Al-Hijr: (1-3) Alif, Lam, Ra...

Know that His saying, {Those} (تلك) is a reference to the verses contained within this Sūrah.

The term {the Book} (الكتاب) and {the Clear Qur'an} (القرآن المبين) refer to the Book that Allah Almighty promised to Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). The indefinite form of Al-Qur'an is for magnification. The meaning is: These verses are the verses of that Book, perfect in its being a Book and perfect in its being a Qur'an that provides clear exposition.

As for His saying, {Perhaps those who disbelieve will wish they had been Muslims} (ربما يود الذين كفروا لو كانوا مسلمين), there are several issues concerning it:

There are different readings for {Perhaps} (ربما): Nafi' and 'Āṣim read it with a light bā' (ربما), while the rest read it with a heavy/doubled bā' (ربما).

Abū Hātim said: The people of Hijāz lighten the bā', while Qays and Bakr double it.

I say regarding this word, there are various linguistic forms:

1. The rā' in rubba (رب) has been recited with a ḍammah (u) or a fatḥah (a).
2. When the rā' has a ḍammah, the bā' has appeared doubled, lightened, or quiescent.
3. This occurs sometimes with the particle mā (ما) and sometimes without it.
4. It also occurs sometimes with the feminine marker tā' (ت) and sometimes without it.

They cited poetry:

How would you know that Rubba (perhaps) of a youth Whose pleasure they hastened with a swift remembrance?

And rubba with a quiescent bā' (رب), citing the poem of Al-Hudhali:

O Zuhayr, if the forelock whitens, for I am Rubba (perhaps) of a dense gathering whose hand I restrained with a dense gathering. (Al-Hayḍal means a group of armed men.)

Furthermore, this word appears with both doubling and lightening of the bā' along with the particle mā (ما), such as {Rubbamā} (ربما) and {Rubbamā} (ربما). Sometimes it occurs with the tā' and mā, such as {Rubbamā} (ربتما) and {Rubbamā} (ربتما).

All of this is when the rā' in rubba has a ḍammah. It can also have a fatḥah, resulting in rabb (رب), rubbamā (ربما), and rubbamā (ربتما), as narrated by Quṭrub. Abū 'Alī said: Some letters take the feminine marker, like thumma (ثم) and thamma (ثمت), and rubba (رب) and rubbat (ربت), and lā (لا) and lāt (لات). Al-Wāḥidī narrated all these linguistic variations in his Al-Basīṭ.

According to Sībawayh, rubba is a preposition (ḥarf jarr). The particle mā (ما) attaches to it in two ways:

1. That mā is indefinite (a noun meaning 'something'): This is like His saying:

   Rubba (perhaps) of what souls detest Has relief, like the loosening of the hobble-rope. Here, mā in this verse is a noun. The proof is the return of the pronoun from the adjective to it. The meaning is: "Perhaps some thing that souls detest." If the pronoun refers back to it, it must be a noun, not a particle, just as in the verse: {Do they think that We only extend to them of wealth and children} (Al-Mu'minūn: 55)—since the pronoun refers back to it, we know it is a noun. What indicates that mā can be a noun after rubba is the subsequent occurrence in the poet's saying: O Rubba (perhaps) of those who diminish our provisions, They departed due to his diminution and set out in the morning. Just as rubba entered upon the indefinite word man (من), it enters upon the word mā.

2. That mā is the kāffah (restraining particle): This is the case in this verse. Grammarians call this mā the kāffah because its entry restrains the preceding particle from its usual function. Once this restraint occurs, the particle becomes ready to attach to things it previously could not attach to. Observe that rubba normally enters only on a single noun, e.g., Rubba rajulin (Perhaps a man...), and does not enter on a verb. When mā enters upon it, it prepares it to enter upon a verb, as in this verse. And Allah knows best.

They agree that rubba is used for minimization (taqlīl). In minimization, it is analogous to kam (كم) in maximization. If a man says, "Perhaps so-and-so visited us" (ربما زارنا فلان), rubbamā indicates the infrequency of the visit.

