Al-Jathiyah: (7) Woe to every persistent slanderer...

It is known that when the Almighty established the signs (Ayat) for the disbelievers and showed that if they do not believe in them despite their clarity, by what discourse will they believe? He followed this by a great threat to them, saying: {Woe to every persistent slanderer (affāk), sinful (athīm)}.

• Al-Affāk means the great liar.
• Al-Athīm means one who is excessive in committing sins.

Know that this sinful person has two stations:

He remains insistent on denial and arrogance. The Almighty said: {He hears the verses of Allah being recited to him, then he persists (mustakbir)}.

• {He persists}: Meaning he remains firmly established upon his disbelief with strength and severity.
• {Arrogant (mustakbir)}: Turning away from faith in the verses, being impressed with what he possesses (of his own opinion).

It is narrated that this verse was revealed concerning Al-Naḍr ibn Al-Ḥārith, who used to buy tales of the Persians and occupy people with them, distracting them from listening to the Qur'an. However, the verse is general for everyone described with this characteristic.

If one asks: What is the meaning of {then he persists} in the phrase {He hears the verses of Allah being recited to him, then he persists}?

We reply: It is analogous to His saying: {Praise be to Allah, Who created the heavens and the earth...} up to {Then those who disbelieve in their Lord equate (others with Him)} (Al-An'am: 1). The meaning is that since the Almighty is the Creator of the heavens and the earth, it is expected that He should not be met with denial and turning away.

Then the Almighty said: {As if he had not heard them}.

• The original form is ka'annahu lam yasma'hā (as if he had not heard them), where ka'annahu involves the pronoun of the matter (ḍamīr al-sha'n).
• The clause is in the accusative case (naṣb) as a circumstantial clause (ḥāl), meaning he becomes like one who has not heard.

He transitions from the station of persistence and arrogance to the station of mockery, so He said: {And when he learns anything of Our signs, he takes them in ridicule}.

Grammatically, it should have been said: ittakhadhahu huzū'an (he took it in ridicule), referring to that specific thing. However, the Almighty said {he takes them (plural) in ridicule} to indicate that when this person perceives anything from the speech (of the Qur'an), which is among the signs revealed by Allah to the Prophet (PBUH), he begins to mock all the signs and does not limit his mockery to just that one instance.

Then the Almighty said: {Those will have a humiliating punishment}.

• {Those} refers to every persistent slanderer and sinner, encompassing all such individuals.

Then He described the nature of that humiliating punishment: {Behind them is Hell}.

• {Behind them is Hell}: Meaning Hell is in front of them. The author of Al-Kashshāf said: Al-Warā' (the rear/behind) is the name for the direction that conceals a person, whether from the back or the front.

Then He clarified that what they possessed in the world will not benefit them: {And never will avail them what they earned, not even a thing}.

Then He clarified that their idols will not benefit them: {Nor what they took besides Allah as allies}.

Then He said: {And for them is a great punishment}.

If one asks: He already said before this verse, {Those will have a humiliating punishment}, so what is the benefit of saying afterward, {And for them is a great punishment}?

We reply: The description of the punishment as humiliating indicates the attainment of humiliation alongside the torment. The description of it as great indicates that it reaches the utmost limits in terms of harm.

Then He said: {This (the Qur'an) is guidance}, meaning complete in its nature as guidance. {And those who disbelieve in the signs of their Lord will have a punishment of a painful torment (rijz alīm)}.

• Al-Rijz is the severest torment, evidenced by His saying: {So We sent down upon those who wronged a punishment (rijzan) from the sky} (Al-A'rāf: 59), and {If You remove the torment (al-rijz) from us} (Al-A'rāf: 134).

The word {painful (alīm)} is read in two ways:

1. In the genitive case (Majrūr): The meaning is: "They will have a punishment from a painful torment." If their punishment is derived from a painful torment, then their punishment itself is painful.
2. In the nominative case (Marfūʿ): The meaning is: "They will have a painful torment." In this case, al-Rijz might refer to al-Rijs (filth/impurity), consistent with His saying: {And he will be made to drink boiling water (ṣadīd)} (Ibrahim: 16). The meaning would then be that they have a punishment from having to taste or drink filth, making alīm a specification (tabyīn) for the punishment.

**{7} {It is Allah Who has subjected the sea for you that the ships may run through it by His command, and that you may seek of His bounty, and that you may be grateful. *And He has subjected to you whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth, all of it from Him. Indeed in that are signs for a people who give thought. Tell those who believe to forgive those who do not hope for the days of Allah that He may recompense a people for what they have been earning. Whoever does a righteous deed, it is for himself; and whoever does evil, it is against it. Then to your Lord you will be returned.}