Al-Haqqah: (28–32) What availed me...

{What availed me} (ما أغنى): This is either a negation or a question posed in a tone of reproach, meaning: What good did my former wealth bring me?

Similar to this is His saying: {And he will come to Us individually} and His saying: {My authority has perished from me} (هلك عنى سلطانيه).

Regarding the meaning of Sultaniyyah (authority/power), there are two views:

1. Ibn Abbas said: My argument that I used to contend with Muhammad in the world has vanished. Al-Muqatil said: My proof has vanished, meaning when the limbs testified against him regarding polytheism.
2. My dominion and control over people have gone, and I remain poor and humiliated. It is also said that the meaning is: I only used to dispute with the truthful people because of kingship and authority, so now that authority is gone, the affliction remains.

Know that the Almighty first mentioned the joy of the fortunate, then mentioned their state of good living, eating, and drinking. Similarly, here, He mentioned the grief and sorrow of the wretched, then mentioned their state of shackles, chains, and the food of Ghislīn (foul discharge).

The first part is when the keepers of Hell say: {Seize him} (خذوه). Then a hundred thousand angels rush toward him, and his hand is tied to his neck. That is His saying: {So shackle him} (فغلوه).

And His saying: {Then into the Hellfire roast him} (ثم الجحيم صلوه). Al-Mubarrid said: Aslaytuhu an-nār means I made him enter it (the fire), and Sallaytuhu is similar to saying Akramtuhu (I honored him) and Karramtuhu (I dignified him).

The meaning of {Then into the Hellfire roast him} is: Do not just make him enter the Hellfire, which is the greatest fire, because he was a sultan who acted arrogantly toward people.

Then, {In a chain whose length is seventy cubits} (في سلسلة ذرعها سبعون ذراعاً). A chain (silsilah) is a series of interconnected links, where each link is connected to the next, following order and system; thus, it is continuous.

The meaning of Dhar‘ (length/measure) in language is estimation by the forearm (dhira‘). It is said: Dhara‘a ath-thawb (he measured the garment) if he estimated it by his forearm.

Regarding {seventy cubits} (سبعون ذراعاً), there are two opinions:

1. The purpose is not precise measurement by this number but rather description of extreme length, just as He said: {If you ask forgiveness for them seventy times} (referring to many times).
2. It is measured by this specific amount. Then they said: Every cubit is seventy bā‘ (fathoms), and every bā‘ is farther than the distance between Mecca and Kufa. Al-Hasan said: Allah knows best by which cubit it is.

And His saying: {Then thrust him into it} (فاسلكوه). Al-Mubarrid said: It is said Sallaktuhu fī aṭ-ṭarīq (I guided him onto the path) and into the chain, etc. Aslaktuhu means I inserted him. The language of the Qur'an uses Sallaktuhu, as Allah says: {What has made you enter} (referring to the Fire) and {Thus have We made it enter the hearts of the criminals} (Ash-Shu‘arā’: 200).

Ibn Abbas said: The chain is inserted through his rear and comes out of his throat, then his forehead and feet are brought together. Al-Kalbī said: Like threading a needle through pearls, then the rest of the chain is placed around his neck.

Here are some questions:

Question 1: What is the benefit of lengthening this chain? Answer: Suwayd ibn Abi Najīḥ said: I heard that all the people of the Fire will be bound in that single chain. If the gathering of people is restrained by one chain, the torment for each person due to that reason becomes more severe.

Question 2: Inserting the chain into them (salkuhu fīhim) is understandable, but what does it mean to insert them into the chain (salkuhum fī as-silsilah)? Answer: Inserting it into him means wrapping it around his body until its parts coil around him, confining him and squeezing him so he cannot move. Al-Farra’ said: The meaning is: Then insert the chain into him, just as one says: I put my head into the cap (adkhalta ra’sī fī al-qulansuwah) and I put it into my head (adkhalatuhā fī ra’sī). It is also said: The ring does not enter my finger; rather, the finger enters the ring.

Question 3: Why did He say, "In a chain, then thrust him into it" (fī silsilatin faslukūhu), and not "Thrust him into a chain" (faslukūhu fī silsilah)? Answer: The meaning of presenting the chain before the act of thrusting is what we mentioned regarding presenting the Hellfire before the roasting: meaning, do not thrust him except into this chain, because it is more terrifying than all other chains.

Question 4: Why is the shackling and roasting mentioned with the particle Fa (then/so), while the insertion into this chain is mentioned with the word Thumma (then)? What is the difference? Answer: The word Thumma here does not imply a delay in time but rather a difference in the degrees of torment.

Know that when the Almighty explained this severe torment, He mentioned its cause:

**{Indeed, he used not to believe in Allah, the Most Great, Nor did he encourage the feeding of the poor.}* (7)