Tafsir of Al-Mulk 67:11

Surah Al-Mulk (67:11)

(11) So they acknowledged their sin, then [away with] the companions of the Blaze!

When the Almighty recounted the statement of the disbelievers, He said: {So they acknowledged their sin} (فاعترفوا بذنبهم).

• Muqatil said: This means they acknowledged their denial of the Messenger, which is their statement: {So we denied and said, "Allah has not sent down anything"} (Al-Mulk: 9).

• Regarding the phrase {their sin} (بذنبهم), there are two views:
  1. The word dhanb (sin) here is used in the sense of the plural, because it carries the meaning of an action (verb). This is like saying ‘aṭā’ an-nās (the giving of the people), meaning their multiple acts of giving. This is the view of Al-Farra'.
  2. It is permissible for the singular noun, when added to a definite noun (iḍāfah), to imply generality, similar to His saying: {And if you should count the favors of Allah} (An-Nahl: 34) (where ni'mah is singular but implies all favors).

Then He said: {then [away with] the companions of the Blaze!} (فسحقا لاصحاب السعير).

The exegetes said: Away with them, whether they acknowledge or deny, for it will not benefit them. Saḥq (سحق) means distance/removal.

• There are two pronunciations for saḥq: the lightened (with sukun) and the heavy (with shaddah), similar to the variation between ‘unuq and ‘unnuq (neck) or ṭanab and ṭannab (rope).
• Al-Zajjaj said: Saḥqan is in the accusative case, functioning as a maṣdar (verbal noun in the accusative of specification). The meaning is: "May Allah utterly distance them with a complete distancing" (i.e., Asḥaqahum Allāhu suḥqan). He distanced them from His Mercy.
• Abu ‘Ali al-Fārisī said: The standard grammatical form should have been suḥāqan, but the maṣdar came in the shortened form due to omission, similar to saying ‘umraka Allāh (by your life, O Allah).

Know that when the Almighty mentioned the warning for the disbelievers, He followed it with the promise for the believers:

{Indeed, those who fear their Lord unseen will have forgiveness and a great reward.} (Al-Mulk: 12)