Tafsir of Ibraheem 14:50

"Their garments" (sarabīluhum) means their shirts; it is the plural of sirbāl.

"Of tar" (min qatrān): This is what is extracted from the abhal (juniper) tree. It is boiled and used to treat scabby camels, burning the scab due to its intense sharpness. Its heat can penetrate to the core. It is black, malodorous, and quick to ignite; it is even said to be the most rapidly combustible thing. In al-Tadhkirah, it is mentioned that it is of two types: thick, shimmering, and sharp-scented, known as barqī; and thin and dull, known as sā’il. The former comes specifically from the sharbīn (cedar) tree, and the latter from the pine, lotus, and similar trees. The former is superior, and it is hot and dry in the third or second degree. Regarding zift (pitch), it is mentioned that it comes from trees like cedar and others, and if it flows on its own, it is called zift, whereas if it is obtained through manufacturing, it is qatrān. It is also pronounced qaṭān with the vowel pattern of sakrān. It is narrated from Umar and Ali (may Allah be pleased with them both) that they recited it as qiṭrān with the vowel pattern of sarḥān, though we have not encountered any tradition confirming someone who recited it that way.

The sentence consisting of the subject and predicate is in the place of an accusative state (ḥāl) describing the "criminals," or describing their pronoun in "bound together" (muqarranīn), or describing "bound together" itself, as some have said. Its connector is only the pronoun, as in the phrase: "His word is 'he to me'," or the sentence is commencing (must’anifa). Regardless, in "their garments," there is a forceful metaphor. The intention is that the skins of the people of Hell are coated with tar until the coating itself acts as garments. It is as if this is so that four types of torment may be combined upon them: its stinging, its burning, the rapidity of the fire upon their skins, and the repulsive color and stench. Moreover, the disparity between that tar and what we observe in this world is like the disparity between the two fires; thus, what we observe of them are merely names for the realities that exist in the Hereafter. Through His encompassing generosity, we seek refuge, and in His vast protection, we take shelter.

It is permissible that the speech contains a representative metaphor (isti‘āra tamthīliyya), such that the soul adorned with corrupt dispositions—like disbelief, ignorance, stubbornness, and stupidity—is likened to a person wearing clothes of pitch and tar. The point of comparison is that both are decorated with something ugly and harmful to its possessor, which is abhorred when witnessed, and the word of one is borrowed for the other. It is not hidden that directing the representative metaphor in this way involves some laxity, and it is apparent that claiming this metaphor here is closest to the speech of the Sufis.

Some said: It is possible that the mentioned tar is the very substance of what they wore in this present life, having made it their livery of false beliefs and evil deeds that attract various torments, which have now materialized in the afterlife in that form, leading to the intensification of torment. May Allah the Exalted protect us from that by His grace and generosity. You know that the forceful metaphor in this case remains as it is.

Ali (may Allah honor his countenance), Ibn Abbas, Abu Hurayrah, Ikrimah, Qatadah, and a group recited it as qiṭr-ān, as two separate, indeclinable words. The first is qiṭr (copper or molten copper), and the second is ān (meaning intense heat). Al-Hasan said: "Hell has been stoked with it since it was created, so its heat has reached its peak."

"And the fire will cover their faces" (wa taghshā wujūhahumu al-nār): That is, the fire that is stoked upon their bodies—which are clad in tar—will ascend and encompass them. Singling out the faces for this judgment, despite it being general to their other limbs, is because they are the most precious and noble of the outward parts of the body, as in the saying of the Exalted: "Is he who wards off with his face the evil of the torment on the Day of Resurrection...?" It is also because they are the assembly of the senses and perceptions that they did not use for what they were created for: the realization of truth and reflection upon it. This is similar to "as it rises to their hearts," because they are the most noble of the inner organs and the seat of knowledge, which they had filled with ignorances. Or, perhaps the face is singled out because of its being bare, as it is said, of the tar, which makes mentioning the fire covering the rest unnecessary. The reason for the face being left bare of it may be so that they may recognize one another when the flames occasionally clear, and their torment may be doubled by the shame felt before the gaze of all witnesses.

It was recited as raf’ (nominative) for "faces" and naṣb (accusative) for "fire," as if the arrival of the faces upon the fire was metaphorically rendered as "covering." It was also recited as taghashshā (reflexive), omitting one of the tās. The sentence, as Abu al-Baqa’ said, is in the state of ḥāl (accusative), like the preceding sentence.

In al-Kashshaf, the scholar al-Tibi stated that "bound together," "their garments of tar," and "covers their faces" are states of the object of "you see," brought in that way for the purpose of gradation (taraqqī). This is why the second is a nominal sentence, for the garments of tar—combining all four types of torment—are more abominable than chains. As for "covers," it is to renew the presence of the meaning intended in the words of the Exalted: "And you see," because the second state is more terrifying.

The apparent view is that the latter two sentences are disconnected from the rule of "seeing," because the first is for explaining their state in the gathering place (al-mawqif) until they are cast into the fire, and the last two are to explain their state after entering it. It is as if the first moved the listener to say: "And if this is their condition in the gathering place, then how will they be while abiding eternally in Hell?" So the answer was given with His statement: "Their garments of tar." The imperfect verb (muḍāri‘) was preferred in the second instance to present the state to the mind and the renewal of the "covering" moment by moment. Most grammarians hold the view of non-interruption.