Tafsir of An-Naba' 78:14

"And We sent down from the mu‘ṣirāt..."

They are the clouds, according to what has been narrated from Ibn ‘Abbas, Abu al-‘Aliyah, al-Rabi‘, and al-Dahhak. Since mu‘ṣarah is a passive participle (ism maf‘ūl), and not mu‘ṣirah (an active participle), it is said that it is the plural of mi‘ṣar, derived from a‘ṣara (to approach a time), where the hamzah signifies "the approach of a time" (al-ḥaynunah). This means the time has arrived and drawn near for the winds to squeeze them so that they rain. Verbs often appear with this meaning, such as juzara when the time for shearing has arrived, or aḥṣada when the time for harvesting has drawn near. From this is the expression a‘ṣarat al-jāriyah (the young girl has reached the age of puberty), meaning she has neared the time of menstruation. Abu al-Najm al-‘Ijli said:

She walks slowly, her veil swaying, She has reached, or her time of menstruation has neared.

It is permissible, based on the assumption that the hamzah signifies the approach of a time, that the meaning is "the time has arrived for them to be squeezed," that is, to grant relief (ighāthah). From this comes the word ‘āṣir for the one who provides relief. Thus, Ibn Kaysan said: The clouds were named so because they provide relief; they are from ‘uṣrah (refuge/protection), as if the origin of the term implies it is time to be squeezed, with the imagery that water/fluid is obtained from them through squeezing.

It is also said that it is a plural for the same term, except that the hamzah is for the ascription of the attribute to the subject (ṣayrūrah), like aysara, a‘sara, and alḥama—meaning he became possessor of ease, possessor of hardship, or possessor of flesh.

It has also been narrated from Ibn ‘Abbas, Mujahid, and Qatadah that it means the winds, because they squeeze the clouds so they rain. Some interpreted it as the winds that possess a‘āṣīr (whirlwinds), with the active participle form being for ascription. Al-i‘ṣār (the whirlwind) is a wind that stirs up clouds containing thunder and lightning; the notion of tajrīd (abstraction) is considered here, as some have said. Al-Mazini also considered it an ascription, but said: "The mu‘ṣirāt are clouds that possess whirlwinds," for it is necessary that they rain along with them. The interpretation of it as the winds is supported by the recitation of Ibn al-Zubayr, Ibn ‘Abbas, his brother al-Faḍl, ‘Abd Allah ibn Yazīd, ‘Ikrimah, and Qatadah: "Bi-mu‘ṣirāt" (with the winds that squeeze), using the ba’ of causality and instrumentality. This is evident regarding the winds, for through them, water is sent down from the clouds. Because of this recitation, some have treated the min (from) in the consensus recitation and the interpretation of mu‘ṣirāt as "winds" as being for the purpose of explanation (ta‘līl).

Many have held that it is for the purpose of explanation as an initiating factor, for the clouds are like the origin and the agent of the sending down. This has been countered by the fact that the arrival of min in such a sense is rare.

It has also been narrated from Abu al-Hasan, Ibn Jubayr, Zayd ibn Aslam, Muqatil, and Qatadah that it means the heavens (al-samawāt). This has been countered by the fact that water is not sent down from the sky by squeezing. It was said in interpreting this that water descends from the heaven to the clouds, and thus the heavens are "squeezing"—meaning they drive the winds to squeeze the clouds, and it is possible to derive this from it. It has been countered that, despite its distance from the intended meaning, this would only be complete if mu‘ṣir came to mean ‘āṣir (the one who squeezes), that is, the one who forces the squeezing. If it is said that the intended meaning is "the thing that has reached the time to be squeezed," it would be an imposition of interpretation upon an imposition.

What is in al-Kashshāf is that the hamzah, based on the aforementioned interpretation, is for making the verb transitive (ta‘diyah). So contemplate this and do not be heedless.

Mā’an thajjājā—that is, pouring forth in abundance. It is said thajja al-mā’ (the water flowed) when it flows in abundance, and thajjahu (he poured it) when he caused it to flow; thus, thajja comes as both an intransitive and transitive verb. It was preferred to treat the word in the Noble Arrangement as intransitive, as that is more common in usage. Al-Zajjaj treated it as transitive, as if the water sent down, due to its abundance, pours itself. An example of the transitive usage is in his (peace be upon him) statement: "The best of Hajj is the ‘ajj and the thajj," meaning raising the voice with the talbiyah and pouring the blood of the sacrifice. The intent is the best of the rites of Hajj are the talbiyah and the slaughtering. Abundance is not precluded by the water being from the mu‘ṣirāt, and its apparent meaning is that it is by squeezing, from which only a little is obtained—but this is not granted; and even if it were granted, the scarcity is relative. Al-A‘raj recited it as thajjā (with a jīm then a ḥā’), and mathājih of water are the places where it pours.