Tafsir of Ad-Dhariyat 51:23

Regarding the pronoun in {it is}, based on what has preceded, it may refer to: what was previously mentioned; or sustenance; or Allah Almighty; or the Prophet, peace be upon him; or the Qur'an; or what is mentioned in {indeed, the Recompense is to occur}; or the Day mentioned in {When is the Day of Recompense?}; or to all that has been mentioned. There are multiple views on this, and Abu Hayyan regarded the last of these as the most likely, which is also narrated from Ibn Jurayj—meaning that everything mentioned from the beginning of the Surah up to this point is the truth.

{Just as [surely as] you are speaking} Meaning: Just as your speaking is a reality, in the same way that you have no doubt that you are speaking, you should have no doubt in the truth of that [which was mentioned]. This is like what people say: "This is as true as you seeing and hearing."

The word {just as/like} (mithla) is in the accusative case as a circumstantial qualifier (hal) related to the hidden pronoun in {it is the truth} (la-haqq). It does not become definite by being added to the following clause because of its deep-seated indefiniteness. Alternatively, it is a description of an omitted verbal noun, meaning: "Indeed, it is true, a truth like your speaking."

It has been said that it is indeclinable and fixed with a fatḥah. Al-Mazini said: This is because it is compounded with ma, to the point that they became a single entity, like wayḥa-ma. They cited as evidence for the indeclinability of the noun with it the poet’s saying: "Is it a bull that I am hunting, or two bulls...?"

Others said it is fixed because it is added to a non-independent word, which is ma, whether it is used as an adjective meaning "a thing," or as a relative pronoun meaning "that which." The clause {that you} and what follows is the predicate of an omitted subject, meaning: "It is [the fact] that you..." And the sentence is either an adjective or a relative clause. Or, the entire clause {that you...} is the predicate, if we consider ma to be extra—and this is the explicit view of al-Khalil. Its place in the syntax, upon its indeclinability, is nominative, either as an adjective for {the truth} or as a second predicate. This is supported by the recitation of Hamza, al-Kisa'i, Abu Bakr, al-Hasan, Ibn Abi Ishaq, and al-A'mash—with a difference in report from three of them—reading mithlu in the nominative case.

In al-Bahr, it is stated that the Kufans consider mithla to be an adverb (zarf), thus they put it in the accusative case as an adverbial. They permit [the expression] darabtu mithlaka ("I hit [something] like you") in the accusative. Upon this, it is permissible in the recitation of the majority for it to be in the accusative as an adverb. Their reasoning and the refutation against them are recorded in [the books of] grammar.

The verse contains an emphasis on the truth of what has been mentioned that is not hidden. Ibn Jarir and Ibn Abi Hatim narrated from al-Hasan that he said regarding it: "It has reached me that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said: 'May Allah destroy a people to whom their Lord swears, yet they do not believe.'"

It is also narrated from al-Asma'i: I was returning from the mosque of Basra when a Bedouin appeared to me mounted on a camel. He said, "From which people is the man?" I said, "From the Banu Asma'." He said, "From where do you come?" I said, "From a place where the speech of the Most Merciful is recited." He said, "Recite to me." So I recited {And the scattering winds...} (al-Dhariyat). When I reached {And in the heaven is your provision}, he said, "Enough." He stood up, slaughtered his camel, and distributed it. Then he took his sword and his bow, broke them, and went away.

When I went on pilgrimage with al-Rashid, I began circumambulating [the Kaaba] when I heard someone calling me with a gentle voice. I turned around, and it was the Bedouin, now emaciated and yellowed. He greeted me and asked me to recite the Surah. When I reached the verse, he shouted and said, "We have found that which our Lord promised us to be true." Then he said, "Is there anything beyond this?" So I recited, {By the Lord of the heaven and the earth, indeed it is the truth}. He cried out and said, "Glory be to Allah! Who is it that angered the Majestic One until He swore, and they did not believe Him, so He was forced to swear?" He said this three times, and his soul departed with the last one.