Tafsir of As-Saffat 37:10

(Except him who snatches the snatching) This is a connected exception from the waw in "they listen," and "who" (man) is a substitute (badal) for it, according to what al-Zamakhshari and his followers have mentioned. Ibn Malik said: When there is a separation between the exception (mustathna) and the one from whom it is excepted (mustathna minhu), the accusative case (nasb) is preferred, because substitution is for the sake of similarity, and that is lost by the delay. He mentioned a second view here in al-Bahr. It is also said: It is a disconnected exception (munqati'), based on man being conditional, with its response being the sentence connected by the fa that follows, but that is not strong.

Al-khatf means to snatch, take with lightness and speed, by surprise to the one from whom it is taken. The intent is the snatching of the speech of the angels by stealth, as is indicated by defining al-khatfa with the lam of covenant (al-ahd), because the intent is a specific, known matter. Therefore, it is in the accusative case as an infinitive (masdariyah). It is permissible that it is an objective case (ma'ful bihi) on the basis of intending the word itself.

Al-Hasan and Qatadah read khatfa with a kasra on the kha and the ta emphasized. Abu Hatim said: It is said this is the dialect of Bakr ibn Wa'il and Tamim ibn Murr. The original was ikhtatafa, then the ta was vocalized with a sukun for the purpose of assimilation (idgham). Before it was a kha with a sukun, so two sukuns met. The kha was vocalized with a kasra based on the original, and the ta was vocalized with a kasra for the sake of following suit, and the alif of conjunction was omitted because it was no longer needed.

It was also read khatfa with a fatha on the kha and a kasra on the ta emphasized. Ibn Khalawayh attributed this to al-Hasan, Qatadah, and 'Isa. It was considered problematic, for the fatha on the kha is sound due to the meeting of the ta's movement upon it, but as for the kasra of the ta, there is no basis for it. It was said in justifying it: They transferred the vowel of the ta to the kha, the alif of conjunction was omitted, then they inverted the ta and assimilated it, and vocalized the ta with a kasra based on the original principle of two sukuns meeting, and it is as you see.

From Ibn Abbas, it is khatfa with a kasra on the kha and the ta lightened. According to al-Bahr, the movement of the kha follows the movement of the ta, just as they say na'am.

(Then a piercing flame follows him) meaning it follows and overtakes him, based on atba'a being from the verbs with the meaning of the triliteral tabi'a (followed), so it governs one object. A shihab (flame) is originally the bright flare from a lit fire. The intent is the phenomenon known in the atmosphere which appears as if it were a star falling from the sky.

(Piercing): Illuminating, as al-Hasan and Qatadah said, as if it pierces the atmosphere with its light. Ibn Abi Shaybah, 'Abd ibn Humayd, Ibn al-Mundhir, and Ibn Abi Hatim narrated from Yazid al-Raqashi that he said: "It pierces the devil until it exits from the other side." This was mentioned to Abu Mijlaz, who said: "That is not it, but its piercing is its light." Ibn Abi Hatim narrated from Ibn Zayd that al-thaqib is "the blazing," which is close to what preceded. Al-Suddi narrated that al-thaqib means "the burning."

These shuhub (meteors) are not the very stars with which the sky was adorned, for those stars do not fall; otherwise, the adornment of the sky would diminish, if not disappear entirely. If the falling object were the star itself—meaning it is uprooted from its center and hurled at the snatcher—then due to the speed of movement, it would be seen as a spear of fire, and it would necessarily fall upon the earth. If it is not larger than the earth, at the very least, what has fallen of the stars from the time the hurling began until today is much larger than the earth. It would follow that the earth today would be covered by the bodies of the stars. Observation belies this; indeed, we have not heard of the fall of a stellar body at all. The smallest of the stars, according to the Islamic scholars, is like a great mountain; according to the philosophers, it is even greater. Indeed, the small fixed stars, according to them, are larger than the earth.

If one maintains that it is hurled and then, when the purpose is accomplished, it returns to its place, it is objected: It would necessarily follow that a terrifying sound would be heard from its descent, for the meteors reach a location close to the earth. Furthermore, the lack of observation of a star body descending or ascending refutes the possibility of the star being uprooted and hurled itself.

