Tafsir of Al-Ahqaf 46:20

And the Day those who disbelieved are presented to the Fire (i.e., they are punished with it. It is taken from the expression: "The camels of such-and-such a tribe were presented to the watering trough" when they are slaughtered with it; it is a widespread metaphorical usage). Many have held that this is an instance of semantic inversion (qalb), the meaning being: "The Day the Fire is presented to those who disbelieved," just as the camels are presented to the watering trough. This is because they argued that the meaning is also "The watering trough was presented to the camels." They claim that the one to whom the thing is presented must possess cognition so that it may incline toward the object presented or desire it. However, since the appropriate action is for the presented object to be brought to the one to whom it is presented and moved toward it, and here the matter is the opposite—as the watering trough was not brought, and likewise the Fire—the speech was inverted out of consideration for this factor.

In al-Intisaf, it is stated: "If the expression 'The camels were presented to the watering trough' is inverted, then the saying of the Exalted, 'And the Day those who disbelieved are presented to the Fire,' is not likewise." For the reason for the inversion there is the belief that the watering trough is an inanimate object without cognition, while the camel is the one that possesses cognition, so it is the one to which the trough is truly presented. As for the Fire, texts have come down stating that it will be endowed with cognition—like that of animals, or even the cognition of those who possess knowledge. Thus, the matter in the verse remains upon its literal meaning, like your saying: "The captives were presented to the Emir."

Perhaps it may be said: "There is no objection to treating it as having the status of a cognizing being, even if it were not cognizing at that time, and likewise treating the watering trough as having that status as if it were inspecting the camel," as Abu al-Ala’ al-Ma’arri said: "When the horses long for the watering places, the watering places long for them." After that, one might not need to consider inversion. Abu Hayyan said: "It is not appropriate to burden the Quran with inversion. The correct view is that it is something necessitated only in poetry. If the meaning is correct and clear without it, then what necessity calls for it?" The example mentioned also has no inversion, for "the presentation of the camel to the trough" and "the presentation of the trough to the camel" are both correct; for presentation is a relative matter that can validly be attributed to either the camel or the trough. Ibn al-Sikkit, in the book al-Tawsi’ah, held that "the watering trough was presented to the camel" is inverted and that the original is "the camel was presented to the watering trough," but this contradicts the well-known view.

You know from what we mentioned first that the reason they considered it an inversion in the example is that the appropriate thing in presentation is for the presented object to be brought to the one to whom it is presented, and that the matter in "the watering trough was presented to the camel" is the opposite. The detailed discussion of this, in a way that the origin of the disagreement may be known, is that presentation absolutely does not necessitate that; rather, what necessitates it is the meaning intended by the presentation in the example, which is the inclination toward the presented object. He who does not look at this meaning and looks at the fact that the presented object moves toward the one to whom it is presented says it is the original. And he who does not look at this consideration and says "presentation is the showing of a thing to a thing" says that both expressions are based on the original. This is, as the scholar al-Salkuti said, the truth, because both considerations are outside the concept of presentation. So memorize this, for it is precious.

The adverbial phrase is connected to His saying, the Exalted: 'You exhausted your good things'—up to the end. That is, it is said to them on the Day they are presented: "You exhausted your pleasures in your worldly life—by consuming them—and you took enjoyment in them." Thus, nothing remains for you of them after this. It is a conjunctive explanatory clause for "exhausted." Qatadah, Mujahid, Ibn Wathab, Abu Ja’far, al-Hasan, al-A’raj, and Ibn Kathir read it as A-adhhabtum (with a hamzah followed by a lengthened vowel); Ibn Amir with two hamzahs, both of which Ibn Dhakwan articulated, while Ibn Hisham softened the second; and Ibn Kathir—in one transmission from Ibn Hisham—separated the articulated hamzah and the softened one with an alif. The interrogation carries the meaning of rebuke; it is a statement in meaning. If it were purely interrogative, the fa would not have entered into His saying, the Exalted: 'So this Day you are recompensed with the punishment of humiliation'—that is, disgrace. Likewise, it is read: 'Because you used to'—in the world—'arrogate upon the earth without right'—without entitlement to that (and the secret of 'upon the earth' has already been explained)—'and because you used to behave defiantly'—that is, you depart from the obedience of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic. That is, because of your continued arrogance and defiance. In al-Bahr, it is stated that "arrogance" is intended as being too proud for faith, and "defiance" as the sins of the limbs. The sin of the heart was placed before the sin of the limbs, as the actions of the limbs arise from the desires of the heart. It is read tafsuqun with a kasrah on the sin.

This verse is an incitement to minimize worldly life, to abandon indulgence in it, and to adopt asceticism. Sa’id ibn Mansur, ‘Abd ibn Humayd, Ibn al-Mundhir, al-Hakim, and al-Bayhaqi in Shu’ab al-Iman recorded from Ibn ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with both, that he saw a dirham in the hand of Jabir ibn ‘Abd Allah, may Allah be pleased with both, and said: "What is this dirham?" He said: "I want to buy meat for my family for which they have craved." He said: "Every time you crave something, do you buy it? Where do you cast this verse aside: 'You exhausted your good things in your worldly life and took enjoyment in them'?"

Ibn al-Mubarak, Ibn Sa’d, Ahmad in al-Zuhd, ‘Abd ibn Humayd, and Abu Nu’aym in al-Hilyah recorded from al-Hasan, who said: "A delegation from the people of Basra came to ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, with Abu Musa al-Ash’ari. Every day there would be bread soaked in broth (tharid), and sometimes we would find it seasoned with oil, sometimes with ghee, sometimes with milk, sometimes we would find dried sun-cured meat which had been pounded and boiled, and sometimes we would find fresh meat"—meaning soft, and it was scarce. He said: "And ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, said to us: 'By Allah, I am not ignorant of the brisket, the humps, the roasted meat, the mustard-raisin paste (sinab), and the boiled vegetable dishes (sala’iq). But I found that Allah, the Exalted, reproached a people for a matter they did, and said, the Exalted: 'You exhausted your good things in your worldly life and took enjoyment in them.'"

... [The commentary proceeds to define the archaic food terms mentioned by Umar].

And Ahmad and al-Bayhaqi in Shu’ab al-Iman recorded from Thawban, may Allah be pleased with him, who said: "The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, when he traveled, his last act before his family was to see Fatimah, and the first to visit him upon return was Fatimah, may Allah be pleased with her. He arrived from a military expedition and came to her, and saw a hair-cloth curtain on her door, and saw on Hasan and Husayn two silver bracelets. He turned back and did not enter. When she saw that, she thought he did not enter because of what he saw, so she tore down the curtain and removed the bracelets from the two children, and they cried. She divided them between them, and they went to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, while they were crying. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, took them from them and said: 'O Thawban, take this to such-and-such a family, a household in Medina, and buy for Fatimah a necklace of ‘asb and two bracelets of ivory; for these are my household, and I do not love for them to consume their good things in their worldly life.'"

... [Further linguistic definitions of 'asb and scholarly discussion on the context of the verse].

Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with both, said: "This is from the category of asceticism; otherwise, the verse was revealed regarding the disbelievers of Quraish. The meaning is: 'You had the good things of the Hereafter, or you believed, but you did not believe, so you hastened your good things in the life of the world.' So this is a metonymy for the lack of belief, and for that reason, 'So this Day you are recompensed with the punishment of humiliation' followed it. If the literal meaning were intended and it were not a metonymy for what we mentioned, the recompense with punishment would not have followed it."