Surah al-Naba’

It is called Surah ‘Amma, ‘Amma Yatasā’alūn, al-Tasā’ul, and al-Mu‘ṣirāt. It is Meccan by consensus, and its verses are forty-one according to the Meccan and Basran counts, and forty according to others.

The aspect of its connection to the preceding surah is its inclusion of the proof of the capability for Resurrection, which the preceding surah indicated the disbelievers’ denial of. In Tanasuq al-Durar, it is stated that its connection to what precedes it is based on their general thematic symmetry. For in that [surah] it says, "Did We not destroy the former peoples? Did We not create you from a base fluid? Did We not make the earth a container?" and so on. In this [surah], it says, "Have We not made the earth a resting place?" and so on. Furthermore, it shares with the four preceding surahs the description of Paradise and Hell, as promised in [Surah] al-Muddaththir. Also, in Surah al-Mursalat, it says, "For what Day has it been postponed? For the Day of Distinction. And what can make you know what the Day of Distinction is?" And in this [surah], it says, "Indeed, the Day of Distinction is an appointed time," and so on. Thus, it contains the elaboration of the "Day of Distinction," which was mentioned summarily in the surahs before it.

It has been said that when He, Exalted is He, concluded that [surah] with His saying, "then in what statement after it will they believe?"—where the intended meaning of "statement" therein is the Qur'an—He opened this [surah] with the frightening nature of their questioning about it and their mocking of it. This is based on what has been narrated from Ibn Abbas, Mujahid, and Qatadah, that the "Great News" (al-Naba’ al-‘Aẓīm) refers to the Qur'an. However, the majority hold that it refers to the Resurrection, which is more appropriate for the verses that follow, as you will know, if Allah Almighty wills.

An-Naba: (1) About what are they asking one another?

'Amma (عَمَّ): Its origin is 'an ma (عن ما). It is a preposition attached to the interrogative ma (ما). The alif has been dropped; the justification offered is to distinguish it from the relative ma (الخبرية), and to signal the intense connection [between the preposition and the noun] and its frequent recurrence. The condition of grammatical justifications is well-known. Abdullah [ibn Mas'ud], Ubayy [ibn Ka'b], 'Ikrimah, and 'Isa read it with the alif—retaining the original form—though this is of rare usage. Ibn Jinni said: Retaining the alif is the weaker of the two linguistic forms, and to this pertains his [the poet's] saying: “Upon what (على ما) does a base person stand, slandering me, like a pig rolling in ashes?”

The interrogation is meant to signal the magnificence of the matter being asked about, its horror, and its departure from the known categories of mundane things. That is: About what, of great importance, are they asking one another? The pronoun [in yatasā'alūn] refers to the people of Mecca, even though they were not explicitly mentioned previously, because it is unnecessary due to their sensory presence. This is in addition to the [rhetorical] effect of omission, as it is said, which implies contempt, suggesting that mentioning them is something from which the Sacred Record should be guarded—and one should not imagine the contrary, for the context precludes it.

They ask one another about the Resurrection among themselves, engaging in it with denial and mockery. Yet, this is not in the manner of questioning in its true sense and definition, but rather about its occurrence—a state of which is its horror and a description of which is its attributes. And ma (ما), as has passed more than once, even if it is famous for seeking the realities of things and the definitions of their names, it may be used to seek the attribute and the state. It is said, "What (ما) is Zayd?" and the answer is "learned" or "a physician."

It is said that they were asking the Messenger (peace be upon him) and the believers, in mockery. Thus, the verb tasa'ala (تساؤل) is transitive, and its object is implied here, omitted because it is obvious, or because the subject of the question is momentous regardless of who asked it, or to guard the one asked from being mentioned alongside this questioner. The verification of this, according to what is in al-Irshad, is that the form tafa'ala (تفاعل) in transitive verbs is for the purpose of indicating the issuance of the action from multiple parties and its occurrence upon them, such that each one becomes both a doer and a receiver simultaneously. However, it elevates the multiple [parties] to the status of agents to favor the aspect of their agency, while the status of their being recipients is deferred to the indication of the verb, as in your saying: tara'a al-qawm (تراءى القوم - the people saw each other), meaning each one saw the other.

Sometimes it is stripped of the second meaning, so it is intended only as the issuance of the action from multiple parties, bare of the consideration of its occurrence upon them. In that case, an object is mentioned for the verb, as in your saying: tara'aw al-hilal (تراءوا الهلال - they watched for the crescent). Sometimes it is omitted, as in the case before us; so the meaning is: About what are these people asking the Messenger (peace be upon him) and the believers?

It might even be stripped of the issuance of the action from multiple parties altogether, and intended instead as a multiplicity of the action in consideration of its multiple objects while the agent remains singular, as in His, the Exalted's, saying: fabiaiyi ala'i rabbikā tatamara (فبأي آلاء ربك تتمارى - So which of the favors of your Lord do you dispute?). Some researchers mentioned that the tafa'ala form, according to the first mode, may also have an object, but one that is not the same as that which was acted upon like his action, such as ta'ata al-kas (تعاطيا الكاس - they exchanged the cup) and tafawada al-hadith (تفاوضا الحديث - they exchanged conversation). To this pertains the saying of Imru’ al-Qays: “And when we exchanged the conversation (تنازعنا الحديث), and she yielded, I snatched a branch with drooping clusters.”

So, whoever says that tafa'ala cannot be but from two [parties] and cannot be but intransitive has erred—as al-Tabliusi said in his commentary on Adab al-Katib—if he meant that absolutely. I wish I knew how that could be correct when the arrival of tafa'ala in the meaning of fa'ala (فَعَلَ) without a multiple agent—such as tawan (توان - to be slow/negligent), tadan al-amr (تدان الأمر - the matter drew near), and ta'ala Allahu 'amma yushrikun (تعالى الله عما يشركون - Exalted is Allah above what they associate)—is very common. Likewise is its arrival as a transitive verb to something other than that which was acted upon, as you have heard.

It is permitted that the pronoun in yatasā'alūn refers to people generally, whether they are the disbelievers of Mecca or others among the believers—the questioning of the believers being to increase in fear and faith, and the questioning of others being in mockery to increase in disbelief and tyranny. This is contrary to what the apparent meaning of the subsequent verses requires. It is also said that the questioning was about the Quran, but this is challenged by the fact that His, the Exalted's, saying: Alam naj'al al-arda (ألم نجعل الأرض - Did We not make the earth...) is clear that it was about the Resurrection. This is also narrated from Qatadah, for it [the earth/creation] is among its [the Resurrection's] proofs. It is answered that their questioning about it, their mockery of it, and their disagreement over it—as to whether it was sorcery or poetry—was because of its inclusion of the news of the Resurrection. After mentioning what implies the magnitude of the questioning about it, He addressed the proof which is the source of that questioning—though in that there is remoteness. And His, the Exalted's, saying...