If the falling object is its light, then light does not cause harm, for the earth is filled with the light of the sun, and the devils are stuffed within it. Moreover, if the falling object were all of its light, the adornment would diminish or vanish entirely; if it were some of its light, the lights of the stars would have to change, and nothing of that sort has been observed. The matter of its actual descent or the separation of its light—assuming the fixed stars are in the eighth sphere, which some Islamic scholars call the Kursi (Footstool), and that there is nothing in the lowest heaven except the moon—is even more distant.

The philosophers claim this is impossible, asserting that the sphere does not accept rending or healing, among other things. Regarding meteors, they claim they are subtle vaporous and smoky parts that reach the sphere of fire, ignite, and turn into flaming fire. One might see them extending to the tip of the smoke, then they appear as if extinguished. Sometimes they remain for a time, like comets, and perhaps a soul attaches to them, according to their detailed accounts. Even with this, they do not say they are hurled at the devils; rather, they deny the reports of hurling altogether. Yet, in the divine texts, there are stoning of them.

Perhaps the closest probability regarding meteors is that the star casts a ray of its light, and its effect reaches an atmosphere conditioned with a specific quality, by which it accepts ignition from the star's ray that falls upon it due to a specific property (khassiyah), so it ignites, and the observed meteors occur. Or if you wish, you may say: When that atmosphere, conditioned with the specific quality, reaches a specific location in the atmosphere, the rays of the stars affect it by the property God Almighty has deposited in them, so it ignites. The burning effect of rays on that which accepts it is undeniable; we see the sun's rays, when opposed by some viewing instruments in a specific manner, burn that which accepts burning, especially if a glass vessel filled with water is placed between the instrument and the target.

It is said: God Almighty directs that which is produced to the devil who steals a hearing. It is possible that this occurs even when there is no eavesdropper. It could be said: He (Exalted is He) creates the quality by which the air accepts burning in the air that is in the direction of the devil. Perhaps the proximity of the devil to some specific parts of the air is prepared by a property God Almighty created in it for His creating (Exalted is He) that quality in that air near him, even though He (Exalted is He) also creates that quality in some parts of the atmospheric air where no devil is present.

If you wish, you may say: A spurt of the star's ray emerges, and the rebellious one is harmed or burned by it. God Almighty is capable of burning with water and seeing with fire. The causes of things are at the causes, not by them; all things are attributed to Him (the Almighty) as the primary cause, according to the Ash'arites. None of what has been mentioned necessitates the diminution of the star's light. Even if it were admitted that some possibilities entail diminution, we would say: He (Exalted is He) creates—without delay—a replacement in the star for what has diminished from it. His command, when He desires a thing, is only to say to it "Be," and it is.

Nothing we have mentioned contradicts His (Exalted is He) saying: "And We have adorned the lowest heaven with lamps, and made them as missiles to drive away the devils," because making them missiles can be that, through the falling of their rays on the aforementioned air, meteors occur; thus, they are missiles in that regard. Making them missiles does not require that they themselves be so, by being uprooted from their centers and used as missiles. This is like saying: "God Almighty has made the sun as a thing to burn some bodies with." This is true even if it burns them through the mediation of some instruments and the reflection of its rays onto a target that accepts burning.

Some people claim that meteors are fiery flares that occur from parts ascending to the sphere of fire, and they are the missiles. Because of the star heating the earth, He (Exalted is He) said: "And We have made them missiles," as a metaphor in attributing the making to them or in the word itself. It is not hidden that the sphere of fire is something not proven in the speech of the Salaf, nor has any report been narrated from the Truthful One (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding it.

It is said: It is permissible that the lamps are the meteors, and they are not the stars. Adorning the sky with lamps does not require them to be in it in reality, for it is sufficient that they appear so to the eye. It is said: It is permissible that the sky refers to the direction of the height, and it is adorned with lamps and meteors, just as it is adorned with stars. This is rebutted by the description of the sky as "the lowest," which makes intending the direction [alone] distant. The previous view is rebutted by the fact that the primary understanding is that the lamps are the stars, and one hardly understands from His (Exalted is He) saying: "Indeed, We have adorned the lowest heaven with the adornment of the stars," and His (Exalted is He) saying: "And We have adorned the lowest heaven with lamps," anything other than one thing. Furthermore, the idea that the known meteors are the adornment of the sky, with their speed of passing and disappearance—and sometimes some of them cause panic—is not accepted.

