Tafsir of Al-Hadeed 57:12

(On the Day you see the believing men and believing women): This is an adverbial phrase for that to which the beginning of the verse relates, or for His saying—Exalted is He—(So He will multiply it [for them]), or it is in the accusative case by the implicit command "Remember," to aggrandize that Day. The "seeing" is visual, and the address is intended for everyone capable of such sight, or for the Master of the addressed, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.

His saying—the Mighty and Majestic—(Their light will hasten): This is a circumstantial qualifier of the object of "you see." The intended meaning of "the light" is its literal reality, according to what has appeared from the suns of the traditions, and the majority have adopted this. The meaning is: their light will hasten [forward] when they hasten.

(Before them and on their right hands): Ibn Abi Shaybah, Ibn Jarir, Ibn al-Mundhir, Ibn Abi Hatim, Al-Hakim (who authenticated it), and Ibn Marduyah recorded from Ibn Mas‘ud that he said: "They are given their light according to their deeds. They pass over the Sirat (the bridge); among them is he whose light is like a mountain, and among them is he whose light is like a palm tree, and the lowest of them in light is he whose light is on his thumb—it flickers at times and blazes at others." The outward appearance of this is that this light exists at the time of crossing the Sirat. Some said: It exists before that and continues with them when they cross the Sirat, and the traditions contain that which necessitates this, as you shall hear shortly, if Allah—Exalted is He—wills.

The intention is that it exists for them in two directions: the direction in front and the direction to the right. They were specified because the blessed are given their records of deeds from these two directions, just as the wretched are given theirs from their left and from behind their backs. In Al-Bahr, the apparent meaning is that the light is of two types: light before them, illuminating the direction they are heading, and light on their right, illuminating the directions behind them. The majority said: The origin of the light is on their right, and what is before them is the radiance spreading from it. It was also said that the 'Ba' (in bi-aymanihim) means 'about' (i.e., ‘an aymanihim), meaning in all their directions, and that the right was mentioned due to its nobility. This is the end of the quote.

Testifying to this meaning is that which Ibn Abi Hatim, Al-Hakim (who authenticated it), and Ibn Marduyah recorded from ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Jubayr ibn Nufayr, that he heard Abu Dharr and Abu al-Darda’ say: The Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said: "I am the first to be permitted to prostrate on the Day of Resurrection, and the first to be permitted to raise his head. So I shall raise my head and look before me, behind me, to my right, and to my left, and thus I shall recognize my nation among the nations." It was said: "O Messenger of Allah, how will you recognize them from among the nations between Noah—peace be upon him—and your nation?" He said: "They will be ghurr (bright-faced) and muhajjalun (bright-limbed) from the effects of ablution—no one other than them will have this—and I shall recognize them in that they will be given their books in their right hands, and I shall recognize them by their marks on their faces from the effect of prostration, and I shall recognize them by their light which hastens before them, on their right, and on their left."

The outward meaning of this report is the exclusivity of this light to the believers of this nation, as is the case with the giving of the books in the right hands. However, some traditions necessitate that it is for every believer. Ibn Abi Hatim recorded from Abu Umamah that he said: "Darkness will be cast on the Day of Resurrection; no believer or disbeliever will see his own palm until Allah—Exalted is He—sends light to the believers according to their deeds..." (the report). Al-Hakim (who authenticated it), Ibn Abi Hatim from another chain, Ibn al-Mubarak, and Al-Bayhaqi in Al-Asma’ wa al-Sifat also recorded a long report containing what indicates generality. Likewise, that which Ibn Jarir and Al-Bayhaqi recorded in Al-Ba‘th from Ibn Abbas: "While the people are in darkness, Allah—Exalted is He—will send down light. When the believers see the light, they will turn toward it, and the light will be a guide for them from Allah—the Mighty and Majestic—to Paradise." This does not contradict that they pass over the Sirat with their light, as is not hidden. The same applies to the receiving of the books in the right hands; in Hidayat al-Murid li-Jawharat al-Tawhid, the outward meaning of the verses and traditions is the non-exclusivity of this—meaning the taking of the records—to this nation, although some scholars have hesitated regarding it.

It is possible to say: that which is of light for this nation is more radiant than the light for others, or it is distinguished by another type of distinction. As for the receiving of the books in the right hands, perhaps it is because of its abundance in this nation relative to other nations that it serves as a sign. There are other investigations regarding this matter which will be mentioned, if Allah—Exalted is He—wills, in their proper place.

It was said: "The Light" is intended as the Quran. Al-Dahhak said: "The light is a metaphor for the guidance and good pleasure in which they dwell." Sahl ibn Shu‘ayb al-Sahmi and Abu Haywah read: (Wa bi-imanihim) [and by their faith] with a Kasra under the Hamza. Abu Hayyan interpreted this as the adverbial phrase—meaning "before them"—relating to a deleted element, and the conjunction following it in that sense, i.e., "existing before them and existing by reason of their faith." This is as you see. Perhaps it relates to the implicit "saying" in His saying—Exalted is He—(Good tidings for you today, gardens), i.e., "because of their faith, this is said to them." The sentence of the saying is either a conjunction to what preceded, an independent clause, or a circumstantial clause. If it is circumstantial, it is permissible to assume a descriptor from it, meaning: "being said to them." The speaker is the angels who receive them.

The intention of the "good tidings" is that which one is given glad tidings of, not the act of giving glad tidings. The speech assumes a deleted genitive (mudaf), i.e., "that which you are given glad tidings of [is] the entry into gardens." It is also correct without it, i.e., "that which you are given glad tidings of [is] gardens." The claim that glad tidings cannot be of concrete objects is questionable. Estimating the deleted genitive does not remove the need for interpreting the "glad tidings," because the act of giving glad tidings is not of the concrete entry itself. The sentence of His saying—Exalted is He—(beneath which rivers flow) is in the place of an adjective for "gardens," and His saying—Glorified is He—(abiding therein) is a circumstantial qualifier from "gardens." Abu Hayyan said: "There is in the speech a shift (iltifat) from the pronoun of address in Bushrakum (your glad tidings) to the pronoun of the third person in khalidina (abiding)." If it had continued in the second person, the construction would have been khalidina antum fiha (abiding, you, therein). (That is the great success).

It is possible that this is from the speech of Allah—Exalted is He—and the reference is to what was mentioned of the light and the glad tidings of the gardens. It is also possible that it is from the angels—peace be upon them—who are receiving them, and the reference is to what they are in of light and other things, or to the gardens by way of interpreting what was mentioned, or because they are a success according to what has been said. It was also read: Dhalika al-fawzu without huwa.