Al-Zajjāj said: Whoever claims that rubba means maximization contradicts what is known by the people of the language.

Based on this, a question arises: The wishing of the disbeliever to be a Muslim is a certainty (it will definitely happen in the Hereafter), and this wishing occurs frequently and continuously. Therefore, the word {Perhaps} (ربما), which implies minimization, is not suitable.

The answer comes from several perspectives:

First Perspective: It is customary among Arabs that when they intend maximization, they use a word designated for minimization, and when they intend certainty, they use a word designated for doubt. The purpose is to show anticipation and avoid explicit statement of the goal. They say, "Perhaps I regretted what I did," or "You might regret your action," even if the regret is known to be frequent and certain. Among these is the saying:

I might leave the adversary with his fingers yellowed (from fear).

Second Perspective: This minimization is more emphatic in threatening. It means: A small amount of regret is sufficient to deter you from this action, so how about a large amount?

Third Perspective: The torment will occupy them to the extent that they will only wish for that state (Islam) rarely.

They agree that the word rubba is specific to entering upon the past tense verb, as one says, "Perhaps 'Abdullāh intended to visit me" (ربما قصدني عبد الله), and it is rarely used with the future tense. Some scholars disagreed, citing the poet's verse mentioned earlier:

Perhaps souls detest the matter...

This evidence is weak because we established that rubba in that verse enters upon a noun, whereas our discussion concerns when rubba enters upon a verb, in which case the verb must be past tense. How can one be compared to the other?

However, I say that the claim by these literary scholars that this word cannot enter upon a future tense verb cannot be substantiated by rational proof; it relies solely on transmission and usage. If they had found a verse containing this usage, they would have declared it permissible and sound. The Word of Allah is stronger, more majestic, and more noble. Why did they not hold fast to its occurrence in this verse as proof of its permissibility and soundness?

Furthermore, the literary scholars answered this question in two ways:

1. They said that the expected event in Allah's reports is treated as a definite past event in terms of its certainty, as if it were said: "Perhaps those who disbelieve wished (ودوا)."
2. The word mā in {Perhaps those who disbelieve wish} (ربما يود الذين كفروا) is a noun, and {wish} (يود) is its adjective. The structure is: "Perhaps some thing that those who disbelieve wish for."

Al-Zajjāj said: Whoever claims the verse implies an omitted kāna (was), meaning "Perhaps those who disbelieve were wishing (ربما كان يود)," has deviated from Sībawayh's view, as kāna is not omitted according to him. (He cites the example: You do not say 'Abdullāh al-Maqbūl when you mean Kāna 'Abdullāh al-Maqbūl.)

There are various interpretations of the verse according to the commentators, as each person interpreted {Perhaps those who disbelieve will wish they had been Muslims} differently. The soundest view is that of Al-Zajjāj, who said: Whenever the disbeliever sees a state of torment and sees a state of the Muslim, he wishes he had been a Muslim. This view is the soundest.

The early scholars mentioned other views:

• Al-Ḍaḥḥāk said: It refers to what happens at the moment of death, as the disbeliever, upon witnessing signs of punishment, wishes he had been a Muslim.
• It is said this state occurs when their faces turn black.
• It is said it occurs upon their entry into the Fire and the descent of punishment, when they say: {Postpone our term until a near appointed time, [so that] we may answer Your call and follow the Messengers} (Ibrāhīm: 44).

Abū Mūsā narrated that the Prophet (PBUH) said: "When the Day of Resurrection comes and the people of the Fire gather in the Fire, along with whomever Allah wills from the people of the Qiblah, the disbelievers will say to them: 'Are you not Muslims?' They will reply: 'Yes.' They will say: 'Then what good did your Islam do you, since you are now with us in the Fire?' Then Allah, by His grace and mercy, will command the expulsion of everyone who was of the people of the Qiblah from the Fire. They will be taken out, and at that moment, those who disbelieved will wish they had been Muslims." The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) recited this verse. Most commentators hold this view.

