Tafsir of Al-Isra 17:97

"And whomsoever Allah guides..." is an introductory statement, not entering into the scope of "Say." It clarifies what the preceding discourse indicated regarding the recompensing of servants, for the knowledge of the Exalted in such a context is used in the sense of recompense. That is, whomsoever Allah the Exalted guides to the Truth, "he is the guided" to it and to the reward that leads to it, or guided to every goal. Most have omitted the ya from al-muhtadi (the guided one).

"And whom He leads astray," meaning He creates misguidance within him due to his evil choice and the corruption of his predisposition—like these obstinate ones—"you will never find for them protectors"—that is, helpers—"besides Him," the Mighty and Majestic, to guide them to the path of Truth, or to a path that brings them to their worldly or otherworldly needs, or to a path of salvation from the punishment which their misguidance necessitates. This is in the sense that you will not find a protector for any one of them, as necessitated by the convention of balancing the plural with the plural, which indicates the distribution of individuals to individuals, according to what is well-known.

It is said that the Almighty said "protectors" as a form of hyperbole; for if the "protectors" cannot benefit them, how could a single protector? The pronoun in "for them" refers to "whomsoever" (man) in view of its meaning, just as "he" (in "he is the guided") refers to it in view of its wording; therefore, the pronoun is sometimes singular and sometimes plural. In the preference of the singular and the plural where each is used, there is an allusion to the unity of the path of Truth and the scarcity of its wayfarers, versus the multiplicity of the paths of misguidance and the abundance of the misguided.

Abu Hayyan, followed by some, mentioned that the second sentence is among the instances where the construction follows the meaning of the beginning without having been preceded by a construction following the wording, which is rare in the Quran. Al-Khafaji refuted this, stating there is no basis for it, as the pronoun there was indeed constructed according to the wording initially; for in His saying, "He leads astray" (yudlil), there is an omitted singular pronoun, as its estimation is yudlilhu (leads him astray) according to the original rule, which refers to the word "whomsoever" (man). Thus, it cannot be said it was not preceded by a construction according to the wording. He then said: "More strange than this is the claim that it might be said the construction according to the wording preceded it in His saying, 'Whomsoever Allah guides,' even if it is in another sentence." This is flawed, for Abu Hayyan’s perspective makes "whomsoever" the object of "leads astray," as he explicitly stated in al-Bahr, and likewise he stated it is the object of "guides" in the first sentence; in that case, there is no omitted singular pronoun, as is self-evident—so understand this.

It is permissible for both sentences to be within the scope of "Say" due to the coming of wa (and) with "whomsoever," and His saying, "And We shall gather them" is more consistent with the first view. It contains a shift from the third person to the first person, to alert to the perfection of concern regarding the matter of the Gathering. According to the second possibility, it is made a narration of what Allah the Exalted said through the Prophet (peace be upon him).

"On the Day of Resurrection"—when they rise from their graves—"upon their faces"—in the position of a state (hal) from the accusative pronoun, meaning they are upon their faces, either walking, by crawling while prone upon them. This is supported by what the two Sheikhs (Bukhari and Muslim) and others recorded from Anas, who said: It was said, "O Messenger of Allah, how will people be gathered on their faces?" He replied: "He who made them walk upon their feet is able to make them walk upon their faces." The intended meaning is how this species will be gathered upon the face, for that is specific to the disbelievers, while others are gathered in another manner. For Abu Dawud, al-Tirmidhi (who classified it as hasan), Ibn Jarir, and others recorded from Abu Huraira that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "People will be gathered on the Day of Resurrection in three classes: a class of walkers (meaning on their usual habit), a class of riders, and a class upon their faces." It was said: "O Messenger of Allah, how will they walk upon their faces?" He said: "He who made them walk upon their feet is able to make them walk upon their faces; they will protect themselves with their faces from every hillock and thorn."

Or it is by dragging, where the angels drag them while they are prone, like His saying: "The day they are dragged into the Fire upon their faces." This is supported by what Ahmad, al-Nasa'i, and al-Hakim (who authenticated it) recorded from Abu Dharr, that he recited this verse, "And We shall gather them on the Day of Resurrection upon their faces," etc., and said: "The Truthful, the Believed (peace be upon him) told me that people will be gathered on the Day of Resurrection in three groups: a group feeding, clothed, and riding; a group walking and striving; and a group whom the angels drag upon their faces." Ahmad, al-Nasa'i, and al-Tirmidhi (who classified it as hasan) recorded from Mu'awiyah ibn Haydah that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "You will be gathered on foot and riding, and you will be dragged upon your faces."

One should seek a way to reconcile these; if none is found, the relied-upon interpretation is that which is witnessed by the hadith of the two Sheikhs. The verse, namely His saying: "The day they are dragged into the Fire upon their faces," does not definitively settle the matter, for the Quran explains itself; that verse pertains to their state after entering the Fire, whereas this [verse] is in their state before it, so they are distinct. Some claimed that the speech is metaphorical, as when one says to someone who leaves a matter disappointed and anxious, "He turned away on his face." Thus, the meaning is: We shall gather them on the Day of Resurrection anxious and disappointed. It seems the motivation for this recourse is that it has been narrated from Ibn Abbas to interpret the following states metaphorically, so that all the states would be of one mold. It is not hidden from you, so beware of turning toward an interpretation that the Prophetic Sunnah has spoken against, and do not care for a people who do such things.

"Blind, and dumb, and deaf" are states of the hidden pronoun in the prepositional phrase that is the first state. In Irshad al-'Aql al-Salim, it is stated that they are states of the pronoun governed in the previous state. The first is further from debate and objection. Abu al-Baqa' permitted this to be a substitution for that state, which is as you see.

