Tafsir of Al-Mursalat 77:6

Regarding the Almighty’s saying, “As an excuse or a warning” (عُذْرًا أَوْ نُذْرًا), it is permissible that they be two verbal nouns (masdar) derived from adhara (to remove offense) and andhara (to frighten). They have come in the form of fa‘lan, like shukran (thanking) and kufran (disbelieving). The first is clear, as fa‘lan is one of the masdar forms of the triliteral verb. As for the second, it deviates from the analogy of the masdar of af‘ala (which is indharan), unless it is considered a derivative of nadhara in the sense of andhara. There is leniency regarding the aforementioned.

It is also possible that they are plurals of ‘adhir, meaning "excuse," and nadhir, meaning "warning." Their accusative case (nasb) is due to causality (‘illiyah), and the agent governing them is "the ones casting" (al-mulqiyat) or "a remembrance" (dhikran). "Remembrance" is in the sense of reminding and admonition through desire and dread. That is, the ones casting [cast] a remembrance for the sake of an excuse for the righteous, or for the sake of a warning for the invalidators.

Alternatively, they may be in the state of a circumstantial qualifier (hal), or related to the hidden pronoun within them based on interpretation—meaning "those who excuse" or "those who warn." Or, they may be in apposition (badal) to "a remembrance," provided the intended meaning is revelation; thus, they are a partial substitution (badal ba‘d). If it means reminding and admonition, they are a total substitution (badal kull). If they are treated as descriptions (wasfayn) meaning "those who excuse" and "those who warn," their accusative case is solely for being a circumstantial qualifier.

The particle aw (or) in all of this is for classification, not for doubt. Hence, al-Dinawari said in Mushkil al-Qur’an that it carries the meaning of wa (and). It is said [the later verses refer to] groups that spread laws throughout the earth, to the end of what was mentioned previously. The reason for the conjunction [using wa instead of fa] is that the intention is the act of spreading, so they descended, then cast; the interpretation was required due to the location of "casting" being toward the prophets, whereas the act of spreading does not require such an interpretation. The distinction [in the use of conjunctions] is due to the apparent sequence of separating after spreading.

It is said: [They are] groups that spread the souls of those dead in disbelief, then [because of] ignorance of what they revealed, they separated [the truth from falsehood], and so on. "Spreading" in this context means "giving life," whereas in the previous context, it meant "disseminating." It is said that there is no difference between them all except in attributes, and they are all angels according to the previous sayings, although this speaker did not consider the interpretation of spreading as "spreading wings." He said: The Almighty swore by groups of angels whom He sent with His consecutive commands, so they rushed like the rushing of winds in compliance, and spread laws on earth, or spread the souls dead in ignorance through the knowledge they revealed, then separated between truth and falsehood, and cast a remembrance to the prophets.

Its apparent meaning is that the mission to the prophets with laws of commands and prohibitions—based on the view that "commands" is a plural specifically for the command as opposed to the prohibition—is sufficient in his speech, and he singled out the command for mention because it is the most important, even though it does not convey what is intended from the prohibition by its form (such as "leave" or "stop").

It is said that the conjunction of "the spreaders" (al-nashirat) with wa instead of fa, and the conjunction of "the separatists" (al-fariqat) with it, is because "spreading" here means the dissemination of laws, which occurs after revelation, invitation, and acceptance, and requires time; hence, wa was used and not the consecutive fa. Once the spreading occurred, the separating followed immediately without neglect. One should not imagine that the hal of the spreaders was at that time, because the intent here does not relate to delay.

The discussion remains on the reason for mentioning the spreading of laws or the spreading of souls and the separating before the "casting," even though they are chronologically after it in reality. It is said this is to signal that they are the intended end-goal of the casting, out of concern, or to indicate that each of the descriptions is independent in denoting the entitlement to glorification, as you have heard. The door of interpretation is wide, so remember that.

It is said that the Almighty swore by individuals of two types of winds. Thus, a described object is posited for "the messengers" and another for "the spreaders." By "the messengers," the winds sent for punishment are intended, as "sending" is common for that. By "the spreaders," the winds of mercy [are intended]. The essence is that He, the Almighty, swore by winds of punishment which He sent, so they rushed, and by winds of mercy which spread the clouds in the atmosphere, then separated them over the regions, and cast a remembrance: either an excuse for those who excuse themselves to God the Almighty through their repentance and seeking forgiveness when they witness the signs of God's mercy in the rain, or a warning for those who disbelieve that and attribute it to the stars and the like. Attributing the casting of the remembrance to them is because they are the cause of its attainment when the blessing in them is either thanked or disbelieved. Thus, the attribution is metaphorical.

"Consecutively" (‘urfan) means one after another. Or "the spreaders" are winds that spread plants and brought them out—that is, they became a cause for that by spreading the clouds and pouring them forth—then separated every species of them from other species by shape, color, and other properties, thus becoming a cause for a remembrance: either an excuse for the thankful or a warning for the disbelievers.

It is said that the Almighty swore first by the winds and secondly by the clouds of the dead [earth], then separated between those who thank and those who disbelieve, as in His saying: "We would have given them abundant water to test them thereby," and thus they became a cause for a remembrance, either this or that.

