Tafsir of Sad 38:49

"This is a dhikr (reminder/honor)." This is a reference to the preceding verses that speak of their virtues. Dhikr here means an honor for them. It is called dhikr in this sense because honor necessitates fame and being spoken of among people, so it is used metaphorically for it based on the relationship of necessity. The intent in mentioning their stories and Allah Almighty's exaltation of them is that it is a great honor for them.

Or, the meaning is: "This" which has been mentioned of the verses is a type of dhikr, which is the Qur'an. Mentioning this serves as a transition from one type of discourse to another, just as Al-Jahiz says in his books: "This is a chapter," then he begins another chapter. A writer, upon finishing a section of his book and wanting to begin another, says: "This, and such and such was the case," often omitting the predicate in such instances, as has been said. Based on this, there is the verse: "This, and indeed for the transgressors is an evil place of return." You shall hear the discussion regarding this, God Almighty willing, so it cannot be said that there is no benefit in it, for it is known that it is from the Qur'an.

Ibn Abbas said: "This is a dhikr (remembrance) of those who have passed among the Prophets, peace be upon them."

His saying: "And indeed for the righteous is a good place of return" (meaning a place of return) is the beginning of an explanation of their abundant reward in the afterlife, following the statement of their beautiful mention in this world. The term "the righteous" (al-muttaqin) refers either to the genus—in which case they are included primarily—or it refers to the mentioned individuals themselves, described as such to praise them for piety, which is the ultimate goal of perfection.

In my view, the sentence is conjoined to the sentence before it, as if it were said: "This is an honor for them in this world, and indeed for them and their peers—or that for them—is a good place of return in the hereafter," or it is of the category of conjoining story to story.

Al-Shihab al-Khafaji, may mercy be upon him, said: "It is a circumstantial clause (haliyyah)," though he did not specify the subject of the state (dhu al-hal). It is unlikely to be "a dhikr" because it is an indefinite noun preceding it, and it is unlikely to be "this" because it is an initial noun (mubtada'). Furthermore, there is obscurity in the meaning assuming it is a circumstantial clause.

Some distinguished contemporaries said: "He intended that the speech is upon a certain meaning while the state is such; i.e., the affair and the situation is such, and he did not intend that the sentence is a circumstantial clause in the well-known sense that requires a subject and an operator for the state, and so on." He claimed that the matter is likewise in every sentence said to be a circumstantial clause that contains no pronoun referring back to what precedes it, such as: "Zayd came while the sun was rising." He said: "This is what should be relied upon, even if the grammarians did not mention it." This, however, is not hidden from one of discernment.

The addition of "good" (husn) to "place of return" (ma'ab) is an addition of the adjective to the noun, either by interpreting it as "a place of return that has goodness," or by doing so without interpretation, intending hyperbole.