The statement that the term "stars" is applied to the meteoric for the sake of similarity is possible; thus, "stars" can be intended to include meteors. The adornment of the sky, according to what has passed, is added to what preceded, the implication of which is not hidden. Yes, it is permissible to say that a light separates from the star; when it reaches a specific location in the atmosphere, it turns into fire and is seen as falling. Nothing renders God Almighty helpless. It is sometimes said: There are very small stars in the sky, not visible even with observations due to their extreme smallness, and they are the ones used as missiles themselves. His (Exalted is He) saying: "And We have adorned the lowest heaven with lamps and made them missiles for the devils," is like the phrase "I have a dirham and half of it." And "Indeed, We have adorned the lowest heaven with the adornment of the stars, and as a protection," if the verse is meant to include "as a protection by them," it is also from that category; otherwise, the matter is easier, so contemplate.

There is a difference of opinion regarding the one who is stoned: does he perish by the flame if it hits him, or is he harmed without perishing? From Ibn Abbas, it is that the devils are not killed by the flame and do not die, but they are burned and crippled—that is, some of their limbs are corrupted. It is said they perish and die. Whenever the flame hits one of them who has snatched a word, he says to the one next to him: "It was such and such," before he perishes. The effect of the flame on them does not contradict them being created from fire, because they are not from pure fire, just as man is not from pure earth. Moreover, when a strong fire overcomes a weak one, it consumes it.

In any case, it is not said: "The devils possess sagacity, so how can it be understood that they return to stealing a hearing again and again, even though the thief perishes or is severely harmed, and the continuous descent of meteors is evidence of the continuation of this act by them?" Because we say: We do not concede the continuation of this act by them. The continuation of the descent [of meteors] is not evidence of it, because the descent occurs for stealing and for other reasons. We have indicated previously that the air may be conditioned with a specific quality and burn due to the rays of the stars, even if there is no eavesdropper.

It is said: It is permissible that meteors are seen due to conflicts in the atmospheres and collision from which what is seen occurs, just as lightning occurs from the collision of clouds, as narrated from some of the Salaf. The events of the atmosphere are not known except by God Almighty. It is possible that they stole [a hearing] first, witnessed what they witnessed, then stopped, and the meteors continued to occur due to what was mentioned, not for the stealing of the devils. It is also possible that it occurs occasionally from those who were among them and did not know what happened to the eavesdroppers before them, or from those who do not care about harm or death out of a desire to be told "How brave he is" or "How courageous he is," just as is observed in many people who rush into battles and are certain of their destruction out of a desire for such things. Perhaps in the description of the devil as "rebellious" (marid), there is what gives solace to this possibility.

As for what is said: "The flame might hit the ascender once and might not hit, like waves for the passenger of a ship, and that is why they are not deterred from it at all," according to what is narrated—Ibn Abi Hatim and Abu al-Shaykh narrated in al-'Azamah from Ibn Abbas (may God be pleased with them) that he said: "When he is struck by the flame, it does not miss the one it is cast at." Then, what was mentioned regarding the possibility that they stopped after the experience was proven to them is not complete except according to what is narrated from al-Sha'bi: "The stars were not hurled until the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was born. When they were hurled, people began releasing their cattle and manumitting their slaves, thinking it was the Resurrection. They came to 'Abd Yalayl the soothsayer, who had gone blind, and told him of that. He said: 'Look, if they are the known stars—the planets and the fixed stars—then it is the Hour of Resurrection; otherwise, it is a new matter.' They looked, and they were unknown. Not much time passed before the news of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came."

Ibn al-Jawzi in al-Muntazam agreed with the lack of its occurrence before, but said: "It occurred twenty days after his mission." The correct view is that the hurling was before his birth (peace and blessings be upon him), and it is frequent in the poetry of the Jahiliyyah. However, it is possible that it was not driving away the devils, or it was driving them away but not entirely, or it was driving them away entirely. According to this, the previous possibility does not hold. According to the first of these possibilities, the event on the day of birth was driving them away, and according to the second, it was driving them away entirely and intensifying the matter for them so that their affair and confusion would be cut off, and the revelation would be correct, so the proof would be more decisive.

