Tafsir of Al-Baqarah 2:48

"The day" refers to the time, and its accusative case is either due to it being an adverbial of time (zarf)—with the object of the verb 'fear' being elided (i.e., 'and fear the torment of a day')—or it is a direct object. In the latter case, 'fearing' the day refers to fearing what occurs within it; this is either figurative, by referring to the time as the content, or metonymical, due to their inherent association. It is impossible to fear a soul for a day, as it is inevitably coming and must be witnessed by the people of Paradise and Hell alike. That which is possible and ordained is to fear what is in that day through righteous deeds.

"Will suffice" (tajzi) is derived from jaza, meaning to satisfy or discharge; it is transitive by itself for its first object and requires the preposition 'an (for/on behalf of) for the second. It may also be used as an intransitive verb for emphasis. The meaning is: on the Day of Resurrection, no soul will satisfy for another soul any matter that was required of it, nor will it substitute for it, nor will it bear what has afflicted it—or it will not satisfy any part of the recompense on its behalf. Thus, the accusative case of "anything" (shay'an) is either as a direct object or an absolute object (maf'ul mutlaq) standing in place of the verbal noun, meaning: any satisfaction. Abu al-Sammak read "la tujzi'u" (it will not avail), derived from ajza'a 'anhu (to suffice for him/avail him); in this reading, it is intransitive, and "anything" is exclusively an absolute object, meaning: it will not avail the other soul at all, nor will it benefit it.

Indefiniteness in these nouns is used for generalization, covering the intercessor, the one interceded for, and that which is being interceded for. This carries a terror and an indication of the cessation of worldly hopes that is self-evident, as indicated by His saying: “On the Day a man will flee from his brother, his mother, and his father, his wife, and his children. For every man that Day will be a matter adequate to keep him occupied.”

In the common view, the clause [“la tajzi...”] is an adjective for “day,” and the connector is elided, meaning “in which no soul will suffice.” Al-Kisa’i did not permit the elision of a prepositional object if it is not determined. Thus, you would not say "ra'aytu rajulan arghabu" (I saw a man I desire) if you meant "desire him." His approach regarding this gradation is that the preposition is elided first, so that the pronoun attaches to the verb and becomes accusative, thus making its subsequent elision permissible, as in the verse: "So I do not know if distance and the passage of time have changed them, or wealth they acquired," intending asabu-hu (acquired it).

According to the Kufans, it is permissible that the clause is not an adjective but that "day" is followed by an elided genitive mudaf ilayhi because of what precedes it, so it does not require a pronoun. This elided element would be a substitute for the one mentioned. An example cited by Al-Kisa’i is at'amuna lahman saminan shatan dhabahuha (they fed us fat meat, a sheep they slaughtered), genitive with shatan based on the estimation of lahma shatin. Al-Farra' cited the same. From this is the verse: "May Allah have mercy on bones they buried in Sijistan, Talhat al-Talhat," in a narration where Talha is genitive. The Basrans do not allow the elision of a mudaf while leaving the mudaf ilayhi in the genitive, and they label such instances as anomalous.

Abu Sarar read "la tajzi nasmatun 'an nasmatin" (no soul will suffice for no soul), where nasma (a living being) is synonymous with nafs (soul).

“Nor will intercession be accepted from it, nor will compensation be taken from it.”

Intercession (shafa'ah) is as mentioned in al-Bahr, the joining of another to one's own means. It is derived from shaf' (even), the opposite of watr (odd), because the intercessor joins the seeker in obtaining what is sought, thus becoming a pair after having been solitary. 'Adl (compensation/ransom) means a ransom, as stated by Ibn Abbas—may Allah be pleased with them both. It is also narrated from him to mean a substitute, i.e., a man in place of a man. The root of 'adl with a fathah on the 'ayn is that which equals the thing in value and measure, even if it is not of the same kind. With a kasrah, it is the equal in kind and substance. Some Arabs use the kasrah on the 'ayn for the meaning of ransom. Al-Wahidi mentioned that 'adl of a thing, whether with a fathah or kasrah, is its equivalent, and he cited the verse of Ka'b ibn Malik: "We persevered, seeing no equivalent for Allah in what befell us, trusting..." Tha'lab said: 'Adl is the guarantor or a bribe, but this is not supported in the verse.

