Tafsir of Ad-Dhariyat 51:60

"So woe to those who disbelieved"—that is, woe to them. The relative pronoun (alladhina) has been placed in the stead of their pronoun to record against them the cause of the ruling, which is their disbelief, contained within the relative clause. The Fa (So) is for the sequential consequence of the woe being established for them, based on the fact that they have a great punishment, just as the Fa that precedes it is for the sequential consequence of the prohibition against hastening [the punishment] based on that.

The min (of/from) in His saying, Exalted is He: "of their day which they are promised" is for indicating the cause (ta‘lil), and the pronoun referring back to the relative pronoun is omitted; that is: "they are promised it" (yu‘adunahu bihi), according to one opinion. Regarding the "day" intended by this, it is said: it is the Day of Badr, which is favored for being more consistent with what precedes it, in terms of it being an approach of worldly punishment. It is also said: it is the Day of Resurrection, which is favored for being more suitable to what is at the beginning of the noble Surah that follows. And Allah the Exalted knows best.

From what some of the people of allusion (ahl al-ishara) have said regarding some of the verses:

"By the scatterers, scattering" is an allusion to the winds that carry the groaning of those who yearn—those who encounter the breaths of grace—to the arenas of Majesty, then bring back with them the breeze of the breaths of Truth to the nostrils of the lovers, so they find a reprieve from the overwhelming intensities of longing.

"And the bearers of a burden" is an allusion to the clouds of divine grace, carrying the rains of the Lord’s mercy, which then pour down upon the hearts of the truthful (siddiqin).

"And the runners with ease" is an allusion to the ships of the hearts of the lovers, sailing on the winds of providence in the sea of Tawhid (Divine Oneness) in the most effortless state.

"And the distributors of a command" is an allusion to the angels descending from the sacred enclosures with glad tidings and divine knowledge upon the hearts of the steadfast.

If you wish, you may interpret all of them as allusions to the types of winds of providence. Among them is that which causes hearts to fly into the atmosphere of the Unseen. The metaphorical lover has said: "Take from the morning breeze of Najd a security for his heart, for its fragrance has almost caused his soul to take flight." Beware of that breeze, for when it blows, longing is the easiest of its affairs.

Among them are "the bearers of a burden"—the medicine for the hearts of the lovers, as it is said: "O two mountains of Nu‘man, by Allah, let the morning breeze pass through to her breeze. Let me find its coolness, or let it heal the heat within me, for upon my liver, only the core remains." For the Saba (morning breeze) is a wind that, when it breathes upon a distressed soul, its distresses are dispelled.

Among them are "the runners" from the blowing of the sacred Presences to the hearts of the people of intimacy, with ease, to refresh their hearts.

Among them are "the distributors"—what they bring of that which has permeated from the traces of the Divine Presence onto the souls of the prepared, according to their preparations. If you wish, you may say otherwise; the door is wide.

"And the heaven with its paths" is an allusion to the heaven of the heart, for it possesses paths to Allah, the Mighty and Majestic.

"Indeed, the righteous will be within gardens and springs" is an allusion to the gardens of union and the springs of wisdom.

"And in the hours before dawn, they would ask forgiveness"—they seek ghafara, meaning the veiling of their own existence by the existence of their Beloved, or they seek forgiveness for the sin of perceiving their own worship from the beginning of the night until the dawn.

"And of all things We have created a pair" is an allusion that all that is seen manifesting from created beings is not one in absolute reality; rather, it is composite, and at the very least, it is composed of contingency and something else. There is no absolute One except Allah the Exalted, whose reality—Exalted is He—is His very Being (inniyyah).

"So flee to Allah" by abandoning everything other than Him, the Mighty and Majestic.

"And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me"—that is, to know Me. According to them, this is an allusion to what they have verified through unveiling, from the narration of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) from his Lord, Exalted is He, that He said: "I was a hidden treasure, and I loved to be known, so I created the creation so that I would be known."

In the book Al-Anwar al-Sunniyyah by Sayyid Nur al-Din al-Samhudi, it is narrated with the wording: "I was a hidden treasure, and I loved to be known, so I created this creation so that they might know Me, and through Me they came to know Me."

In Al-Maqasid al-Hasanah by al-Sakhawi, it is narrated with the wording: "I was a treasure, and I was not known, so I created a creation, and I made Myself known to them, so they came to know Me." And so on.

This is problematic, because "hiddenness" is a relative matter; it necessarily requires a concealer and one from whom it is concealed. Where there was no creation, there was no one from whom to be concealed, so "hiddenness" cannot be realized.

It has been answered: First, that the hiddenness was from the a‘yan al-thabitah (fixed archetypes), because things, in their state of fixity, have no existential perception. Thus, Allah the Exalted was hidden from them, yet known to them in an existential knowledge. He loved to be known by a originated knowledge from an originated being, so He created the creation, because His existential knowledge is a branch of their existence. So He made Himself known to them through various types of manifestations according to the disparity of their preparations. They came to know themselves through the manifestations, and through that, they came to know Allah the Exalted; thus, through Him, the Exalted, they came to know Him.

Second, that what is meant by "hiddenness" is its necessary consequence, which is that no one knew Him, Glorified and Exalted is He. This is supported by what is in al-Sakhawi's wording: "I was not known," instead of "a hidden treasure."

Third, that "hidden" (makhfiyyan) means "manifest" (zahiran), from the verb akhfahu, meaning "He unveiled it," on the basis that the hamza denotes removal; that is: "He removed its hiddenness." The sequencing of His saying, Exalted is He: "So I loved to be known..." is based on the fact that when manifestation is too intense, it necessitates ignorance of the state of the manifest one. So He created the creation so that they might be like a veil, and through that, knowledge might be attained. Do you not see that the sun, due to the intensity of its manifestation, most eyes cannot endure looking at its state except by placing some veils between it and them? This, as you see, is not free from debate.

As for the attribution of "Treasure" to Him, the Mighty and Majestic, it has been narrated. Al-Daylami narrated in his Musnad from Anas, in a marfu‘ (elevated) hadith: "The believer’s treasure is his Lord." That is, He is his treasure, the Mighty and Majestic, in everything he attains of precious matters in both abodes.

Shaykh Muhyi al-Din—may his secret be sanctified—mentioned a different meaning for "Treasure." He said in the 358th chapter of his Futuhat: "If there were not in the world one who is upon the image of the Truth, the objective of knowledge of the Truth would not have been achieved." I mean the "originated one" in the saying: "I was a hidden treasure..." So He made Himself a treasure, and a treasure cannot be except when stored inside something. The Treasure of the Truth was not stored in anything except in the image of the Perfect Human (al-insan al-kamil). In the state of his fixity there, the Truth was stored; so when the Truth clothed the Human in the garment of the state of existence, the Treasure appeared by his appearance. The Perfect Human came to know it through his own existence and knew that He, Exalted is He, was stored within him in his state of fixity while he was unaware of it.

This is the absolute mystery (al-tayr) which we do not know. We ask Allah the Exalted for success in what He loves and is pleased with, by His grace and generosity.