Tafsir of Al-Muddathir 74:20

"Then woe to him, how he measured!"

The repetition serves the purpose of hyperbole, as is customary in expressing extreme astonishment. The use of the conjunction thumma (then) indicates a disparity in rank, implying that the second instance is more emphatic than the first. It is as if it were said: "He was destroyed by a certain type of destruction; nay, rather, he was destroyed by a more severe and intense one." This justifies the use of the conjunction despite the fact that it functions as an emphasis, similar to the lines:

"I have no known sin against them, save that I said: 'O sarha tree, be safe,' then 'Be safe,' then 'Be safe'—three greetings, even if you do not speak to me."

The excess in expressing astonishment at his "measuring" (deliberation) signifies the utmost mockery of him and those who rejoiced at the results of his thinking. Al-Raghib stated in Ghurrat al-Tanzil that when al-Walid ibn al-Mughirah was asked about the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), he measured what had been brought of the Quran. He said: "If we call him a poet, the Arabs will belie us, as they are well-versed in poetry." He intended by this "measuring" to refute the Messenger (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) through a form of deception. Therefore, every act of his "measuring" deserved a punishment from Allah—a form of destruction akin to being killed. The first [instance of the verse] refers to his measuring against poetry, meaning: "May he be destroyed, how he measured!" And the second, "Then woe to him, how he measured!" refers to his other deliberation, for he also said: "If we claim that what he brought is the speech of soothsayers, the Arabs will belie us, as they would see this speech to be inconsistent with the speech of soothsayers." Thus, in his measuring it against the speech of soothsayers, he deserved a punishment akin to being killed. Therefore, this [second mention] came for this reason, and the repetition is not redundant.

This first view is what Jar Allah [al-Zamakhshari] held, considering the [two] invocations to be parenthetical. Al-Tibi said: "It is not a conventional parenthetical remark that can be disentangled to beautify the speech, for the letter fa (in the subsequent verse) prevents that." Rather, it is the speech of another, and the fa fell between two connected segments of speech by way of narration. He then added: "This is far-fetched, and he only took this path because he made the two invocations the speech of someone else."

However, if they are both considered the speech of Allah the Almighty—either as mockery, as he [al-Zamakhshari] mentioned, or as a condemnation against him, as al-Raghib held—then this is the interpretation of al-Wahidi, according to what he stated and transmitted from the author of al-Nazm: "Then woe to him, how he measured," meaning: "May he be punished and cursed, how he measured."

As it is said: "I will surely strike him, however he acts," meaning regardless of his conduct, so that all actions are consistent and arranged with disparity in succession and delay, both in time and rank, as the context demands. That would be most excellent, and the composition would follow the familiar patterns of the Revelation.

The aforementioned [explanation] is deeper in meaning, and the parenthetical remark is indeed of the conventional type; it confirms what the speech was directed toward in the most excellent manner. The fa is not an obstacle, as established by Jar Allah and others. Among the parenthetical remarks accompanied by it is: "So ask the people of the Reminder" [16:43], and among them is: "And know—for the knowledge of a man benefits him—that everything decreed shall surely come to pass."

It has been verified that it is, in reality, a result that occurs between parts of speech to emphasize their significance, thus providing the benefit of a parenthetical remark, and is counted among them. The parenthesis [in this surah] is between His saying, "Indeed, he thought and measured," and His saying, "Then he looked..."