Tafsir of Al-Bayyinah 98:6

This is an exposition of the state of the two groups in the Hereafter, following the description of their state in this world. The polytheists are mentioned to prevent the misconception that the ruling is exclusive to the People of the Scripture, given that the witnessing of the proofs of prophethood in the Scripture was exclusive to them. Thus, "those who disbelieved" refers to those previously mentioned at the beginning of the Surah, and there is a possibility regarding this which we have alluded to, so do not be heedless.

The meaning of their being "in the fire of Hell" is that they will arrive at it on the Day of Resurrection. However, to signify the certainty of this, it is not explicitly stated in the future tense; rather, the sentence is nominal, or the implicit connection for the prepositional phrase is understood as future, or it is meant that they are in it now—using the term "fire of Hell" for that which necessitates it (disbelief) by way of a general metonymy, applying the name of the effect to the cause. It has also been suggested that this is a metaphor, or that the disbelief and sins they are currently in are the very essence of the Fire, only manifesting in this realm in a contingent form, which they will shed in the next realm to appear in their true form—a concept we have mentioned more than once.

"Abiding therein" is a state related to the implicit pronoun in the predicate. The participation of both groups in entering the Fire with the quality of eternity does not contradict the variance in their punishment regarding quality. For Hell, we seek refuge in Allah the Exalted, has levels (darakāt), and its punishments are of various types. The People of the Scripture are punished in one level with a type of punishment, and the polytheists in a deeper level with a more severe punishment, because their disbelief is more severe than the disbelief of the People of the Scripture.

The fact that the People of the Scripture disbelieved in the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) despite their knowledge of his noble attributes and the truthfulness of his message from their own Scripture—whereas the polytheists did not have such knowledge—does not necessitate that their punishment be more severe than, or equal to, that of the polytheists. Shirk (polytheism) is a grave injustice, and it has been joined in the polytheists by types of disbelief not found among the People of the Scripture. This verse has been used as evidence for the eternal nature of the disbelievers in the Fire without exception.

"Those" (Ulā'ika) is a reference to them in consideration of their being characterized by the aforementioned evils. The distant demonstrative pronoun is used to indicate their low status in evil; that is, those remote ones are the "worst of creatures" (shar al-bariyyah), meaning the creation. It is said it refers to mankind. Some say they are the worst of creatures in terms of deeds; thus, the sentence becomes an explanation for their eternity in the Fire. Others say they are the worst in rank and destination, making it an emphasis on the atrocity of their state. The former is deemed more likely because it aligns with what will come, God willing, regarding the believers.

Regardless, the generality—as some have stated—is problematic, for Iblis and his soldiers are worse than them in deeds and rank, as are the hypocrites, since they added hypocrisy to their polytheism, and the Almighty said: "Indeed, the hypocrites are in the lowest depths of the Fire." Some have said it is not far-fetched that there are disbelievers among the nations who are worse than them, such as Pharaoh and the killer of the she-camel, meaning that "the creatures" refers only to those contemporary to them. But it is clear that even with this, the problem of Iblis and the like remains. It has been answered that this applies if the restriction is literal, but if it is relative to the believers—according to the disbelievers' own estimation—then there is no problem, as the meaning would be: "Those are the worst of creatures, and no others among the believers are," as they claim, whether as a statement or a state.

It is also said that "creatures" (al-bariyyah) refers to mankind, and their being the worst is in terms of deeds. It is not unlikely that they are, by this measure, the worst of all creatures, because their disbelief, despite knowing the truthfulness of his message (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), witnessing his intrinsic and extrinsic miracles, the promise of faith in him, their sowing of doubt in the hearts of those who came after them, and their causing the misguidance of many people—along with other evils implied and necessitated by their actions—is the worst and most hideous form of disbelief. No one among mankind until the Day of Resurrection can equal it. The same applies to their other deeds, such as distorting words from their contexts, obstructing people from him (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and waging war against him. The claim that the disbelief of Pharaoh and the killer of the she-camel is of that same magnitude is not conceded, and one must accept that the hypocrites are included in the generality of "those who disbelieved," or that their disbelief and deeds are lesser than those of the aforementioned group. There is something in this that is not hidden, so contemplate it.

It is said that "those who disbelieved" does not refer to a specific group previously mentioned, but rather to a generality encompassing them and others from the past to the future. Even so, this does not hold without construing "creatures" to mean mankind, so do not be heedless.

Al-A‘raj, Ibn ‘Amir, and Nafi‘ read "al-barī’ah" (with a hamza) here and thereafter. It is said this is the root, from the verb bara'ahum (God created them), meaning He initiated and invented their creation, making it the form fa‘īlah in the sense of maf‘ūlah (passive). However, the general body of the Arabs, except for the people of Makkah, adhered to softening the hamza by assimilation or omission, thus saying "al-bariyyah," just as they said "dhurriyyah" and "khābiyyah." Others say it is not the root, and that "al-bariyyah" without a hamza is from al-barī (the dust), meaning the earth, as it is the origin of the human body.

The two recitations differ in origin and root, but are the same in meaning according to one opinion—that both refer to mankind. They differ again in another opinion—that the one with the hamza refers to the entirety of creation including angels and jinn alongside humans, while the one without the hamza refers specifically to humans created from dust. In any case, the recitation is not erroneous; how could it be, when it has been transmitted from one whose infallibility is established, despite the fact that using the hamza is the dialect of the people to whom the Book was revealed (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)?