Tafsir of Al-Muzzammil 73:14

Surah Al-Muzzammil (73): Verse 14

يَوْمَ تَرْجُفُ الْأَرْضُ وَتَتْرُكُ الْجِبَالُ كَثِيبًا مَهِيلًا (The Day the earth will shake violently, and the mountains will become heaps of fine, flowing sand.)

The First Issue:

Al-Zajjaj said that the word {يَوْمَ} (the Day) is in the accusative case because it is connected to the preceding statement: {إِنَّ لَدَيْنَا أَنكَالًا وَجَحِيمًا} (Indeed, with Us are fetters and a fierce Fire) (Al-Muzzammil: 12). Meaning: We will inflict fetters upon the disbelievers and punish them on the Day the earth shakes violently.

The Second Issue:

الرجفة (Ar-Rajfah) means violent shaking or earthquake.

الكثيب (Al-Kathīb) is a large mound of sand that gathers in a hump shape. Its plural is الكثبان (Al-Kuthubān). There are two opinions regarding its derivation:

1. It is derived from كثب الشيء (kathaba ash-shay’) meaning "to gather something," so it is fa'īl (like katīb) in the sense of maf'ūl (passive participle).
2. Al-Layth said that Al-Kathīb is the scattering of dust or something thrown. The intransitive verb is انكثب ينكثب انكثابًا (inkathaba yankathibu inkithāban). It is called kathīb because its sand is fine, as if it were scattered dust piled upon itself due to its looseness.

مهيلاً (Mahīlan) means flowing, having been made to flow. It is said: turābun mahīl or mahūl, meaning poured out. Mahīl is the more common usage in the language, similar to saying makīl and makyūl, or madīn and madyūn. This occurs because the ḍammah (vowel mark) is dropped from the yā’, causing it to become quiescent (sākin). The wāw is also quiescent, so the wāw is dropped due to the meeting of two quiescent letters. Al-Farrā’ and Al-Zajjaj mentioned this.

Knowing this, we say that Allah Almighty will break apart the structure of the mountains' components and scatter them completely, making them like العهن المنفوش (carded wool) (Al-Qāri'ah: 5). At that point, they will become like a kathīb.

Furthermore, Allah moves the mountains as He stated: {وَيَوْمَ نُسَيِّرُ الْجِبَالَ} (And [mention] the Day We will remove the mountains) (Al-Kahf: 47), and {وَتَرَى الْجِبَالَ تَحْسَبُهَا جَامِدَةً وَهِيَ تَمُرُّ مَرَّ السَّحَابِ} (And you see the mountains, thinking them fixed, while they will pass by like the passing of clouds) (An-Naml: 88), and {وَسُيِّرَتِ الْجِبَالُ} (And the mountains will be set in motion) (An-Naba’: 20). Consequently, they will become mahīlan (flowing).

If it is asked: Why did He not say: Wa kānat al-jibālu kuthubānan mahīlatan (And the mountains became flowing mounds)? We reply: Because the entirety of the mountains will gather together to become one flowing mound (kathīb wāhid mahīl).

Know that after Allah Almighty warned the deniers, those blessed with worldly ease, about the terrors of the Resurrection, He then warned them about the terrors of this world by saying:

{إِنَّا أَرْسَلْنَا إِلَيْكُمْ رَسُولًا شَاهِدًا عَلَيْكُمْ كَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا إِلَىٰ فِرْعَوْنَ رَسُولًا * فَعَصَىٰ فِرْعَوْنُ الرَّسُولَ فَأَخَذْنَاهُ أَخْذًا وَبِيلًا } (Indeed, We have sent to you a Messenger, a witness over you, just as We sent to Pharaoh a messenger. But Pharaoh disobeyed the messenger, so We seized him with a severe seizure.) (Al-Muzzammil: 15-16)