Tafsir of Al-Mu'minoon 23:106-111

The Believers (Al-Mu'minun): Verses 106–111

When the Almighty said: {Did not My verses used to be recited to you, and you would deny them?} (Al-Mu'minun: 105), they offered a response that can be viewed from two aspects:

The first is their statement: {Our Lord, our wretchedness overcame us.} (106)

The author of Al-Kashshāf states that ghalabat (overcame) means our dominion/power was overpowered, derived from the saying, "So-and-so overpowered me concerning such-and-such," meaning he took it from you. Ash-Shaqāwah (wretchedness) means the evilness of the final outcome.

It is recited as (shiqwatunā) and (shaqāwatunā), with the shīn being either fathah or kasrah in both forms.

Abu Muslim said: Ash-Shiqwah is derived from ash-shakā’ (like the flowing of water, where the verbal noun is jary). The noun form (fi'l) can also come to mean the state or condition, just as one says jalsah hasanah (a good sitting) or rukbah (a posture), which refer to the state/form. Similarly, one says, "So-and-so lived a good life (ayshah tayyibah) and died a noble death (maytatan karīmah)." This refers to the state/condition. Based on this, the intended meaning of ash-shaqāwah here is the state of wretchedness.

Al-Jubbā’ī said that what is meant is that our pursuit of forbidden pleasures and our eagerness for wicked deeds led us to this wretchedness. Thus, they named the cause (as-sabab) after the effect (al-musabbab).

This is not an excuse on their part, as they know they have no valid excuse. Rather, it is an admission that God’s proof against them regarding their evil actions has been established.

We respond: If you interpret ash-shaqāwah as the pursuit of those forbidden pleasures, then that pursuit occurred either by their choice or not by their choice.

1. If it occurred by their choice, then that choice is an event (muhdath). If it is independent of a cause (al-mu’aththir), then this possibility should apply to all events, which closes the door to proving the Creator’s existence.
2. If it required a cause (muḥdith), then that cause is either the servant or God. If it is the servant, this is false for several reasons:
   • The servant’s power is capable of both action and inaction. If the issuance of that intention depends on another determining factor (murajjiḥ), the argument returns to that factor, leading to an infinite regress (tasalsul). If it does not depend on a determining factor, then you have permitted one possibility to outweigh another without a determinant, which again closes the door to proving the Creator.
   • The servant does not know the quantity or quality of those actions. One who is ignorant of a thing cannot be its creator; otherwise, the evidence of precision and perfection (al-iḥkām wa-l-itqān) pointing to knowledge would be invalidated.
   • No one in this world willingly chooses ignorance; rather, everyone intends only to acquire knowledge. If the disbeliever intended only to acquire knowledge, then the creator of his action must have produced only what he intended to enact. But he intended only knowledge; how then did ignorance result?

Therefore, it is established that the one who creates the impulses and incitements (ad-dawā'ī wa-l-bawā'ith) is God. If the impulse leads to good, it is felicity (sa'ādah); if it leads to evil, it is wretchedness (shaqāwah).

The second aspect of their response is their statement: {And we were a people gone astray.} (107)

If this straying, which they present as the reason for their disbelief, is the disbelief itself, then it implies explaining a thing by itself, which is invalid. Therefore, the straying must refer to something else that resulted in their action, which is the creation of the call/impulse toward straying.

When they presented these two excuses, God Almighty said to them: {Be gone into it, and speak no more to Me!} (108). This confirms our position that arguing with God is impermissible, and He is not to be questioned about what He does.

Al-Qāḍī said regarding {Our Lord, our wretchedness overcame us}: This indicates that they have no excuse other than confession. If their disbelief were created by God, by His will, and they knew this, they would be more entitled to mention it and closer to an excuse. We have already explained that what they mentioned is that, but they confess they have no excuse, which is why He told them: {Be gone into it, and speak no more to Me!}

As for His saying: {Our Lord, take us out of this; if we return [to sin], then indeed, we are wrongdoers.} (109) The meaning is: Take us out of this abode (Hell) to the abode of the world. If we return to evil deeds, we will be wrongdoers.

If it is asked: How can they request this when they know their punishment is eternal? We reply: It is possible that they are overcome by forgetfulness in the intensity of torment and thus ask for a return. Alternatively, even with their knowledge, they ask for it as a plea for relief and respite.