Abu Hayyan asserted that what is intended by what was mentioned is its literal meaning, and this occurs at the beginning of the matter, then Allah the Exalted restores their sight, speech, and hearing, so they see the Fire and hear its roaring and speak with what Allah the Exalted narrated about them in more than one place. Yes, their mouths may be sealed in the interim.

It is said it is metaphorical, meaning that due to the intensity of their confusion and bewilderment, they resemble those who possess these characteristics, or meaning that they see nothing that pleases them, nor do they hear such, nor do they speak with proof, just as they were in the world not seeing, nor speaking the truth, nor hearing it. This was recorded by Ibn Jarir and Ibn Abi Hatim from Ibn Abbas, and also narrated from al-Hasan. Thus, what they say, hear, and see is treated as non-existent due to the lack of benefit from it. It does not contradict this that some verses indicate the stripping of some powers from them, for the times are different. It is also said: Blind to looking at what Allah the Exalted prepared for His allies, dumb from speaking with Him, the Exalted, regarding what He praised His allies with. It is also said: This happens to them literally after His saying to them: "Remain despised therein and do not speak to Me."

On this basis, the states would be future/predicted states, like His saying: "Their lodging"—that is, their final abode—"is Hell." This is on the assumption of making it a state; it is possible that it is an inception (isti'naf). His saying, the Exalted, "Every time it subsides, We increase for them the blaze" also allows for inception and allows for it to be a state of Hell, as Abu al-Baqa' said, making the operator of the state the meaning of "lodging." Al-Tabrisi said: It is a state of it because it is placed flaming and blazing; were it not for that, it would not have been made a state of it. It is permissible to make it a state of what the first "Hell" was made of, but after considering it in the structure, and the connector is the accusative pronoun in "We increase for them," which is as you see. Inception is less burdensome.

Khubuw (subsiding), and likewise khubu with two dammahs and a shaddah, are the two verbal nouns of khabat al-nar (the fire subsided), meaning the settling of the flame. It says in al-Bahr: It is said the fire takbu if its flame settles, and khamadat (extinguished) if its embers settle and weaken, and hamadat if it is extinguished entirely. Al-Raghib said: Khabat the fire means its flame settled and a covering of ash fell over it, meaning a veil. In the Qamus, khabat is explained as sakanat (settled) and tufi'at (extinguished), and tufi'at is explained as its flame going away. There is a contradiction in it to what is in al-Bahr, and most are upon what is in it. Strange is what Ibn al-Anbari recorded from Abu Salih, interpreting khabat in the verse as hamiyat (flared up/grew hot), which is contrary to what is famous and transmitted.

Al-Sa'ir is the flame. The meaning is: Every time its flame settles by having eaten their skins and flesh, and there remains nothing for the fire to attach to and burn, We increase for them flame and intensity by returning them to how they were, so the fire flares up and blazes with them. Ibn Jarir, Ibn al-Mundhir, and others recorded from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) that he said regarding the verse: "The disbelievers are the fuel of the Fire; so when it burns them and nothing remains, it becomes embers that glow—that is its khubu (subsiding); so when they are changed into a new creation, it returns to them." Perhaps that, according to what some of the great scholars said, is a punishment for them for their denial of resurrection after annihilation, by repeating it one time after another so that they may see it with their own eyes, since they did not see it through proof, as what follows makes clear.

The aforementioned is problematized by the fact that His saying, "Every time their skins are cooked, We shall change them for other skins," indicates that the Fire does not exceed cooking them to burning and annihilating them, thus this contradicts it. Some answered that replacing them with other skins is by burning and annihilating them and creating others for them. Others said the meaning is: Every time their skins are cooked to the perfection of cooking, such that their roasting reaches a limit where, if they remained in it, the owner would not feel the punishment—which is the level of burning—We change them, etc. This is indicated by His saying: "So that they may taste the punishment." Al-Khafaji said: It is answered that it is permissible for their skins to sometimes reach cooking, and sometimes annihilation, or each of them in regard to a group of people, provided that the door of metaphor is not closed by making "cooking" an expression for the absolute effect of the Fire, since nothing occurs at the beginning of entry other than burning, not cooking. It is not hidden that what is in his saying, "by making 'cooking' an expression for the absolute effect of the Fire," involves a laxity, and in his saying, "since nothing occurs, etc.," there is an evident denial. He mentioned that an objection was raised to the first answer that the word "every time" contradicts it, and in this there is a deliberation—so reflect.

It is sometimes imagined that there is a contradiction between this verse and His saying: "The punishment will not be lightened for them," because khubu necessitates lightening, and this is pushed back by the fact that khubu is the settling of the flame, as you heard, and the implication that it necessitates a lightening of the punishment of the Fire is denied. Furthermore, even if we conceded the implication, the punishment that is not lightened is not restricted to the punishment by Fire and the pain of its heat; in that case, it is possible for what was lost of it by the settling of the flame to be compensated by another type of punishment that only Allah the Exalted knows.

The Imam mentioned that His saying, "We increase for them the blaze," its literal meaning requires that the second state is more intense than the first state, so the first state would be a lightening in relation to the second state. He answered that in the first state, there was the fear of the occurrence of the second, so the punishment was severe. It is also possible to say: When the punishment became immense, the variation that occurred during it became unperceived—we seek refuge in Allah the Exalted from it. It is also said: There is nothing in the verse more than the increase of its blazing, and perhaps it does not necessitate an increase in their punishment, and the meaning of the verse is: "Every time they are burned, they are brought back," except that He expressed it as He did for the sake of hyperbole. His saying "We increase them" rather than "We increase it" points to the fact that this is the intention—so contemplate.