Tafsir of An-Nazi'at 79:25

"Al-Nakāl" (النكال) carries the meaning of "al-tankīl" (التنكيل), similar to "al-salām" (السلام) being used for "al-taslīm" (التسليم). It refers to the form of punishment that deters anyone who sees or hears of it, preventing them from engaging in actions that lead to it.

The word is in the accusative case (naṣb) as an emphatic verbal noun (maṣdar mu’akkid), similar to the phrases "wa‘da Allāh" (the promise of Allah) and "ṣibghata Allāh" (the dyeing of Allah). It is as if it were said: "Allah, the Exalted, punished him with the punishment (tankīl) of the Hereafter and the first life." This punishment refers to burning in the Hereafter, and drowning and humiliation in this world.

It is also permissible for it to be in the accusative as an absolute object (maf‘ūl muṭlaq) for the verb "took" (akhadhahu)—meaning: "Allah, the Exalted, took him with the taking of the punishment of the Hereafter, etc." It may also be a causal object (maf‘ūl lahu), meaning: "He took him for the sake of the punishment, etc." Or, it may be in the accusative due to the omission of the preposition (naza‘ al-khāfiḍ), meaning: "He took him with the punishment of the Hereafter and the first life."

Its attribution to the two abodes is based on the occurrence of the taking itself within them, not because the meaning of "deterrence" (al-man‘) within the word "nakāl" applies to both in the same way; for deterrence is inconceivable in the Hereafter in the same manner as it is in this world, since the punishment of the Hereafter deters whoever hears of it and prevents them from engaging in actions that lead to it while still in this world.

It is also possible that it is an interpretation of a derivative acting as a state (ḥāl), where its attribution is based on the meaning of "in," meaning: "punishing him, such that he becomes a deterrent to whoever sees him or hears of him in the Hereafter and the first life." It is also permitted that the attribution (iḍāfah) implies the preposition "li" (for/belonging to).

Taking "the Hereafter and the first life" to refer to the two abodes is the most apparent interpretation. It has been narrated from al-Hasan, Ibn Zayd, and others. From Ibn Abbas, ‘Ikrimah, al-Ḍaḥḥāk, and al-Sha‘bī, it is narrated that the "Hereafter" refers to his statement, "I am your Lord, the Most High," and the "first life" refers to his statement, "I have not known for you any god other than me." Others have said the opposite; they are two statements between which, according to them, there was a gap of forty years. Abu Razīn said: "The first is the state of his disbelief and disobedience, and the Hereafter is his statement, 'I am your Lord, the Most High.'"

From Mujāhid, it is narrated that they are two expressions referring to the beginning and the end of his transgressions—meaning He punished him for all of them. In all these views, the attribution is of the type relating the cause to the effect (or vice versa). The stance of those who believe in the acceptance of Pharaoh's faith leads to these interpretations, making that punishment the drowning in this world. We have previously discussed this matter.