the meaning, `how can you all attain piety if you disbelieve in the Day of Judgement and reject it.' Both of these meanings are good. However, the first interpretation is closer to the truth. And Allah knows best. The meaning of Allah's statement,

يَوْماً يَجْعَلُ الْوِلْدَنَ شِيباً

(On a Day that will make the children gray-headed) is that this will happen due to the severity of its horrors, its earth- quakes and its distur- bing confusion. This is when Allah will say to Adam, "Send a group to the Fire." Adam will say, "How many" Allah will then reply, "From every thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine to the Fire, and one to Paradise." Then Allah says,

السَّمَآءُ مُنفَطِرٌ بِهِ

(Whereon the heaven will be cleft asunder) Al-Hasan and Qatadah both said, "This means, because of it (the Day of Judge- ment), due to its severity and its horror." Then Allah says,

كَانَ وَعْدُهُ مَفْعُولاً

(His promise is certainly to be accomplished.) meaning, the promise of this Day will be fulfilled. This means it will occur and there is no way around it, and it will come to pass and there is no avoiding it.

So if you disbelieve in this world how will you guard against a day yawman is the direct object of tattaqūna ‘you guard against’ that is against the chastisement thereof by what defence will you defend yourselves against the chastisement of a day that will make the children grey-haired shīb is the plural of ashyab by the severity of its terrors this being the Day of Resurrection the shīn of shīb should actually have a damma but it is given a kasra because of its phonetic affinity with the yā’ — a distressing day is described as being ‘a day that makes the forelocks of children turn grey’ which is usually understood figuratively; but it may be that in the case of this verse it is meant literally —

يَوْمَ تَرْجُفُ الْاَرْضُ وَالْجِبَالُ وَكَانَتِ الْجِبَالُ كَثِيْبًا مَّهِيْلًا (on the Day when the earth and the mountains will quake, and the mountains will turn into a slipping heap of sand. [ 14] We have sent to you a messenger, as a witness over you, just as We sent a messenger to Fir'aun (the Pharaoh). [ 15] Then, Fir'aun disobeyed the messenger; so We seized him with a severe seizure. [ 16] So, if you disbelieve, how will you save yourself from a day that will turn the small boys into grey-headed old men...17).

These verses describe the horrors and terrors of the Day of Resurrection. Verse [ 14] describes that the punishment will take place on the Day when the earth and mountains will shake and the mountains will be reduced to a heap of dust or shifting dunes. Thereafter, reference is made to the story of Musa (علیہ السلام) and Fir'aun in order to threaten the pagans of Makkah. Allah sent a Messenger, Muhammad ﷺ ، to bear witness against the pagans of Makkah just as He sent a Messenger, Musa (علیہ السلام) to Fir'aun. But Fir'aun disobeyed Musa (علیہ السلام) and Allah seized him with terrible severity right in this world. Likewise, if the pagans of Makkah persist stubbornly in their pagan conduct, they too can be seized similarly with terrible severity in this very world. Towards the conclusion, the verse says that if no torment is inflicted in this world, no one can escape the horrors and terrors and length of the Day of Resurrection that will turn the children grey. This could be a metaphor for the most calamitous happenings which bring about disastrous changes. But some scholars say that this is a description of reality, in that the Day of Resurrection will be so long that a little child will grow old. [ Qurtubi and Ruh ].