Tafsir of Hud 11:20-22

Surah Hud (11): Verses 20–22

Note: The following is a translation and summary of the exegesis provided by Fakhr al-Din al-Razi in Mafatih al-Ghayb concerning the description of the deniers in verses 18–19.

Allah (Exalted is He) described these deniers and disbelievers with many attributes in a context of censure:

1. First Attribute: They are fabricators against Allah, as stated in: {And who is more unjust than one who invents a lie about Allah?} (Al-An'am: 93).
2. Second Attribute: They will be presented before Allah in a state of humiliation, disgrace, ignominy, and punishment, as stated in: {Those will be presented before their Lord} (Hud: 18).
3. Third Attribute: The occurrence of disgrace, punishment, and great shame, as stated in: {And the witnesses will say, "These are the ones who lied about their Lord."} (Hud: 18).
4. Fourth Attribute: They are cursed by Allah, as stated in: {Unquestionably, the curse of Allah is upon the wrongdoers} (Hud: 18).
5. Fifth Attribute: They obstruct the way of Allah and prevent people from following the truth, as stated in: {Those who obstruct the way of Allah} (Al-A'raf: 45).
6. Sixth Attribute: They strive to introduce ambiguities and distort clear proofs, as stated in: {And seek to make it appear crooked} (Al-A'raf: 45).
7. Seventh Attribute: They are disbelievers, as stated in: {And they, in the Hereafter, are the disbelievers} (Hud: 19).
8. Eighth Attribute: They are incapable of escaping Allah's punishment, as stated in: {Those were not ones to frustrate [Us] on earth} (Hud: 20).
   • Al-Wahidi explained that i'jāz (frustrating/defeating) means preventing the attainment of the intended goal. Thus, "not ones to frustrate Us on earth" means they cannot escape Our punishment, because escaping Allah's punishment is impossible, as He is capable of all possibilities, and His power is not affected by distance, proximity, strength, or weakness.
9. Ninth Attribute: They have no protectors to ward off Allah's punishment from them: {And they had no protectors besides Allah} (Hud: 20).
   • This verse refutes their claim that idols are their intercessors with Allah. The preceding phrase (inability to escape) relates to their own actions, while this phrase relates to others. Thus, Allah combines what pertains to them and what pertains to others, demonstrating the complete failure of their stratagems to escape punishment in this world and the Hereafter.
   • Difference of Opinion: Some scholars interpret this to mean that the delay in punishment (in this life) is not because they could prevent Allah's decree or because they had helpers, but rather because Allah granted them respite so they might repent. If they persist in disbelief, the punishment in the Hereafter will be doubled. Others hold that it means they are incapable of frustrating Allah's will regarding the punishment He intends to send down upon them in the Hereafter or the world, and they will find no helper to defend them.

10. Tenth Attribute: {He will double the punishment for them} (Hud: 21).
    • It is said that the doubling is because they disbelieved in Allah, the Resurrection, and the Afterlife; their disbelief in the Origin and the Return caused the doubling.
    • The sounder view is that the doubling occurs because, in addition to their severe misguidance, they actively sought to mislead others and prevent them from the true religion. This is the reason for the multiplication of their punishment.

11. Eleventh Attribute: {They could not hear, nor could they see} (Hud: 22).
    • This refers to their state in this world: the deafness of the heart and the blindness of the soul.
    • Our scholars use this verse as proof that Allah may create in a responsible person something that prevents faith. It is narrated from Ibn Abbas (RA) that Allah prevents the disbeliever from faith in this world (as per this verse) and in the Hereafter (as per: {They will be summoned to prostrate, but they will be unable} [Al-Qalam: 42]).
    • Argumentation: If "hearing" means the physical faculty of sound, this is false, as they clearly heard sounds. Therefore, it must mean they were incapable of grasping Allah's proofs.
    • Al-Jubba'i's Response: He argued that hearing is either the specific sense or a meaning created by Allah in the ear canal. In either case, the servant cannot control it; if he tries to do it or refrain from it, he cannot. If establishing the ability (Istita'ah) is impossible, then negating it is correct. Thus, the apparent meaning does not contradict our position.
    • Alternative Interpretation (by others): It means they neglected and recoiled from listening, similar to saying, "I cannot bear to hear this speech."
    • Another View (not Al-Jubba'i): Since Allah negated that they have protectors (idols), He then explained the negation of their fitness for guardianship by saying they "could not hear or see."
    • Rebuttal to Al-Jubba'i's View: Carrying the verse to mean they lack the ability to create the sense or the meaning within it is false, because this verse is a threat, so the meaning must be specific to them. That meaning (inability to create the faculty) applies to angels and prophets as well.
    • Rebuttal to the "Neglect" View: Negating the ability (Istita'ah) and interpreting it as mere aversion contradicts the apparent meaning. Furthermore, if this aversion prevented understanding, then it is the intended meaning. If it did not prevent understanding, then it is an external factor unrelated to the core concepts of comprehension and knowledge, so it cannot be a basis for censure here. We have repeatedly established that an action cannot occur when a repelling factor is present. When Allah states this factor was present, it implies it was necessarily present and unremovable at that time, thus preventing faith.
    • The view that this attribute belongs to the idols is weak because Allah said, {He will double the punishment for them}, and then said, {They could not hear}; the pronoun in the latter verse must refer back to the subject of the former (the deniers).
    • Regarding {nor could they see}: It is said this refers to insight (Basirah), or that they deliberately turned away from seeing what served as proof for them.

12. Twelfth Attribute: {Those are the ones who have lost themselves} (Hud: 22).
    • This means they traded the worship of idols for the worship of Allah, making this loss the greatest form of loss.

13. Thirteenth Attribute: {And lost to them was what they used to invent} (Hud: 22).
    • Since they sold their religion for worldly gain, they incurred loss because they exchanged the noble for the base. This is the essence of loss in this world, and in the Hereafter, this base commodity will vanish and leave no trace, which is what {lost to them was what they used to invent} signifies.

14. Fourteenth Attribute: {Undoubtedly, they in the Hereafter will be the greatest losers} (Hud: 22).
    • This reinforces the previous point: by accepting the base in exchange for the noble, they suffered a loss in trade. Since this base commodity is destined to perish, the transaction turns into the ultimate form of loss, hence: {Undoubtedly, they in the Hereafter will be the greatest losers}.
    • Meaning of Lā Jarama: Al-Farra' said it is equivalent to "necessarily" or "inevitably," and it became commonly used to mean "truly" (e.g., "Truly, you are virtuous").
    • Grammatical Views:
      • View 1 (Al-Nafy wa al-Jazm): Lā is a particle of negation and cessation. Thus, it means there is no absolute barrier preventing the certainty that they are the greatest losers in the Hereafter.
      • View 2 (Al-Zajjaj): Lā negates what they thought would benefit them, and jarama means the earning/acquisition of that action. The meaning is: That action will not benefit them, and its acquisition results in loss in this world and the Hereafter. (This view is supported by the use of jarama meaning "to earn" in other verses).
      • View 3 (Sibawayh and Al-Akhfash): Lā is a rejection of the disbelievers (as mentioned before), and jarama means "truth" or "certainty." The interpretation is that their disbelief is certain to result in punishment and loss. Sibawayh cites poetry as evidence for jarama meaning "it became due/certain."

{Indeed, those who believed and did righteous deeds and humbled themselves to their Lord—those are the companions of Paradise, they will abide therein eternally.}