Surah At-Tur (The Mount): Verse 13

There are linguistic and semantic issues concerning this verse.

Linguistic Issues

The apparent reading: Yawm is in the accusative case (mansūb) because of what follows it, which is indicated by the Almighty's saying: {Hādhihi an-nār} (This is the Fire) (At-Tur: 14). The meaning is: "The Day they are called to the Fire, it will be said to them: This is the Fire which you used to deny."

Another possibility: It could be an apposition (badal) to the yawm in the preceding verse: {Fawailu yawma'idhin lil-mukadhdhibīn} (Woe, that Day, to those who deny) (At-Tur: 11), and the verse {wa yawma yu'adūn} (and the Day they are promised) refers to the deniers. This is because {Yawma'idhin} (That Day) means the Day the punishment occurs, and that Day is the Day they are promised [to be brought] to the Fire.

The phrase {yud'awna ilā nār} (they are called to the Fire) indicates the terror of the Fire of Hell. This is because its keepers (angels) do not approach it; rather, they push its inhabitants toward it from a distance and cast them into it while they themselves do not draw near.

The word {da‘ā} (to call) is a verbal noun (maṣdar). The benefit of mentioning a maṣdar is to signify that the calling is a recognized, established call—it is truly called a "call." It is not like when someone dismisses a light blow by saying, "This is not a strike," or dismisses a contemptible enemy by saying, "This is not an enemy," when using non-verbal nouns. Similarly, a despicable man is not truly a man, unless one reads it as {yud'awna ilā nāri jahannam du‘ā’an} (they are called to the Fire of Hell as a calling). In this reading, du‘ā’an is in the accusative case functioning as a ḥāl (circumstantial accusative), meaning: "It will be said to them: 'Come forth to the Fire, being called to it.'"

Semantic Issues

The Almighty's saying {Yawm yud‘awna ilā nāri jahannam} (The Day they are called to the Fire of Hell) indicates that its keepers cast them into it while they (the keepers) are far from it.

However, the Almighty also says: {Yawma yusḥabūna fī an-nār} (The Day they will be dragged in the Fire) (Al-Qamar: 48).

There are several ways to reconcile these two descriptions:

1. Sequential Action: The angels drag them in the Fire, and then, when they approach a specific Fire—the Fire of Hell—they are cast into it from a distance. Thus, dragging occurs within the Fire, and casting occurs into the Fire, making the latter more severe. This is supported by the Almighty's saying: {Yusḥabūna fī al-ḥamīm, thumma fī an-nār yusjarūn} (They will be dragged in the boiling water, then in the Fire they will be burned) (Ghafir: 71-72). This implies they first experience dragging in the intense heat, and after that, they are admitted/thrown into the Fire.
2. Different Agents: It is possible that different angels handle them at different times. One angel pushes them toward the Fire, and another angel drags them once they are inside.
3. External Dragging: The dragging might occur via chains, where the chains are pulling them while the angels doing the dragging remain outside the Fire.
4. Insult and Entry: It is possible that the angels push the inhabitants of the Fire toward it as an act of humiliation and contempt, and then they enter the Fire along with them and drag them within it.

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