Surah Adh-Dhariyat (51): Verse 5

إِنَّمَا تُوعَدُونَ لَصَادِقٌ (Indeed, what you are promised is true.)

Regarding the structure of the verse:

1. Interpretation of Innamā: The particle Innamā (Indeed/Only) might imply that the verbal noun (the promise/threat) itself is the true thing.
2. Interpretation of In: The In (that) could be a relative pronoun, meaning: "That which you are promised is true."
3. Meaning of Ṣādiq: Ṣādiq (True/Truthful) here means "possessing truth" (dhū ṣidq), similar to how rāḍiyah (pleasing) describes ʿayshah (life) in ʿayshatun rāḍiyah (a pleasing life).

The Rhetorical Significance of Describing the Verbal Noun as an Active Participle (Ṣādiq):

• Describing the maṣdar (verbal noun/concept) with the active participle (ism fāʿil) implies exaggeration (mubālaghah).
• Just as saying "So-and-so is pure kindness (luṭf) " (instead of laṭīf - Kind) suggests an extreme degree of kindness, saying "this speech is ṣādiq" (instead of ṣadīq - truthful statement) implies exaggeration.
• The Rationale: When one says something is pure kindness (luṭf), it suggests that the essence of that being is kindness, and it requires nothing else to validate that description. Similarly, when the promise/threat is described as Ṣādiq, it means this statement requires no external validation to be considered true; it is inherently sufficient to warrant the designation of truthfulness due to its powerful causal basis.

Regarding the Verb Tūʿadūn (You are promised/threatened):

• It can derive from waʿada (to promise) or awʿada (to threaten).
• The Correct View: It must derive from awʿada (to threaten), because oaths are typically associated with threats (waʿīd) rather than promises (waʿd) when dealing with denial or disbelief.

Next Verse:

! 7 < { وَإِنَّ الدِّينَ لَوَاقِعٌ } . > 7 !

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(And indeed, the religion [i.e., recompense/judgment] is surely going to occur.)