The two pronouns governed by min (from it) either refer back to the second soul because it is the closest mentioned, because it agrees with His saying: “Nor will they be helped,” and because it is the most immediate meaning of the phrase: “Nor will compensation be taken from it.” The meaning of the rejection of intercession then is that if it comes with the intercession of an intercessor, it will not be accepted from it. Or, they refer back to the first soul, as it is the primary subject and the second is secondary. Furthermore, the rejection of intercession implies that if it were to intercede, its intercession would not be accepted. In that case, the meaning of not taking compensation from the first is that if it offered compensation from the second, it would not be taken.

It is as if there is a kind of gradation in the verse here, even if not adopted elsewhere: it is as if it were said: the first soul is not capable of delivering its companion from the discharge of obligations and the making up of consequences because it is occupied with its own affair. Then, if it were capable of removing what was [decreed] by intercession, it would not be accepted from it, and if it increased that by adding a ransom, it would not be taken from it. And if it attempted release by force and dominance, how could it attain that?

Al-Kawashi chose to make the first pronoun refer to the first soul and the second to the second soul, following the method of folding and spreading (laff wa nashr), as this allows the two clauses to run on their apparent meanings, and the clarity makes the separation easy.

Ibn Kathir and Abu Amr read "la tuqbalu" with a ta [feminine], and Sufyan read "yuqbalu" with a ya [masculine] with a fathah, and "shafa'ah" in the accusative, based on the active voice. This involves a shift (iltifat) from the first-person pronoun in "my favor" to the third-person pronoun, and the passive voice is more eloquent.

“Nor will they be helped.” Help (nasr) originally means assistance, as in "a helped land" (ard mansurah) that is extended by rain. The intent here is that which prevents harm, i.e., they will not be protected from the torment of Allah the Almighty. The pronoun refers either to the second indefinite soul, which occurs in the context of negation, representing the many souls—thus being a case of referring to a meaning through another expression—or it refers to the indefinite soul in terms of its generality through negation, meaning plurality, as was said regarding His saying: “And there is not among you one who could prevent Us from him.” It is brought in the masculine form, interpreting "souls" as "servants" or "people," which serves as a warning that those souls are slaves, overpowered and humbled under His authority, and that they are human beings like all other people in this matter. Referring it to both souls on the basis that the dual is a plural is invalid.

The Mutazila held onto the generality of the verse to negate intercession for those who commit major sins, and the fact that the address is to the disbelievers and the verse was revealed concerning them does not negate the generality derived from the wording. It has been answered by specifying in two ways: First, according to place and time. The stations of the Resurrection and the duration of time therein have breadth and length; perhaps this state is at the beginning of its occurrence and its intensity, then He grants permission for intercession. The same has been said regarding reconciling His saying: "No lineage will there be between them that Day, nor will they ask of one another" and His saying: "And they will approach one another, asking." The claim that the station of threatening excludes this is not accepted. Second, according to the persons, as there must be specification regarding those who are not sinners due to the increase in ranks; thus, the general is not remaining upon its generality according to them, otherwise, it would necessitate the negation of the increase of benefits, which they do not claim. We specify [the negation] regarding the sinners by the authentic hadiths that have reached the level of tawatur. Since the door of specification is opened, we also say that this negation is specified to the time before permission, as per His saying: "There is no intercession that can avail with Him except by His permission." This is a specification for which there is evidence, whereas their specification has no apparent evidence. Moreover, intercession by the increase of benefits is hardly intercession at all; otherwise, we would be intercessors for the Messenger (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) when praying upon him, even though there is a consensus among us and them that he is the intercessor. Also, in His saying: "And ask forgiveness for your sin and for the believing men and believing women," there is an indication of the intercession we claim, urging the specification we hold. May Allah grant us intercession and gather us in the group of the People of the Sunnah and the Community.

When the Almighty introduced the mention of His blessings in summary, He intended to detail them so it would be more eloquent in reminding and greater as an argument, so He said: