Tafsir of Al-Muddathir 74:51

(Fārrat min qaswarah) means: a lion. It is in the form of fu‘ūlah, derived from al-qasr, which means overpowering and subjugation. Ibn Jarir, ‘Abd ibn Humayd, and others narrated this from Abu Hurayrah. Ibn al-Mundhir also narrated it from Ibn ‘Abbas, with the addition that he said: "It is the lion in the language of the Arabs, and in the Abyssinian language, it is qaswarah."

In another narration from him, it is said to mean the archers or hunters. Similar narrations are reported from Mujahid, ‘Ikrimah, Ibn Jubayr, and ‘Ata’ ibn Abi Rabah. In a narration from him, which Ibn ‘Uyaynah recorded in his Tafsir, it means the voices of people—that is, their clamor. It is also narrated from him that it means the ropes of hunters, while Qatadah stated it means arrows. Ibn al-A‘rabi and Tha‘lab said that qaswarah refers to the beginning of the night, meaning they fled from the darkness of the night. However, the majority of linguists maintain that it is the lion.

Regardless of the interpretation, they are likened—in their turning away from the Quran, their avoidance of the admonitions contained within it, and their fleeing from it—to wild donkeys that have exerted themselves in their flight due to something that has frightened them. In their comparison to donkeys, there is an apparent disparagement and a vilification of their state, as in His, the Exalted’s, saying: "Like a donkey carrying books," or it is a testimony against them regarding their foolishness and lack of intellect.

Al-A‘mash read humur with the mīm quiescent (sukūn). Nafi‘, Ibn ‘Amir, and al-Mufaddal (from ‘Asim) read mustanfirah with the fā’ vowelled with a fatḥah, meaning that which has been startled and driven away by what terrified it—the qaswarah.

The verb fārrat (fled) corresponds to the kasrah (in mustanfirah). It is narrated that Muhammad ibn Salam said: "I asked Abu Sarar al-Ghanawi, who was an eloquent Bedouin, and said: 'Is it ka-annahum ḥumurun mastanfira?' He replied: 'Mustanfirah (with the fā’ vowelled with a fatḥah), meaning a qaswarah has driven them.' I said: 'It is actually fārrat min qaswarah.' He asked: 'Did they flee?' I said: 'Yes.' He said: 'Then it is mustanfirah,' and he vowelled the fā’ with a kasrah."