Tafsir of At-Taghabun 64:9

(The Day He assembles you) is an adverbial phrase for (you will surely be informed). As for His saying, Exalted is He, (And that is easy for Allah), and His saying, Exalted is He, (So believe) up to (All-Aware), they are parenthetical. The first confirms the power to resurrect, and the second emphasizes what the speech was directed towards: the exhortation to believe in Him, in what He included of the Book, and in the one who brought it. In truth, it is the consequence of His saying, Exalted is He: (You will surely be resurrected, then you will surely be informed). It was brought before its operative word for emphasis, thus it functions as a parenthesis.

His saying, Exalted is He, (And Allah is All-Aware of what you do) is a parenthesis within a parenthesis, because it is a completion of the exhortation to believe, just as you might say: "Act, for I am not unmindful of you." Al-Hawfi said: It is an adverb for "All-Aware," and according to more than one of the great scholars, it means "He will reward you," thus it includes both promise and threat.

Al-Zamakhshari interpreted it as "He will punish you," but then he permitted the former view. He was challenged with the fact that it is not merely for the purpose of a threat, but for exhortation. How could it be otherwise, when the threat has already been fulfilled by His saying, Exalted is He: (You will surely be informed of what you used to do)? Therefore, it is not fitting to render it as "He will punish you." Reflect on this.

It was permitted that it be in the accusative case by the assumption of an implied "remember," but this was challenged by the fact that although it is sound, it entails an ellipsis for which there is no apparent indicator. It was also permitted that it be an adverb, with the omitted element inferred from the context—meaning that there will be circumstances and terrors that the scope of speech cannot encompass "on the Day He assembles you." This was challenged on the grounds that it involves an unnecessary ellipsis, so the first view is more plausible.

It has been recited as (yajma'ukum) with the sukun on the 'ayn. The elevated imperfect verb may sometimes be vowelled with sukun when combined with the objective plural pronoun of the second person; it is also narrated that the damma is indicated (ishmam). Salam, Ya'qub, Zayd ibn Ali, and Al-Sha'bi recited (najma'ukum) with an nun.

(For the Day of Gathering) is the day on which the first and the last are gathered. It is also said: the angels and the two weighty ones (Jinn and Mankind), and other interpretations exist; the first is more apparent. The lam is said to be for explanation, and there is an implied noun in the speech, meaning: for the sake of what is in the Day of Gathering regarding the reckoning. It is also said to mean "for," thus the calculation is: "That is the Day of Mutual Disillusionment (at-Taghabun)."

Abd ibn Humayd narrated from Ibn Abbas, Mujahid, and Qatadah that they said: It is a day in which the people of Paradise will defraud the people of the Fire. Therefore, the tafa'ul (mutual) form here is not in its literal sense, just as in "mutual humility" or "mutual burden," because it happens from only one side. It was chosen for exaggeration (mubalaghah), and Al-Wahidi adopted this.

Many others said: It means a day in which some people defraud others by the descent of the fortunate into the dwellings of the wretched, had they been fortunate, and vice versa. In the Sahih, it is stated: "No servant enters Paradise but that he is shown his seat in the Fire, had he done evil, so that he may increase in gratitude; and no servant enters the Fire but that he is shown his seat in Paradise, had he done good, so that he may increase in regret." This is a metaphor borrowed from people defrauding one another in trade. In it is mockery of the wretched, for they do not truly defraud the fortunate by occupying their dwellings in the Fire, or it is considered "mutual" by way of exaggeration for the sake of parallelism (mushakalah). Thus, the tafa'ul form according to this view is in its literal sense, which is fine, except that the mutual disillusionment here is between the fortunate and the wretched by way of contrast.

The best interpretation is the general one: the disillusionment of the fortunate is in the increase of their share. This is confirmed in the Sahih collections. Muhyi al-Sunnah chose this, where he said: At-Taghabun is a tafa'ul form from al-ghabn, which is the loss of one's share. The intended meaning of the "defrauded" is the one who was defrauded regarding his family and dwellings in Paradise. Thus, on that day, the loss of every disbeliever through abandoning faith, and the loss of every believer through his shortcomings in virtuous deeds, will be manifest.

Al-Tayyibi said: Al-Raghib follows this view, as he said: Al-Ghabn is when your partner cheats you in a transaction between you and him through some form of concealment. If it is in wealth, it is said ghabana (with a damma on the ghayn and kasra on the ba), and if it is in an opinion, it is said ghabina (with a fatha on the ghayn and kasra on the ba). (The Day of Mutual Disillusionment) is the Day of Resurrection, due to the manifestation of the loss in the "trading" indicated by His saying, Exalted is He: (And of the people is he who sells himself, seeking the pleasure of Allah), His saying, Exalted is He: (Indeed, Allah has purchased from the believers their lives), and His saying, Exalted is He: (Those who exchange the covenant of Allah and their oaths for a small price). Thus, it is known that they have been defrauded in what they abandoned of the transaction and in what they engaged in of it altogether.

The sentence is a nominal clause (subject and predicate), and the definite article (al-) denotes the genus; it contains an indication of the greatness of that day, and that its disillusionment is the disillusionment in reality, not the disillusionment in the affairs of the world, even if they were great and momentous.

(And whoever believes in Allah and does righteousness)—meaning: a righteous deed—(He will remove from him his misdeeds)—meaning: Allah the Exalted—(on that Day, and admit him to gardens beneath which rivers flow, abiding therein forever)—meaning: destined for eternity therein, and the plural form is in consideration of the meaning of "whoever" (man), just as the singular is in consideration of its wording. Al-A'raj, Shaybah, Abu Ja'far, Talhah, Nafi', Ibn 'Amir, Al-Mufaddal from 'Asim, Zayd ibn Ali, and Al-Hasan (with a disagreement from him) recited it as nukaffir and nudkhiluhu with the nun of majesty in both.

(That)—meaning: what was mentioned of the removal of misdeeds and admission into the gardens—(is the great success), the success behind which there is no other, because it involves deliverance from the greatest of destructions and the attainment of the most sublime of requests.