As for His saying: {Be driven into it} (110), the meaning is: Be debased and driven away in it, just as dogs are driven away when they are rebuked. It is said, khasi’a al-kalb (the dog was driven away), or khasi’a bi-nafsihi (he drove himself away/retreated).

As for His saying: {and speak no more to Me} (110), this is not a prohibition, as there is no accountability in the Hereafter. Rather, the meaning is: Do not speak to Me concerning the removal of punishment, as it will not be removed or lightened. It is said that this is the last word they will utter, after which there will be nothing but gasping, sighing, and howling like dogs—they will neither understand nor be understood.

Ibn Abbās (may God be pleased with him) narrated that they have six pleas in the Fire:

1. After entering the Fire, they call for a thousand years: {Our Lord, we have seen and heard, so return us [to the world]} (As-Sajdah: 12). They are answered: {The Word is established concerning Me} (As-Sajdah: 13).
2. They call out for a second thousand years: {Our Lord, make us die twice and give us life twice} (referring to their state in the world and their resurrection). They are answered: {That is because when God was called upon alone, you disbelieved} (Ghāfir: 12).
3. They call out for a third thousand years: {And they will call, "O Mālik, let your Lord put an end to us"} (Az-Zukhruf: 77). They are answered: {Indeed, you will remain} (Az-Zukhruf: 77).
4. They call out for a fourth thousand years: {Our Lord, take us out} (referring to the verse we are currently discussing). They are answered: {Did We not grant you a life long enough for whoever would remember to remember?} (Ibrāhīm: 44).
5. They call out for a fifth thousand years: {Our Lord, take us out, [send us back] to do righteous deeds} (Fāṭir: 37). They are answered: {Did We not grant you life long enough for you to heed the warning?} (Fāṭir: 37).
6. They call out for a sixth thousand years: {My Lord, send me back} (Al-Mu'minūn: 99). They are answered: {And We have driven you into it} (referring to the verse 110).

Then the Almighty explained that their distress is connected to the believers, saying: {Indeed, there was a party of My servants who used to say, "Our Lord, we have believed, so forgive us and have mercy upon us, and You are the best of the merciful." * But you took them in ridicule} (111).

He described one of the reasons they were punished and distanced from goodness: their treatment of the believers.

In the reading of Abī [Ubayy], it is {Innahu kāna farīqu} with fathah on the nūn, meaning "because." Nāfi‘, the people of Medina, and the people of Kūfah (from ‘Āṣim) read the sīn with ḍammah throughout the Qur'an. The rest read it with kasrah here and in Sād. Al-Khalīl and Sībawayh said they are two linguistic variations, like darī and darī. Al-Kisā’ī and Al-Farrā’ said kasrah means mocking by speech, while ḍammah means ridicule/scorn.

Muqātil said: The leaders of Quraysh, such as Abū Jahl, ‘Utbah, and Abū Lahab ibn Khalaf, used to mock the Companions of the Messenger of God (peace be upon him), laughing at the poor among them, like Bilāl, Khabbāb, ‘Ammār, and Suhayb.

The meaning is: You held them in contempt (huzū’) to the extent that your preoccupation with them in that manner made you forget the Reminder. He emphasized this by saying: {And you used to laugh at them} (111).

Then the Almighty described what necessitates regret and sorrow for them by describing the reward He gave those believers: {Indeed, today I have rewarded them for their patience, that they are the achievers [of success].} (111)

Ḥamzah and Al-Kisā’ī read 'innahum with kasrah, while the rest read it with fathah.

• The kasrah reading implies a new, independent clause: "They have indeed succeeded because they were patient, and thus were rewarded with the best reward for their patience."
• The fathah reading means it is in the position of the second object of the verb jazaytuhum (I rewarded them). Alternatively, it can be accusative by implying a preposition, meaning: "I rewarded them with an abundant reward, because they are the successful ones."

Verses 112–115

{He will say, "How many years did you remain on earth?" They will say, "We remained a day or part of a day. Ask those who keep count." He will say, "You remained only a little—if only you knew! Did you think that We created you in vain and that to Us you would not be returned? So exalted is God, the True King; there is no deity except Him, the Lord of the Noble Throne!} (112–115)