Tafsir of Al-Hajj 22:55

"And those who disbelieve will continue to be in doubt (i.e., in uncertainty) concerning it (i.e., the Quran)."

It has been said: Concerning the Messenger. It is permissible for the pronoun to refer to the "one who inspires" (the One who reveals), as you have heard. The preposition "min" (from/concerning) in all these instances is for initiation (ibtida’iyyah). It is permissible for it to refer to what Satan casts. The chosen interpretation is that "min" is causal (sababiyyah), for the doubt of the disbelievers regarding what the messengers brought is caused by the doubts and imaginations that Satan casts into what is revealed. Reflect on this.

"...until the Hour comes upon them (i.e., the Resurrection itself), suddenly (i.e., unexpectedly)," for it is described as coming in that manner. It has been said: It refers to its signs, by omitting the genitive (the signs of the Hour) or by way of figurative language (taja’uz). It has also been said: It refers to death, provided that the definite article in "the Hour" is for the established context (al-‘ahd).

"...or the punishment of a barren day comes to them."

(i.e., a day isolated from all other days, with no likeness to its severity, or a day after which there is no tomorrow) as if every day gives birth to the day that follows it, so a day with no day after it is "barren" (‘aqim). What is meant by this is also the Hour in the sense of the Day of Resurrection; it is as if it were said: "or the punishment of it [the Hour] comes to them," but that was replaced by "the punishment of a barren day" to increase the sense of terror and warning. The "or" in its position is due to the distinction between the Hour and its punishment, and it is for the exclusion of emptiness (li-man’ al-khulu). The intent here is a hyperbole regarding their persistence in doubt. It has been said: The meaning of "barren day" is the day of their death, for there is no day after it relative to them. It has also been said: It refers to a war in which they are killed; it is described as barren because the sons of women are killed in it, so they become as if they were barren and had not given birth, or because combatants are called "sons of war," and when they are killed, the day of war is described as barren. Regarding the first interpretation, there is a metaphor in the attribution (majaz fi al-isnad) and a metaphor in the singular term, by rendering bereavement as barrenness. Similarly, regarding the second interpretation, because "the one who gives birth" and "the barren one" is [attributed to] war by way of metonymical metaphor (isti'arah bi-al-kinayah). Thus, when the day of war is described as such, it is a metaphor in the attribution. Hence, it is said that it is a muwajjah metaphor, from their saying "a muwajjah garment," which has two sides. It has been said: It is the day in which there is no good. It is said: "a barren wind" (rih ‘aqim) if it does not produce rain and does not pollinate trees. In this case, there is a derivative metaphor (isti'arah taba’iyyah), because the quality in that day which prevents goodness is treated as barrenness. More than one has specified this day as the Day of Badr, for it was a day of war in which the tyrants of disbelief were killed, a day in which there was no good for them. It is also valid to describe it as barren due to its uniqueness in that the angels participated in the fighting on that day. You know that what appears later, God willing, necessitates interpreting this day as the Day of Resurrection.

The text proceeds with extensive theological discussions regarding the interpretations of the "Satanic verses" (the incident of the Gharaniq), quoting various narrations, scholarly refutations, and apologetic reconciliations regarding the infallibility of the Prophet (peace be upon him).