What is most probable is that it was before the birth, driving them away, but not entirely. So, stealing occurred on rare occasions, and it was intensified at the beginning of the mission. On this, the report "The stars were not hurled until the Prophet was born" is intended to mean that the hurling of them was not frequent. According to this, other reports are interpreted, if they are authentic, like the report narrated in the biographies: "Iblis used to penetrate the heavens before 'Isa (peace be upon him). When he was sent or born, he was blocked from three heavens, and when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was born, he was blocked from all of them, and the devils were hurled at with stars." Quraysh said: "The Hour has come." 'Utbah ibn Rabi'ah said: "Look at the stars; if they are hurled, the Hour has come, otherwise not."

Some of them said: "The scholars of tradition agreed that it was before, but it became frequent and intensified when Islam came." That is why God Almighty said: "It was filled with a strong guard and flames," and did not say "it was guarded." In sum, there is no certainty among us that what occurs of meteors in these eras and the like are missiles for the devils. Being certain of that is throwing stones in the dark.

This matter of stealing has been considered problematic for several reasons, among them: that the angels in the heaven are busy with types of worship; "The heaven creaks, and it is right for it to creak, for there is not a place of a footstep in it except that there is an angel standing, bowing, or prostrating." So, what can the devils steal from them? If it is said: Among them are those who speak about the cosmic events, they are on the "convex side," and the devils steal from the "concave side," and between them, as confirmed in the reports, is five hundred years. So how can hearing occur, especially when it is apparent that they do not raise their voices when they speak about the events, as there is no apparent purpose for raising them? Even assuming there is raising of the voice, it is apparent that it cannot be heard from a distance of five hundred years. And even assuming it is of such status, the atmosphere ends at the sphere of fire, and there is no sound without air.

The answer is that the stealing is from the angels of the clouds (al-'inan), and they converse among themselves about what they were commanded from heaven regarding the cosmic events. "We have reached the heaven," seeking its news, or from the angels descending from heaven with the command; for angels on the gates of heaven and where they descend are asked: "What are you taking?" and they inform them. The stealing is not from the angels who are on the convex side of the heaven. The matter of the sphere of fire is not correct, and the air is not terminated; it is every time it is thinner and more subtle, it is more helpful for hearing. Moreover, the existence of air is not something on which hearing depends according to the principles of the Ash'arites. The same applies to the lack of excessive distance.

The apparent meaning of a report narrated by Ibn Abi Hatim from 'Ikrimah is that the stealing is from the angels in heaven. He said: "When God Almighty decrees a matter, He (Blessed and Exalted is He) speaks, and the angels all fall in prostration. The jinn think that a matter is being decreed, so they steal [a hearing]. When the terror is removed from the hearts of the angels (peace be upon them) and they raise their heads, they say: 'What did your Lord say?' They all say: 'The Truth, and He is the Most High, the Most Great.'"

It came in a report narrated by Ibn Abi Shaybah, 'Abd ibn Humayd, and Ibn al-Mundhir from Ibrahim al-Taymi: "When the Lord of the Throne wants a matter, the angels hear it like the dragging of a chain on a smooth rock, so they swoon. When they rise, they say: 'What did your Lord say?' He says, whomsoever God wills: 'The Truth, and He is the Most High, the Most Great.'" Perhaps after this answer, the command is mentioned specifically among the angels (peace be upon them). The apparent meaning of what came in some narrations from Ibn Abbas regarding the interpretation of the "High Assembly" (al-mala' al-a'la) as the scribes among the angels (peace be upon them) is also that the stealing is from angels in heaven, as the apparent is that the scribes are in heaven. Perhaps what is recited from the Tablet is recited to them, so they write it for some matter, and the devils covet stealing something of it. The matter of distance is like the matter of air; it does not harm the Ash'arite principles in that. It is possible to claim that the body of the sky does not block sound, even if it is dense. How many properties have the philosophers established for the spheres that are no less strange than the lack of blocking?

Among them is that it would suffice, for protection from the devils' stealing, not to enable them to ascend to where the hearing is stolen, or to command the angels (peace be upon them) to hide their speech so they do not hear it, or to make their language different so they do not understand their speech. The answer is that the occurrence of the matter as it occurred is from the door of testing, and in it also there is wisdom. It is not hidden that this problem occurs in many things, except that the Maker is Wise, and that He (Glorified be His status) has observed wisdom in what He created and commanded in the most perfect way, until it was said: "There is nothing in existence more wonderful than what exists." This resolves it, and nothing remains but seeking the aspect of wisdom, which is something God Almighty grants to whom He wills among His servants. The discussion in this position has already passed; so return to it. From what is here and what is there, what pleases the discerning, investigating scholars is obtained.