Tafsir of Al-Haqqah 69:13

This marks the commencement of explaining the Haqqah itself and the manner in which it occurs, following the exposition of its momentous significance through the destruction of those who denied it.

The intent behind "a single blast" is the first blast, at which point the ruin of the world occurs, as stated by Ibn Abbas. Ibn al-Musayyib and Muqatil said it is the final blast; however, the former is more appropriate, as it is what corresponds to what follows—even if the waw (conjunction) does not strictly denote sequential order, departing from the apparent meaning without necessity is something for which there is no need.

Regarding "a blast" (nafkhah), Jarallah stated in the marginalia of his Kashshaf that it denotes "once" (al-marrah), and its indication of the blowing is incidental and not intended. The occurrence of the momentous event through it and immediately following it is deemed great because the blowing occurs only once, not merely because it is a blowing; thus, He (Glory be to Him) alerted to this by saying "a single."

It is related from Ibn al-Hajib that "a blast" was not established to denote singularity in and of itself, but rather was established to denote the act of blowing, and the indication of singularity is incidental and not intended. This has been countered by the argument that, even if this were conceded, it causes no harm, for the discussion concerns the requirements of the context, not the origin of its formulation. It has been established that that for which the discourse is brought forth is treated as the focal point, to the extent that everything else is considered secondary. Therefore, the "once" is the focal point in view of the context, rather than the blowing itself, even if considering the outward appearance of the word might suggest the opposite. So, understand this.

In any case, attributing the action to "a blast" is not an instance of attributing an action to its emphatic verbal noun (masdar), such as darbu darbin (a striking of a striking), even if one does not consider what follows it—His saying, "a single." The masculine form of the verb (nufikha) is made acceptable by the separation [between the verb and the subject], the fact that the subject is not a true feminine, and that it is a verbal noun (masdar). Al-Jarberdi mentioned in his commentary on al-Shafiyah that its feminine nature is not considered because it is interpreted as an (that) and the verb.

The well-known view is that "single" (wahidah) is an emphatic adjective; some have termed it "emphasis" (tawkid) and others "clarification" (bayan). Al-Tibi mentioned that secondary terms like badal (substitution), atf al-bayan (explanatory apposition), and the adjective are, in one aspect, a clarification of the primary term according to the masters of rhetoric. The full discussion on this is in the al-Mutawwal.

Abu al-Samal recited nafkhah wahidah (in the accusative case, nafkhata wahidatan) based on the prepositional phrase assuming the position of the subject.