Tafsir of Al-Waqi'ah 56:26

{ إلا قيلا سلاما سلاما }

"Except for a saying: 'Peace, peace.'"

{ إلا قيلا } is an exception, and { قيلا } is an infinitive of the same root as the verb that governs it. { سلاما سلاما } is a substitute (badal) for { قيلا }, similar to His saying, the Exalted: "They will not hear therein ill speech or commission of sin—only a saying, 'Peace, peace.'"

Al-Zajjaj said: It is an adjective interpreted through a derivative meaning, i.e., "free from these defects," or it is the object of the saying, and what is intended is the utterance itself; hence, it is permissible for it to be the object of the verb "to say" despite its singular form. The meaning is: "Except that some of them say to others, 'Peace.'"

It is also said: It is an infinitive of an implied verb derived from its own root, which acts as the content of the saying, and its object is then implied; meaning, "We say (salām) 'peace' as a greeting." The repetition signifies the prevalence and abundance of peace among them, as it implies "peace after peace."

The exception is munqati' (disconnected). It falls under the category of "confirming praise in the guise of disparagement." It is possible that it is of the first type: where a trait of praise is excluded from a negative trait (of the same category) which has been denied from the subject—by assuming that "peace" was included in what preceded it, thus providing emphasis in two ways. Or, it may be of the second type: where a trait of praise is established for a thing, followed by an exception particle, followed by another trait of praise, without assuming that inclusion; in which case the exception is inherently disconnected, and it provides emphasis in one way.

Were it not for the mention of "commission of sin" (al-ta'thīm)—as Al-Sa'd said—it would have been permissible to consider the exception as muttasil (connected) in reality, because the meaning of "peace" is supplication, and the people of Paradise are independent of that; thus, its outward appearance would be of the category of vain or superfluous speech, were it not for the benefit of honor contained within it. The only thing that prevents "commission of sin"—which is the attribution of guilt—is that it is impossible to classify "peace" under that category.

It is not permissible in speech to mention multiple subjects and then follow them with a muttasil exception from the first, such as saying: "No man came, nor any woman, except Zayd." If one intended that, the mandatory structure would be to defer the mention of the man. It was read as { سلام سلام } (salāmun salāmun) in the nominative case, by way of quotation.