Tafsir of Ya seen 36:9

(And We have placed) is a conjunction linked to the preceding (We have placed). (From before them), meaning from in front of them, (a barrier)—a great obstruction; it is also said to be a type of dam—(and from behind them), meaning from their rear, (a barrier) likewise. The "front" and "rear" are a metonymy for all directions. (So We have covered them), meaning We have covered—by means of the barrier We placed—(their vision). According to Mujahid, (So We have covered them) means We have veiled their vision with a covering. (And because of that, they do not see), meaning they are completely unable to perceive anything at all.

A group from the Seven and others read (Suddan) with a damma on the sīn; this is a dialectal variant. It is said that what is made by human work is with a fatha, and what is of the creation of Allah the Exalted is with a damma; others say the opposite.

Ibn Abbas, Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz, Ibn Ya’mar, Ikrimah, al-Nakha’i, Ibn Sirin, al-Hasan, Abu Raja’, Zayd ibn Ali, Abu Hanifah, Yazid al-Barbari, Yazid ibn al-Muhallab, and Ibn Miqsam read (fa-aghshaynahum) with an ’ayn (i.e., fa-’ashaynāhum), from ghasha, which refers to weak eyesight.

The collective conjunctions starting from the Almighty’s statement: (Indeed, We have placed...) serve as an emphasis and confirmation for what is indicated by His statement: (The word has proved true against most of them...) regarding the evil of their choice and the wretchedness of their state. For Allah the Exalted placing them—by virtue of the extreme vanity He manifested in them—as those who are arrogant toward following the Messengers (peace be upon them), holding their heads high, not submitting to what they brought, and completely blocking the paths of inquiry into what benefits them, is only because they are people of evil choice and wretched states. Their selves have become enamored with what they are upon with a natural passion and have sought it with a readiness such that they possessed no capacity for anything else and paid no heed to what lies beyond it. If one were to compare their selves and what they are upon with physical body and space, or with the numbers three and one, for example, one would find hardly any difference. (And Allah did not wrong them, but they were wronging themselves.)

There are multiple metaphors within the discourse, as we have alluded to. This is the interpretation required by what many of the eminent scholars hold, even if they did not explicitly mention it in the verse. In al-Intisaf, it is stated that if the metaphor is parsed, their determination upon disbelief is compared to shackles, and their arrogance toward accepting the truth and humbling themselves to listen to it is compared to the iqmah (locking the chin upward), for the one whose head is locked upward (muqmah) cannot bow his head. His statement: (So they are to the chins) is a completion of the necessity of the iqmah for them. The failure to look into the states of past nations is compared to a barrier from behind them, and the failure to look into future consequences is compared to a barrier from before them.

In al-Taysir, the gathering of hands to the chins with shackles is an expression of the prevention of divine success (tawfiq) until they became arrogant toward the truth, for the arrogant person is described as having a raised neck, and the humble person the opposite, as in the Almighty’s statement: (Their necks remained submissive to it.) The intended meaning of "placing the barrier" was not explicitly mentioned, but the Imam mentioned that the impediments to reflection on the signs are of two types: one that prevents reflection on the self—likened to the shackle that makes its possessor "locked upward" (muqmah), unable to see his own self or cast his sight upon his own body—and one that prevents reflection on the horizons—likened to the encompassing barrier, for one surrounded by a barrier cannot cast his sight upon the horizons, so the signs therein do not become apparent to him. Whoever is afflicted by both is deprived of reflection entirely.

Some preferred that (Indeed, We have placed...) and the following verses be a parable put forth to confirm their determination upon disbelief and their lack of turning back from it. Thus, their state is likened to the state of those whose necks are shackled. It is permissible to consider his statement: (And We have placed...) as a continuation and completion of that, or as an independent parable; for their being trapped between two terrifying barriers that have covered their vision—to the point that they do not see anything—is sufficient to expose the utter horror of their state and their being imprisoned in the pit of misguidance and ignorance.

Abu Hayyan said: The apparent meaning is that the verse is to be taken literally, for when Allah the Exalted informed that they would not believe, He informed of something of their state in the Hereafter when they enter the Fire, and the use of the past tense is for the certainty of its occurrence. This does not weaken, as Ibn Atiyyah claimed, the Almighty's statement: (So We have covered them, and they do not see), because the sight of the disbeliever on that day will be sharp, seeing the wretchedness of his state—do you not see the Almighty’s statement: (And We will gather them on the Day of Resurrection on their faces, blind) and His statement: (He will say, "My Lord, why have You raised me blind?")? Either these are two different states, or the statement: (Your sight today is sharp) is a metonymy for his perception of what he is heading toward, as if he is seeing it. Some objected to this, saying it would necessitate the speech being irrelevant to the context, and the attempt to reconcile it by saying it is an explanation for the Almighty’s statement: (The word has proved true against most of them...) is shaky. The fair assessment is that it is contrary to the apparent meaning.

Al-Dahhak and al-Farra’ said regarding: (Indeed, We have placed in their necks shackles) that it is a metaphor for preventing them from spending in the path of Allah the Exalted, as the Almighty said: (And do not keep your hand chained to your neck.) Perhaps he considered the second sentence a metaphor for preventing them from seeing goodness and striving for it. It is not hidden that the speech, according to this view, is highly irrelevant to the context.

Ibn Mardawayh and Abu Nu’aym narrated in al-Dala’il from Ibn Abbas that the Prophet (peace be upon him) was reciting in the mosque, raising his voice, and some people of Quraysh were annoyed to the point that they rose to seize him, but their hands were gathered to their necks, and they could not see. They came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and said: "We adjure you by Allah and the kinship, O Muhammad"—and there was no clan among the Quraysh but that the Prophet (peace be upon him) had kinship with them. The Prophet (peace be upon him) prayed, and it went away from them. Then Yā Sīn was revealed, up to His saying: (Whether you warn them or do not warn them, they will not believe.) Not one of those people believed.

It is also narrated that the two verses were revealed regarding Banu Makhzum: Abu Jahl carried a stone to do what he intended toward the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) while he was praying, and his hand became fixed to his neck until he returned to his companions, with the stone stuck to his hand; they could only unfix it with great effort. Another man from Makhzum took it, but when he drew near the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), Allah the Exalted blinded his sight, so he returned to his companions without seeing them until they called out to him. A third one stood up and said: "I will smash his head," took the stone, and went forth, but returned walking backward, stumbling, until he fell on his back, fainting. It was said to him, "What is the matter with you?" He said, "Something immense! I saw the man, but when I drew near him, there was a stallion—I have never seen a greater stallion—standing between me and him. By al-Lat and al-Uzza, if I had approached him, he would have devoured me."

Thus, the "shackles" are a metaphor for preventing the one who intended harm toward him (peace be upon him), and the "barrier" is a metaphor for the removal of the power of vision, as has been said. Al-Suddi said: "The barrier is a darkness that intervened and prevented vision." Other narrations have come down that are close to this, though the connection to the text is not apparent. Perhaps it is in consideration of the two verses pointing to their determination upon disbelief and intensity of stubbornness. With all this, in the view of the eloquent, it is more likely to interpret the speech as other than what the apparent texts of the narrations suggest, as you have heard; there is nothing in this [interpretation] that contradicts them upon careful scrutiny. So ponder.