It is said that the Almighty swore by the verses of the Qur’an sent to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, as a bounty and kindness, or one thing after another, because they descended in stages. They "rushed" and removed all other books by abrogation, spread the traces of guidance in the east and west of the earth, separated between truth and falsehood, and cast the remembrance of truth into the shoulders of the worlds.

It is said that the Almighty swore by His messengers among humans, who were sent out of kindness and bounty—as is the true doctrine, not out of necessity as some claimed—so they grew strong, their affair was exalted, and they spread their religion and what they came with, and they separated between truth and falsehood, and allowed and forbidden, casting a remembrance among the accountable.

It is said that the Almighty swore by the perfect souls—those created with the quality of perfection and readiness to accept what they were tasked with and for which they were created—sent as a bounty to bodies to perfect them, so they rushed and removed everything other than the Truth by looking into the true evidences, separating between the Truth that exists by itself, in which others have no place—namely the Almighty, the Necessary Being—and falsehood, which is non-existent in itself. They saw everything as perishing except His Face, and thus they cast the remembrance of the Almighty into hearts and tongues and established it therein, so there is nothing in their hearts or tongues except His remembrance, or they discarded the remembrance of anything other than Him from the hearts and tongues, so there is no remembrance for other than Him.

It is said the first three are the winds and the last two are the angels. Others say the opposite, the suitability being in their delicacy and speed of movement. Others say the first two are the angels, except that "the messengers" are the angels of mercy and "the rushing ones" are the angels of punishment, and the last three are the verses of the Qur’an which the angels brought down.

Abd ibn Humayd and Ibn al-Mundhir recorded from Abu Salih that he said: "The messengers sent consecutively" are the messengers sent with good; "the rushing ones" are the winds; "the spreaders" are the rain; "the separators" are the messengers; and "the casters" are the messengers who come with the Qur’an and the book, as an excuse or warning from the Almighty to the people.

There are other narrations from Abu Salih regarding this, and likewise from the leaders of the Companions and the Successors. From Ibn Mas‘ud, Abu Hurayrah, and Muqatil: "The messengers" are the angels sent with the "known" (‘urf), the opposite of the "unknown" (nukr), which is revelation. In another narration from Ibn Mas‘ud, they are the winds, and he interpreted "the rushing" as those of intense gusts. Interpretations of "the messengers" as such are also reported from Ibn Abbas, Mujahid, and Qatadah. In another narration from Ibn Abbas, they are the group of prophets sent as a bounty from God to His servants. From Ibn Mas‘ud, the "spreaders" are winds that spread God's mercy and rain. This is also reported from Mujahid and Qatadah.

Al-Rabi‘ said: [They are] the angels who spread people from their graves. Al-Dahhak said: [They are] the scrolls spread before God regarding the deeds of the servants; thus, "the spreaders" would be on the meaning of spreading [reports]. From Ibn Mas‘ud, Ibn Abbas, Mujahid, and al-Dahhak: "The separators" are the angels who separate between truth and falsehood, the lawful and the forbidden. Qatadah, al-Hasan, and Ibn Kaysan said [they are] the verses of the Qur’an that separated between what is lawful and what is forbidden. Mujahid also said they are the winds that separate the clouds and scatter them. From Ibn Abbas, Qatadah, and the majority: "The casters" are the angels who cast the revelation they carried to the prophets. From al-Rabi‘: [They are] the verses of the Qur’an.

Some people interpreted "the rushing" as the destructive signs like earthquakes, thunderbolts, and others. Some interpreted "the separators" as the rain-bearing clouds, by likening them to the faruq camel, which is the pregnant one that cries out when she gives birth. Others interpreted them as the intellects that separate between truth and falsehood, and the sound and the corrupt, along with other narrations and opinions that can hardly be controlled.

What I deem most apparent is that the things sworn by are two: "the messengers and the rushing ones" (as a pair) and "the spreaders, the separators, and the casters" (as a group), due to the intensity of the appearance of the conjunction with wa in that, and the fact that all are of the nature of wind. This is more consistent with the context, which contains the matter of resurrection and dissemination, because the observable effects resulting from the winds—near and far—proclaim with the loudest voice, until it almost resembles the sound of the blowing of the Horn, the possibility and correctness of that and its entry into the sphere of God's will and His immense power. Despite this, there are many sayings available to you, and you are not being denied, so choose for yourself what is pleasant.

‘Isa read ‘urfan with two dammahs (dhu-mmatayn), like nukr in nukr. Ibn Abbas read al-mulqiyat with emphasis (tashdid) along with talaqqiyah. It is said it is like al-ilqa’ (casting/delivering), meaning delivering speech to the addressee; it is said "I delivered the remembrance to him, and he received it." Al-Mahdawi mentioned that he read al-mulqiyat with a fatha on the lam and a tashdid on the qaf, as a passive participle (ism maf‘ul), meaning "cast [by revelation] from God the Almighty." Zayd ibn Thabit, Ibn Kharijah, Talha, Abu Ja‘far, Abu Haywah, ‘Isa, al-Hasan (with a difference), and al-A‘mash from Abu Bakr read ‘udhran or nudhran with a dammah on both dhals. The two Harami reciters, Abu ‘Amr, Abu Bakr, Zayd ibn ‘Ali, Shaybah, and Abu Ja‘far also read with a sukun on the dhal in ‘udhran and a dammah in nudhran. Ibrahim al-Taymi read wa nudhran.