Tafsir of Maryam 19:74

Surah Maryam (19): Verse 74

Original Text Segment: وكم أهلكنا قبلهم...

Translation & Exegesis (Based on Fakhr al-Din al-Razi's approach):

And how many generations We destroyed before them...

Refutation of the Argument (Connecting Worldly Blessings to Divine Love):

To establish this response (that worldly blessings do not prove one is beloved by God), we state:

1. God Almighty has destroyed and annihilated those who possessed greater worldly blessings than you (the disbelievers).
2. If the attainment of worldly blessings indicated that a person was beloved by God, then it would necessarily follow that:
   • God would never inflict any sorrow upon His beloved in this world.
   • God would never destroy any of those favored ones in the dwelling of this world.
3. Since God did destroy them, this invalidates one of two premises:
   • Premise 1: That whoever possesses worldly blessings is beloved by God.
   • Premise 2: That God does not inflict sorrow upon His beloved.
4. In either case, the argument (the doubt) you presented is nullified.

Linguistic Analysis of the Verse:

We now proceed to interpret the words:

• أهل (Ahl): The people of every era ('Asr) are the preceding generation (Qarn) for those who come after them, because they precede them.
• أحسن (Ahsan): This is in the accusative case, functioning as an adjective describing Ahl (the preceding generation). If you omitted Lahu (for them), you would necessarily have to make Ahsan descriptive (adjective).
• الأثاث (Al-Athath): The furnishings/belongings of the house.

Regarding the Reading of رِئِيًّا (Ri'iyyan):

This word has been recited in five different ways:

1. With a Rā’ (ر) without a dot: This allows for two sub-cases:
   • Combining the Hamza and the Yā’:
     • First way: With a quiescent Hamza followed by a Yā’ (رُئِيًّا), meaning appearance or form (manzar and hay’ah), derived from Ra’aytu (I saw), in the passive sense (maf'ūl).
     • Second way: Rī’an (رِيئًا) with transposition (like saying Rā’in for Rā’in from Ra’ā).
   • Contenting oneself with the Yā’:
     • Third way: With a doubled Yā’ (رِيًّا), where the Hamza is transposed into a Yā’ and then assimilated (idghām). This is derived from Rayy (abundance/luxury), from the saying: Rayyān min an-Na'īm (abundant with bliss).
     • Fourth way: With a single Yā’ (رِيًّا) by omitting the Hamza entirely. The justification is that the transposed form (Rī’an) is lightened by dropping the Hamza and transferring its vowel to the preceding quiescent Yā’.
2. With a dotted Zāy (ز): Ziyyan (زِيًّا). This is derived from Zayy (gathering/collection), because Zayy refers to collected beauties.

Meaning: The meaning remains: "better than these people." And God knows best.

Verse 75-76: