Surah Al-Ma'aarij 70:41
ﱁ ﱂ ﱃ ﱄ ﱅ ﱆ ﱇ ﱈ
To replace them with better than them; and We are not to be outdone.
Tafsir of Al-Ma'aarij 70:41
Tafsir
Ruh al-Ma'ani
Verse range: 70:41
(On the basis that We replace...): **"On the basis that We replace [them] with better than them"**; meaning, that We utterly destroy them, as necessitated by their crimes, and bring forth in their stead other creatures who do not possess their characteristics.
"And We are not to be outrun"; meaning, We are not to be overcome if We will that. However, Our will—which is founded upon profound wisdom—has necessitated the delay of their punishments. In this [interpretation] there is a degree of remoteness, and perhaps it is closer [to the truth] to consider it in the sense of a causality, but in the manner the author of al-Kashf established regarding the discourse of al-Kashshaf. He said: He intended it as a deterrent against their greed, supported by their denial of the Resurrection, given that mentioning proof is only [necessary] with one who denies. Thus, one cause was placed in the stead of another for the sake of hyperbole regarding what was narrated of their greed to enter Paradise; it is self-evident that this contradicts the state of one who does not affirm it. It is as if it were said: "He denies the Resurrection, so how can his greed be justified?" He argued against them by [referencing] their first creation, and secondly by His Glory’s power to create the likes of them. In this is mockery of them and an alert to the location of their contradiction, for mocking the Hour and [simultaneously] having greed for entry into Paradise are things that contradict one another. The aspect of its proximity [to the intended meaning] is the strength of its connection to what preceded it, and it is in reality deeper in significance.
From this, one knows that what was said regarding the saying of the Glorified—"Indeed, We are able to replace [them]..."—that its meaning is "We are able to give Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, those who are better than them, namely the Ansar," is not strong. In expressing the substance of their creation through "what they know" is that which breaks the ferocity of the arrogant, which is not hidden.
The intended meaning of "the risings and settings" are the one hundred and eighty risings of the sun and its settings as well; or the risings and settings of the sun and the moon, according to what was narrated from Ikrimah; or the risings and settings of the stars generally, as has been said. Some have gone to the view that the intended meaning is the Lord of all creatures in their entirety. The discourse regarding "So I swear" has already preceded. A group recited "Falla uqsimu" without an alif [in the particle 'la'], and Abdullah bin Muslim, Ibn Muhaysin, and al-Jahdari recited it as "al-mashriq wa al-maghrib" in the singular.