Mujāhid narrated from Ibn 'Abbās (may Allah be pleased with them both) that he said: Allah will never cease showing mercy to the believers and bringing them out of the Fire, admitting them to Paradise through the intercession of the Prophets and angels, until, in the final reckoning, He says: "Whoever was among the Muslims, let him enter Paradise." He said: "It is then that those who disbelieve will wish they had been Muslims."

Al-Qāḍī said: These narrations are based on two principles: that Allah expels sinners (those who committed major sins) from the Fire, and that the Prophet's intercession is accepted to avert punishment. Both principles are rejected by him (Al-Qāḍī). Therefore, he interpreted this narration in a way that aligns with his doctrine: Allah delays the entry of a group of believers into Paradise such that the disbelievers strongly suspect Allah will not admit them. Then Allah admits them to Paradise, increasing the grief and regret of the disbelievers, and it is then they wish they had been Muslims. Thus, these narrations are validated according to him.

If it is argued: If the people of the Resurrection wish for such states, then the believer whose reward is small must wish for the degree of the believer whose reward is great. The one who wishes for what he does not have experiences distress and pain of the heart, which implies that most believers will be in distress and pain of the heart.

We reply: The states of the Hereafter cannot be measured by the states of this world. Allah Almighty satisfies everyone with what they have and removes the desire for increase from their hearts, as He says: {And We will remove whatever is in their breasts of resentment} (Al-Ḥijr: 47). And Allah knows best.

As for His saying, {Leave them to eat and enjoy themselves, and let hope beguile them, for soon they will know} (ذرهم يأكلوا ويتمتعوا ويلههم الامل فسوف يعلمون), there are several issues:

The meaning is: Leave the disbelievers to take their share of this world, for such are their characteristics, and they have no share in the Hereafter.

His saying {and let hope beguile them} (ويلههم الامل): It is said, lahītu 'an shay'in (I was heedless of a thing), alhīhi (to make him heedless). It is mentioned in a tradition that Ibn Al-Zubayr, upon hearing the sound of thunder, would become heedless of his conversation. Al-Kisā'ī and Al-Aṣma'ī said: Everything I abandon, I become heedless of it. They cited:

Your bonds have been severed, so leave them, O Zaynab, And you have prolonged your reproach, if only it were accepted. So, {so leave them} (فاله عنها) means: abandon them and turn away from them.

The commentators said: Their hope, while they seize their worldly portion, distracts them from faith and obedience, and {soon they will know}.

Our companions (the Ash'arites) use this verse as proof that Allah may prevent someone from faith and act upon the accountable person in a way that results in religious harm for him. The evidence is that Allah told His Messenger: {Leave them to eat and enjoy themselves, and let hope beguile them}. He decreed that their preoccupation with enjoyment and immersion in long hopes distracts them from faith and obedience, and yet He permitted them to do so. This indicates the intended meaning.

The Mu'tazilah said: This is not permission or authorization, but rather a threat and a warning.

We reply: The apparent meaning of {Leave them} (ذرهم) is permission. The most that can be said is that Allah points out that their preoccupation with these actions harms their religion. This is precisely what we mentioned: that Allah permitted something while explicitly stating that it is a religious harm for them.

The verse indicates that preferring sensual pleasure, enjoyment, and what results from long hope are not the characteristics of believers. Some have said that wallowing in the world is the characteristic of the doomed.

There are many narrations condemning hope:

• It is narrated from the Prophet (PBUH) that he said: "The son of Adam grows old, but two things in him remain young: greed for wealth and long hope."
• And from him (PBUH): He drew three lines and said: "This is the son of Adam, this is hope, and this is the lifespan. Before hope are ninety-nine desires; if one of them takes him, well and good, otherwise, old age is behind it."
• And from 'Alī (peace be upon him): "I only fear two things for you: long hope and following desire. For long hope makes one forget the Hereafter, and following desire diverts from the Truth." And Allah knows best.

(The verse numbers and markers are preserved as per the instruction.)