Tafsir of An-Nazi'at 79:10

(They say: "Are we indeed to be returned to the Hafirah?") This is a narration of what is said by those who deny the Resurrection—those who disbelieve in the signs that proclaim its reality, following the explanation of its occurrence through emphasis and the mention of its terrifying preliminaries, and what occurs to hearts and sights when it takes place. That is, they say—when it is said to them that they will be resurrected—denying it and expressing astonishment at it: "Are we to be returned after our death into the Hafirah?"

This means: into the first state, by which they mean life, as Ibn Abbas and others have said. It has also been said that when God—Exalted is His Majesty—swore by the Resurrection and explained their humiliation and fear, He mentioned here their acknowledgement of the Resurrection and their return to life after death; thus, the interrogation is for the purpose of expressing astonishment at what they have witnessed after their denial. The sentence is an explanatory initiation (isti'naf bayani) of what they say at that time, though the apparent meaning is what preceded, and that the statement is made in the worldly life.

In any case, it is derived from their saying, "So-and-so returned into his Hafirah," meaning the path he came by, which he dug—that is, marked with his walking. Analogy would dictate al-mahfurah (the dug-out thing); thus, it is either in the sense of "possessing a digging" (dhat hafr), or it is a metaphorical attribution, or the speech relies on an implied metaphor by likening the recipient to the agent, making the Hafirah a figment of the imagination. This is similar to what they mentioned regarding "a pleasing life" ('ishah radiyah). It is said of anyone who was in a matter, then left it, then returned to it, that he has "returned to his Hafirah." To this belongs the verse: "Is it a return to Hafirah (former state) despite baldness and grey hair? / God forbid from foolishness and shame." He means: "Shall I return to what I was upon in my youth of flirting and childishness after I have greyed? God forbid from that, out of foolishness and shame."

From this comes the proverb: "The cash at the Hafirah." It has been said that Hafirah here means the first state, which is the transaction—meaning the cash at the time of the contract. However, al-Maydani reported from Tha'lab that its meaning is "the cash at the win." This is because when a horse wins, it takes the wager, and the Hafirah is the ground which the winner dug with its hooves according to one of the interpretations. It is also said that Hafirah is the plural of hafir (hoof), meaning the feet; that is, they say: "Are we to be returned as living beings, walking upon our feet and treading the earth with them?" It is not hidden that the expression conveying this meaning is not apparent.

From Mujahid: Al-Hafirah means the "dug-out graves," meaning: Are we to be returned alive into our graves? From Zayd ibn Aslam: It is the Fire; and this is as you see.

Abu Haywah, Abu Bahriyyah, and Ibn Abi 'Ablah recited it as fi al-hafrah, with a fatha on the ha and a kasra on the fa, based on it being an adjective (sifah mushabbahah) derived from hafara (to be decayed/worn), which is intransitive like 'alima (to know), serving as the intransitive form (mutawa') of hufira (the passive voice). It is said: "His teeth decayed (hu-firat), so they became worn (hafura)," with two fathas, when decay affects his teeth and they change. This returns to the meaning of al-mahfurah (the dug-out). It is also said that it is the earth that is putrid and changed by the bodies of its dead.