Tafsir of Ta-Ha 20:48

The particle ‘ala (upon) is used in His saying, the Almighty: "Indeed, it has been revealed to us from our Lord that the punishment"—meaning the worldly and the Hereafter—"is upon whoever denies His signs and turns away"—that is, turns away from accepting them.

Al-Zamakhshari said: "It means the salutation of the angels, who are the keepers of Paradise, unto the guided ones, and the rebuke of the keepers of Hell, and the punishment upon the deniers." The elaboration of this, as it has been said, is that he made the 'salutation' the greeting of the keepers of Paradise to the guided ones, which entails the promise of Paradise for them; and in this, there is an allusion to others through the rebuke of the keepers of Hell, which entails the warning of its punishment. The context is intended to encourage that which has a good outcome—which is the affirmation of the messengers, peace be upon them—and to deter from the opposite. Thus, if the 'salutation' were taken to mean 'safety,' it would not signify that this is in the outcome (the Hereafter). Therefore, the claim that there is no indication in the wording for this specification is not accepted. The assertion that it is not a greeting, since it did not occur at the beginning of the meeting, is refuted by the fact that it was not meant as the greeting between the two brothers (Moses and Aaron), but rather the greeting of the angels, peace be upon them. You know that this interpretation is highly contrary to the apparent meaning, and denying that is obstinacy.

In Al-Bahr, it is described as a strange interpretation, noting that if by "the punishment" the punishment in both abodes is intended, and by "the salutation" safety from that punishment, then the encouragement to affirm and the deterrence from the opposite are achieved in the most perfect manner.

Abu Hayyan said: "The apparent meaning is that His saying, the Exalted, 'And peace [be] upon whoever follows the guidance,' is a concluding remark." The 'peace' here means the greeting, and it came according to the custom of offering salutation upon finishing a speech. However, they—peace be upon them—turned away from Pharaoh with this and specified those who follow guidance to encourage him to join their ranks. It is used as evidence to prohibit offering the greeting of peace to the disbelievers, and if it is necessary in speech or writing, this formula is used. In the Sahihayn, it is recorded that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) wrote to Heraclius: "From Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, to Heraclius, the Great of the Romans: Peace be upon whoever follows the guidance." Abd al-Razzaq in Al-Musannaf and al-Bayhaqi in Al-Shu'ab recorded from Qatadah that he said: "The salutation to the People of the Book when you enter their houses is to say: 'Peace be upon whoever follows the guidance.'" It is not hidden that the aforementioned justification is not far-fetched if the speech of the two—peace be upon them—had concluded with this peace, but it did not conclude with it; rather, they said after it: "Indeed, it has been revealed to us..." This sentence, according to all interpretations, is a new commencement for the purpose of providing a reason. It is sometimes used as evidence for the validity of the principle of the concept (al-mafhum), so reflect upon this. The apparent meaning is that both sentences are part of the instructed speech.

Some have claimed that the instructed speech ended at His saying, "We have come to you with a sign from your Lord," and that what follows is speech from them—peace be upon them—which they brought to provide a promise and a warning. The Murji'ah used His saying, the Glorified, "Indeed, it has been revealed to us..." to argue that those who are not disbelievers are not punished at all. The response to this is that it only holds if the defining article in "the punishment" is for the genus or encompassment; however, if it is for a specific context—that is, the punishment resulting from severe wrath or the everlasting one, for example—then it does not apply. Likewise, if the genus or a rhetorical encompassment is intended for hyperbole, and the finite punishment followed by infinite safety is made [to seem] as if it were no punishment at all, it does not necessitate that the believer who is deficient in deeds will not be punished at all.