Tafsir of Al-Qasas 28:61

"Is he whom We have promised a fair promise"—meaning: a promise of Paradise and the pure, everlasting bliss therein, for the goodness of the promise lies in the goodness of what is promised—"then he shall attain it"—meaning: he shall reach it inevitably, due to the impossibility of a breach in the promise of the Exalted. For this reason, a nominal sentence was used, which denotes its absolute certainty. It is connected by the particle fa (then), which indicates causality, [contrasting him] "as one whom We have provided with the enjoyment of the life of this world"—which is mingled with pains, tainted by troubles, and followed by remorse upon its termination.

The meaning of the first fa is to establish the sequence of denying any similarity between the people of this world and the people of the Hereafter, based on what preceded it regarding the clear disparity between the enjoyment of the life of this world and that which is with Allah, the Exalted. That is: after this clear disparity, can the two parties be considered equal?

His saying, the Exalted: "then he, on the Day of Resurrection, shall be among those brought [for punishment]" is a conjunction linked to "We have provided," falling within the scope of the relative clause. It emphasizes the denial of similarity. It is as if it were said: "Like one whom We provided with the enjoyment of the life of this world, then We bring him—or he has been brought—on the Day of Resurrection to the Fire or the punishment." The term "brought" (muhdar) has become dominant in usage for such contexts.

It is said that the shift to the nominal sentence is to denote absolute certainty. It does not hinder the fact that its predicate is a prepositional phrase, despite the shift and the attainment of the indication of certainty; had it been said "We brought him," it would not negate that. It may also be said: there is something else in what is mentioned in the Majestic Order besides the mere indication of certainty that is not present in saying "then We brought him on the Day of Resurrection," such as the indication of reinforcement or restriction, and the indication of intimidation and casting [the subject] into confusion. For the combination of these, the nominal sentence was used. "Day" is linked to the aforementioned "brought," and it was placed before it for the sake of the verse ending, or it is linked to a deleted term; discussion regarding such matters has already passed.

"Then" (thumma) denotes a sequence in rank rather than time, although the latter is valid and in it lies the preservation of the word’s literal meaning—which is more appropriate to the context and more eloquent and informative. However, masters of rhetoric resort to figurative speech whenever possible, as it encompasses subtle nuances.

Talha read it as A-man wa’adnahu (Is he whom We have promised) without the fa. Qalun and al-Kisa’i read thumma huwa with the ha sakinah (vowelless), as in the word ’adud (upper arm), likening the separated pronoun to the mim in thumma (the connected word).

Regarding its revelation: Ibn Jarir reported from Mujahid that it was revealed concerning the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and Abu Jahl. He reported from another source that it was revealed concerning Hamzah and Abu Jahl. It is also said it was revealed concerning Ali (may Allah honor his face) and Abu Jahl, attributed to Muhammad ibn Ka’b and al-Suddi. It is also said it was concerning Ammar (may Allah be pleased with him) and al-Walid ibn al-Mughirah. [Finally], it is said that it was revealed concerning the believer and the disbeliever in a general sense.