Tafsir of Al-Jathiyah 45:32

"And when it is said, 'Indeed, the promise of Allah is truth'"—that is, what He, Glory be to Him, has promised of the coming events, or His promise regarding this—"is true," meaning it is existent or inevitable. There is a figurative use in the phrasing, either in the temporal aspect or the attribution.

Al-A'raj, 'Amr bin Qa'id, and others read "anna" (that) with a fatha on the hamza, following the dialect of Sulaym. As for "and the Hour," in the recitation of the majority, it is in the nominative case (marfu') as a coordination to the place of "inna" and its noun, according to what Abu Ali maintained, followed by al-Zamakhshari. Whoever argues that the noun of "inna" has a position allowed coordination to it here. Abu Hayyan argued that the correct view is that neither perspective is permissible, and according to this, the sentence "the Hour is no doubt in it" is a coordination to the preceding sentence. Hamza read "wa-sa'ata" in the accusative case (mansub) as a coordination to the noun of "anna"; this is also narrated from al-A'mash, Abu 'Amr, Abu Haywah, 'Isa, al-'Absi, and al-Mufaddal. The mention of the Hour and that there is no doubt in its occurrence, despite it being part of what Allah promised, serves to emphasize the matter of resurrection, which is the intended subject of the surah.

"You say," due to your extreme insolence, "We do not know what the Hour is," meaning: what thing is it? This is an expression of deep estrangement toward it, as indicated by the plural "we do not know" along with the interrogative.

"We only opine it as an opinion" (in nazunnu illa zannan): This has been problematic because it is a mustathna mufarragh (vacuous exception), and they have said: It is not permissible to vacate the governor to an emphatic cognate accusative (maf'ul mutlaq), so one does not say, "I did not strike except a striking," because it is in the position of "I did not strike except that I struck." Al-Radi said: A vacuous exception must be an exception from a multiple, estimated, and declined category that encompasses that genus until the excepted part enters into it with certainty and is then removed by the exception. The source (masdar) of "nazunnu" (we opine) does not permit anything other than opinion to be excluded from it. The same is said for "I did not strike except a striking." This is the meaning of those who said: it is of the category of excepting a thing from itself.

Scholars differed in resolving this: It is said that the meaning of "we do not opine" is "we do not perform the opining," just as in cases like "standing" (qiyam) and "sitting" (qu'ud). In this case, the exception is valid, and the scope of negation and affirmation differs in terms of estimation and figurative use of exception from a general estimated category. Making "nazunnu" mean "we perform" (i.e., we do not perform an action except opining) is how it is treated in similar instances, such as the verse of al-A'sha: "And old age settled its burdens upon him, and old age did not deceive him except with a deception." This was approved by the author of al-Kashshaf.

It is also said: "We do not opine" means "we do not believe," and "zannan" (opinion) is the object; that is, "we do not believe anything except as an opinion." Abu Hayyan approved this, though it was countered that their outward state suggests they are hesitant, not believing. The response is that the negated belief does not contradict their outward state, but rather affirms it in the most complete way.

Others said: The excepted part is the opinion regarding the Hour, and the source of the exception is absolute opinion; as if to say: "We have no opinion or hesitation except the opinion about the Hour and the hesitation regarding it." Thus, the speech is to negate their opinion regarding everything else as an exaggeration.

Al-Radi said: "I did not strike except a striking" admits multiplicity from the perspective of the listener's imagination, as one might say "I struck" when they have actually done something else that serves the same purpose, like threatening. One counters this by saying "I struck a striking." It is thus similar to "Zayd came, Zayd." Since "I struck" was capable of meaning striking or something else by way of imagination, it became like a multiple containing striking and others. The outcome is that since "I struck" admitted confirmation and exception, it was treated as a general term by the evidence of the exception; so the meaning is "I did not do anything except strike." This is how "We do not opine except an opinion" is understood. This is almost identical to what we mentioned first.

It was objected that an exception requires certain inclusion, and imagined potential is not enough. This was countered by saying it is invalid, because when the verb is stripped for a general meaning, inclusion becomes certain. Moreover, the claim that hypothetical inclusion is insufficient is not accepted, as known by those who track its usages.

Ibn Ya'ish and Abu al-Baqa' went toward metathesis and transposition, the origin being "We are not except opining an opinion." This was reported from al-Mubarrad. It was also applied to what Abu 'Amr bin al-'Ala' and Sibawayh narrated from the Arabs: "The perfume is not but musk" (in the nominative), saying: the origin is "There is not except the perfume [which is] musk," so that the noun of "laysa" is the pronoun of the affair, and what follows "illa" is a nominal sentence in the position of the predicate. Al-Radi rejected this, saying it is an artifice due to the complexity that impairs eloquence. The cited example occurs in the dialect of Banu Tamim, for they treat "laysa" like "ma," ignoring it because the negation is broken by "illa."

It is also said: "Zannan" (an opinion) is a cognate accusative for an omitted verb, and the exception is omitted; the estimation being: "We do not opine except that you opine an opinion." This was also narrated from al-Mubarrad, but it involves the omission of "inna," its noun, and its predicate, while keeping the masdar, which is not permissible; it also contains the complexity that impairs eloquence. I do not consider it likely that this was correctly narrated from al-Mubarrad due to its extreme coldness.

The author of al-Taqrib permitted that the intent of "We do not opine except an opinion" is an opinion of weakness, meaning it is a masdar clarifying the type, with its adjective omitted—as he explicitly stated in al-Bahr—not an emphatic one. This agrees with what Imam al-Sakkaki mentioned regarding the discussion that indefiniteness may serve for belittlement. This was countered by the fact that the Almighty's saying, "And we are not of those who are certain," rejects it, for the opposite of certainty is absolute opinion, not the weak kind.

Many have stated that this sentence serves as a confirmation for what preceded it, and the intent is the continuity and emphasis of the negation. It is said: The meaning is "And we are not certain of the possibility of the Hour," meaning we do not reach certainty about its possibility at all, let alone the confirmation of its occurrence, which is indicated by the Almighty's saying: "Indeed, the promise of Allah is truth and the Hour is no doubt in it." So their saying this is a refutation of that. Perhaps those who attribute to themselves an opinion without certainty regarding the Hour are not the same as those who say, "It is but our life of this world," for that is clear in that they are deniers of the resurrection, certain in the negation of the Hour. Thus, the disbelievers are of two classes: a class certain in its negation, like their leaders, and a class hesitant and confused about it. When they hear what is transmitted from their ancestors, they deny it; when they hear the recited verses, their denial retreats, and they become hesitant.

It is possible that the speaker of the former and the latter are the same, yet each statement is in a different time and situation; thus, he is troubled and inconsistent in his states. At times he is certain in negation, saying: "It is but our life of this world," and at other times he opines, saying: "We do not opine except an opinion." It is said: The certainty there is regarding the negation of its occurrence, and the opinion here without certainty is merely regarding its possibility; thus they are hesitant about its possibility, while being certain about the lack of its actual occurrence. Contemplate this.