Tafsir of As-Saffat 37:47

That is, no harmful effect (ghā'ilah), as is found in the wine of this world. It is derived from ghāla-yaghūluhu (to destroy or corrupt).

Al-Rāghib stated: Al-ghawl is the destruction of a thing in a manner that is imperceptible. It is said, "He destroyed it (ghālahu) by ghawl and ightālahu by ightiyāl." From this, the si‘lāt (a type of demon) is called a ghūl. The intent here is to negate that there is any harm in it at all.

Al-Bayhaqī and a group of others narrated from Ibn ‘Abbās that he said regarding this: "There is no headache in it." In a narration by Ibn Abī Ḥātim from him: "Their intellects will not be corrupted (taghūl) by drunkenness." Al-Ṭasī narrated from him that Nāfi‘ al-Azraq asked: "Tell me about the saying of the Exalted, 'No ghawl in it.'" He replied: "There is no foulness or aversion in it like the wine of this world." He asked: "Do the Arabs know this?" He replied: "Yes. Have you not heard the saying of Imru’ al-Qays: 'Many a cup I drank, with no ghawl in it; and I gave the companion to drink from it, mixed.'" In another narration from him, he interpreted it as stomach pain, and this was also narrated from Mujāhid, Ibn Zayd, and Ibn Jubayr.

The preference is for a general meaning, and the specification of certain things is by way of illustration. The prepositional phrase is placed before the verb, as has been stated, for the sake of emphasis (takhṣīṣ). The meaning is that it does not contain the ghawl found in the wines of this world—a topic discussed in the books of Ma‘ānī (rhetoric).

That is, they will not be intoxicated, as has been narrated from Ibn ‘Abbās and others. This is an explanation of the resulting meaning. The root of nazf is the removal and exhaustion of a thing gradually. It is said, "I drained (nazaftu) the water from the well," meaning I drew it out and removed it all from it, little by little. Nazafa al-hammu dam‘ahu means he exhausted all of his tears. It is also said: "a drunken drinker (shārib nazīf)," meaning the wine has drained his intellect by drunkenness and carried it away, just as one drains a well and removes its water. So the drinker is the vessel for the intellect, and it is drained from him.

"They are not drained" (yunzafūn), in the passive voice—as recited by the two Haramī scholars (Makkah and Madinah) and the two Kūfī scholars (Ḥamzah and al-Kisā’ī)—means their intellects will not be drained; that is, the wine will not extract or carry them away. Or, the agent is Allah the Exalted. The verb being transitive through ‘an (from) is said to be because it incorporates the meaning of yaṣuddūn (they are turned away from it). It is also said to denote causality or the source. This specific corruption was singled out for negation and joined to what precedes it, because, due to the magnitude of its corruption, it is as if it were a separate category of its own; it is for this reason that wine is called "the source of all evils." The intent is the continuity of the negation, not the negation of continuity.

Ḥamzah and al-Kisā’ī read (yunzafūn) with the yā’ vocalized with ḍammah and the zāy with kasrah. ‘Āṣim followed them in the chapter of al-Wāqi‘ah, based on the verb anzafa (to become one who has nazf), meaning he has intellect or has run out of wine. Thus, the hamzah signifies transition into a state (ṣayrūrah). It is also said to signify entering into a state, which is why it becomes intransitive, similar to kabba and akabba. It also means drunkenness due to the exhaustion of the drunkard's intellect or the exhaustion of his drink due to his heavy consumption. Thus, it signifies drunkenness, then became a literal term for it. Al-Ubayyirid al-Yarbū‘ī said: "By my life, whether you have become exhausted of wine or are sober, you are the worst companions, O house of Abjar."

In al-Baḥr, it is stated that anzafa is common to both meanings: being drunk and running out of drink. It is said, "The man anzafa," meaning he became drunk, and "he anzafa," meaning his wine ran out. The transitivity of the verb is due to inclusion, as previously mentioned. It is also permitted to intend the meaning of exhaustion without the meaning of drunkenness—i.e., their wine does not run out nor is it taken away until their life is made miserable—but this view is weak. Ibn Abī Isḥāq read (yunzafūn) with fatḥah on the yā’ and kasrah on the zāy, while Ṭalḥah read with fatḥah on the yā’ and ḍammah on the zāy. The intent in all of these is the negation of drunkenness, according to what has been transmitted from the majority.

A strange narration is that which Ibn Abī Ḥātim and Ibn Mardawayh extracted from Ibn ‘Abbās: "There are four qualities in wine: drunkenness, headache, vomiting, and urine. So Allah the Exalted exempted the wine of Paradise from them: 'No ghawl in it'—their intellects will not be corrupted by drunkenness; 'nor will they be exhausted (yunzafūn)'—they will not vomit from it, as the drinker of the wine of this world vomits." This is closer to the usage of nazf in physical matters, like the draining of a well or a cistern and the like, as vomiting is the expulsion of waste from the body, similar to the emptying of a well and the removal of its water. Were it not for the fact that the majority are upon what I have heard first—even Ibn ‘Abbās in most narrations from him—I would have said that this interpretation is the most appropriate.