Tafsir of Qaf 50:32

Tafsir of Surah Qaf (50): Verse 32

Verse: { هَٰذَا مَا تُوعَدُونَ } (This is what you are promised.)

Al-Razi's Commentary (Drawing from Al-Zamakhshari's view):

Al-Zamakhshari suggests that this sentence, {هَٰذَا مَا تُوعَدُونَ}, is an interjected clause placed between two statements.

1. The preceding statement is: {لِكُلِّ أَوَّابٍ} (for every oft-returning one). This phrase is considered a substitute (badal) for the pronoun in {لِلْمُتَّقِينَ} (for the pious ones) mentioned earlier.
2. It is as if the meaning is: "Paradise has been brought near for the pious, for every oft-returning one." This is similar to the structure in Surah Az-Zukhruf (43:33): {لَجَعَلْنَا لِمَن يَكْفُرُ بِالرَّحْمَٰنِ لِبُيُوتِهِمْ} (We would have made for those who disbelieve in the Most Merciful—for their houses...). However, that example is a substitution of the part for the whole (badal al-ishtimal), whereas this instance is a substitution of the whole for the whole (badal al-kull).
3. The word {هَٰذَا} (This) refers either to the Reward (i.e., "This reward is what you are promised") or to the bringing near (إزلاف) implied by the preceding verse, {أُزْلِفَتْ} (has been brought near) (Qaf: 31). Thus, it means: "This bringing near is what you were promised."
4. Alternatively, it can be treated as an independent statement. The rationale here is that the promise is understood conceptually, not just literally as the thing promised. It is as if God says: "This is what I told you would be yours."

Regarding {لِكُلِّ أَوَّابٍ حَفِيظٍ} (for every oft-returning, ever-watchful one):

This phrase is a substitute (badal) for the pronoun in {تُوعَدُونَ} (you are promised). If read with the ya' (i.e., tu'adūn), the meaning remains: "This is for every oft-returning one."

Lexical Meanings:

• الأواب (Al-Awwāb): The one who returns frequently.
  • It is said that this refers to one who returns from sins and seeks forgiveness.
  • الحفيظ (Al-Ḥafīẓ): The preserver, one who guards what he preserves (his repentance) from being broken or nullified.

Deeper Interpretations:

1. Intellectual Return: Al-Awwāb is one whose thought returns to God. Al-Ḥafīẓ is one who preserves God in his memory. This means he returns to God with his intellect, sees everything originating from Him and occurring through Him, and once he reaches this realization, he preserves it so that he does not forget it during times of ease and comfort.
2. Emphasis (Mubālaghah): Both terms imply intensity. Al-Awwāb is one who returns very frequently, and Al-Ḥafīẓ is one who preserves very strongly.
3. Refined Interpretation (Connecting to Piety):
   • Al-Awwāb is one who has turned away from following his own desires and turning toward anything other than God.
   • Al-Ḥafīẓ is one who, upon attaining the highest spiritual states using his noblest faculties, does not abandon them, thereby perfecting his piety (Taqwā).
   • This interpretation explains the nature of the Muttqī (the pious one): The pious one is he who avoids polytheism (shirk) and denial (ta'ṭīl), neither denying God nor acknowledging anything besides Him. Al-Awwāb is one who acknowledges none but God and turns away from everything except Him. Al-Ḥafīẓ is one who never turns away from Him toward anything else.

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