Tafsir of Al-Inshiqaq 84:19

"You shall surely ride stage after stage": The address is to the genus of man, summoned first in view of its inclusion of its individual members. "Riding" (al-rukub) here means encountering. A "stage" (al-tabaq), in its origin, is whatever corresponds to another absolutely, and it is specialized in convention for a state that corresponds to another. From this is the saying of al-Aqra’ ibn Habis: "I am a man who has milked time in its various parts, and a stage of it has driven me to another stage."

"’An" (from/after) denotes transition. One authority stated it has the meaning of "after," as in their saying: "They succeeded you, generation after generation" (kabiran ‘an kabir), and his saying: "I ceased not to traverse watering-place after watering-place, until I made my camel kneel at the door of ‘Abd al-Wahid." Transition and sequence are close in meaning. The prepositional phrase is connected to an implied word acting as an adjective for "stage" or as a state (hal) for the subject of "you shall ride."

The apparent meaning is that "stage" (tabaqan) is in the accusative as a direct object, meaning: "You shall surely encounter a state that transcends another state," or "one occurring after another," or "you being those who transcend one state or are occurring after one state," that corresponds to its sister in intensity and terror. It is permissible that "riding" be taken in its literal sense, making the "state" something ridden metaphorically. It is said that "tabaq" is in the accusative as an assimilation to an adverb or as a state. A group stated that "tabaq" is the plural of "tabaqa" (layer/stage), like takhm and tukhma, meaning a rank. It is said it is a collective noun whose singular is tabaqa. The meaning is: "You shall surely ride states after states," which are levels in intensity, some higher than others—namely death and what follows it of the stations of the Resurrection and its terrors. al-Tayyibi favored this, saying: "This is what the composition demands," and the sequence of the fa in "So I swear not" (la uqsimu) follows his statement, "Nay, his Lord was ever observant of him."

Some interpreted the states as that which occurs in the world, from their being a drop of fluid until death, and what occurs in the Hereafter from the Resurrection until the time of settling in one of the two abodes. It is said it is possible that what is meant by "stage after stage" is death, which corresponds to non-existence, and the revival, which corresponds to the previous life; thus the speech becomes an oath concerning the Resurrection after death, and what al-Tayyibi mentioned applies to it.

Na’im ibn Hammad and Abu Na’im narrated from Makhul that he said regarding this verse: "You will be, every twenty years, in a state you were not in before." In a narration of Ibn al-Mundhir and Ibn Abi Hatim from him: "Every twenty years, you will experience a matter you were not upon before." Thus "tabaq" means twenty years, and this has been counted in al-Qamus among its meanings, and what was mentioned is an explanation of the intended meaning.

It is said that "tabaq" here is a century of people, like it is in the saying of al-‘Abbas ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib praising the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace: "And you, when you were born, the earth shone, and the horizon became radiant with your light; you were transferred from loins to womb, when one world passed, a tabaq (generation/century) appeared." The meaning is: "You shall surely follow the ways of those who passed before you, generation after generation." Both these sayings are contrary to the apparent meaning.

‘Umar, Ibn Mas’ud, Ibn ‘Abbas, Mujahid, al-Aswad, Ibn Jubayr, Masruq, al-Sha’bi, Abu al-‘Aliyah, Ibn Wathab, Talha, ‘Isa, the two brothers (Hamzah and al-Kisa’i), and Ibn Kathir read it as la-tarkabunna with the ta of address and the ba with a fatha. It is narrated from Ibn ‘Abbas and Ibn Mas’ud that they also vocalized the ta of the present tense with a kasra—this is the dialect of the Banu Tamim—meaning it is an address to man as well, but in view of the word rather than the inclusivity of its members.

al-Bukhari narrated from Ibn ‘Abbas that the address is to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and this is narrated from a group. It is as if those who hold that he, peace be upon him, is the one meant by "man" in the preceding text, hold this view. Upon this, "you shall surely ride" signifies noble states one after another of the ranks of proximity, or ranks of intensity in the world in view of what he suffered from the disbelievers and struggled with in conveying the message; or the speech is a promise of victory, meaning "you shall surely encounter victory after victory, and aid after aid." It is also interpreted as a prophecy of the Ascension (Mi’raj), meaning "you shall surely ride heaven after heaven," as ‘Abd ibn Humayd narrated from Ibn ‘Abbas and Ibn Mas’ud. This is supported by the emphasis with the oath and the following denial.

Ibn al-Mundhir and a group narrated from Ibn Mas’ud that he said regarding it: "Meaning the sky, it splits, then tears open, then turns red." In another narration: "The sky will be like molten copper, and will be rose-colored like ointment, and will be frail, splitting, thus being state after state." Thus the ta is for feminine agreement and the pronominal subject returns to the sky.

‘Umar and Ibn ‘Abbas also read la-yarkabunna with a ya at the end of the letters and a fatha on the ba, by way of shifting from the address of man to the third person. From Ibn ‘Abbas: "Meaning your Prophet, peace be upon him," so he assigned the pronoun to him, peace be upon him, and the meaning is according to what has already been mentioned. It is said the third-person pronoun returns to the moon because it changes states from waning to new-crescent to full.

‘Umar also read la-yarkabunna with a ya of the third person and a damma on the ba, on the basis that the plural pronoun returns to "man" in view of inclusivity. It was also read la-tarkabinna with the ta and a kasra on the ba, on the basis of feminizing the addressed "man" (in view of the nafs / soul). The matter of estimating the state (hal) pointed to in what has passed, regarding these readings, is not hidden.