Tafsir of Maryam 19:80

"And We shall inherit from him what he says" means: We shall strip him of that and take it away upon his death, just as an heir takes what he inherits. The "what he says" refers to its object and its reality, which is the wealth and children he was given in this world. A man says, "I possess such and such," so [God] says, "And he has beyond what he says." The verb is in the past tense, as is the preceding "he says" (yaqūl); this signals that what he said has no existing reality other than what has been mentioned. It is either an appositional substitution (badal ishtimal) for the pronoun, or it is a direct object—meaning: We shall inherit from him what We gave him in this world.

"And he shall come to Us" on the Day of Resurrection, "alone"—with no wealth or children accompanying him to be of any benefit to him. That is, he shall come there lacking. In the codex of Ibn Mas‘ūd, it is written: "And We shall inherit from him what he has, and he shall come to Us alone, with no wealth and no children." This is explicit regarding the meaning mentioned.

It has been said: The meaning is that We shall deprive him of the wealth and children he claimed he would attain in the Hereafter, and We shall give them to others who are deserving. This is narrated from Abū Sahl, and interpreting inheritance in this manner is an interpretation by way of necessary consequence (tafsīr bi-al-lāzim). As for "what he says," its intended meaning is also its object. The child who is given to another should be the child of that other person whom he had in the world; giving it to him means joining him with it as he desires. This is based on the premise that there is no procreation in Paradise.

Scholars have differed on this. A group, including Mujāhid, Ṭāwūs, and Ibrāhīm al-Nakha‘ī, held that there is no procreation, arguing based on the long Hadith of Laqīṭ (may God be pleased with him), which possesses such majesty, awe, and the light of prophethood that it proclaims its authenticity. Abū ‘Abd Allāh ibn Mandah said that only a denier or an ignorant person would deny it. A group of the Imams of the Sunnah narrated it from his words: "I said, 'O Messenger of God, will we have wives in Paradise, or will there be righteousness among them?' He (peace and blessings of God be upon him) said: 'The righteous are for the righteous; you will enjoy them and they will enjoy you, like your enjoyment in this world, except that there is no procreation.'" And also based on what was narrated from Abū Dharr al-‘Uqaylī from the Prophet (peace and blessings of God be upon him), who said: "The people of Paradise will have no children."

Another group argued for procreation, citing what al-Tirmidhī recorded in his Jāmi‘ from Abū Sa‘īd al-Khudrī (may God be pleased with him), who said: The Messenger of God (peace and blessings of God be upon him) said: "When a believer desires a child in Paradise, his conception, delivery, and age will occur in a single hour, just as he desires." He (al-Tirmidhī) called it ḥasan gharīb. Also, based on what Abū Nu‘aym recorded from Abū Sa‘īd as well: It was said, "O Messenger of God, will the people of Paradise have children? For a child is from the perfection of joy." He (peace and blessings of God be upon him) said: "Yes, by the One in Whose hand is my soul! It will be no longer than the time you wish for, and his conception, delivery, and youth will occur."

The previous [argument] was answered by stating that the intent is to deny that there is procreation or a child in the manner known in this world. This was countered by the fact that the latter Hadith is weak, as al-Bayhaqī stated.

Regarding the first Hadith, al-Safarīnī said: "Its best chain of transmission is that of al-Tirmidhī," though he judged it as gharīb and stated it is not known except through the Hadith of Abū al-Ṣiddīq al-Nājī. Its wording is inconsistent: sometimes it is narrated from him "if he desires a child," sometimes "that he desires a child," and sometimes "that a man of the people of Paradise will have a child born to him." If we tell them that the previous narrations have a ḥasan chain—as al-Tirmidhī indicated—then one might say that it contains a condition, and it is possible that it may not occur. While [the wording] "will have a child born" (yūlad lahu) is explicit in its realization, it may be used for mere conditional suspension in a general sense. As for the response to the two previous Hadiths mentioned, it is weaker than a spider's web, as is not hidden. In short, the view preferred by the majority is that there is no procreation, and al-Safarīnī supported this with ten arguments, though there is room for scrutiny in most of them. And God, the Exalted, knows best.

It has also been said: The meaning of "what he says" is the very statement mentioned, not its object. The meaning is that he only says this statement as long as he is alive, and once We take his soul, We shall intervene between him and his ability to say it, and he shall come to Us having rejected it, stripped of it.

This has been challenged on the grounds that it is based on the assumption that the aforementioned statement issued from him by way of conviction, and that he persists in uttering it in expectation of its content being realized. There is no doubt that this is impossible for one who disbelieves in the Resurrection; he only said what he said by way of mockery. It was answered that we do not concede the basis for this, as it is possible that the meaning is that he only says this and mocks as long as he is alive, but once We take his soul, We shall intervene between him and the mockery due to what will be revealed to him and what will descend upon him. Or, it may be said that the basis of what was mentioned is [for the sake of] debating the accursed one, as previously mentioned.

It has also been said: The meaning is that We preserve his statement in order to strike his face with it at the Standing [Place], and We shall reproach him with it. "And he shall come to Us" in his poverty and abasement, "alone" without wealth or children; We did not grant him what he asked for, and We did not give him what he wished for. Thus, two things converge upon him: the consequence of his statement and its bane, and the loss of what was hoped for. The scholar al-Naḥḥās leaned toward interpreting inheritance as preservation, and he categorized the scholars among the "heirs of the prophets," meaning preservers of what they said. You are aware that the preservation of his statement is already known from His, the Exalted’s, saying: "We shall write down what he says."

In al-Kashshāf, it is suggested that he might have wished and swore that God would give him wealth and children in the world, and his persistence reached such a point that he swore an oath regarding it. God, the Exalted, said: "Suppose We gave him what he desired, will We not inherit from him in the Hereafter? And he shall come to Us tomorrow alone, without wealth or children," just as the Almighty said: "You have come to Us alone," so what would his wishing and swearing avail him? This is an extremely remote possibility in itself, and given the cause of revelation (sabab al-nuzūl), the affectation required to apply it to this does not make it plausible, as is not hidden.

"Alone" (fardan) is a state (ḥāl) under all the interpretations. It has been said that it is a prospective state (ḥāl muqaddarah) where the intent is his deprivation of wealth and children and the giving of that to those who deserve it, because "being alone" entails a distinction between the misguided and the guided, which only occurs after the Standing [Place], unlike when other things included in the interpretations are intended, as they do not require a distinction between them, and the loneliness of the Standing [Place] is sufficient for validity, even if it is common [to both].

Some have claimed that the state is prospective in all interpretations because the meaning is the permanence of being alone, away from wealth, children, or the aforementioned statement. This permanence is not realized at the time of arrival, but is prospective, as in His, the Exalted’s, saying: "Enter it, abiding eternally," and the implication of that is not hidden.