Tafsir of Al-Muddathir 74:30

Surah Al-Muddaththir (The Cloaked One) - Verse 30

عَلَيْهَا تِسْعَةَ عَشَرَ (Over it are nineteen.)

The First Issue: The Meaning of the Number Nineteen

The meaning is that nineteen (angels) are in charge of that Fire and have authority over its inhabitants.

Other interpretations mentioned:

1. Nineteen types (or kinds) of angels.
2. Nineteen rows (or ranks) of angels.
3. Al-Wahidi narrated from the exegetes that the keepers of the Fire are nineteen Malā’ikah (angels). With them are eighteen others whose eyes are like lightning, whose fangs are like tent-pegs, whose hair reaches their feet, and from whose mouths flames of fire emerge. The distance between the shoulders of one of them is a year's journey. The span of one of their palms is large enough to hold the tribes of Rabi'ah and Mudar combined. Compassion and mercy have been removed from them. One of them can take seventy thousand (souls) in his palm and throw them wherever he wills within Hellfire.

The Second Issue: Explanations for the Number Nineteen

Scholars of meaning (of the unseen) have offered several perspectives regarding the estimation of this number:

First View (The View of the Philosophers/Wise Men): The corruption of the human soul stems from its theoretical and practical faculties, caused by the animalistic and natural powers.

• The Animalistic Powers: These are the five external senses, the five internal senses, desire (shahwah), and anger (ghaḍab). This totals twelve powers.
• The Natural Powers: These are the attracting (jādhibah), retaining (māsikah), digesting (hāḍimah), expelling (dāfi'ah), nourishing (ghādhiyah), growing (nāmiyah), and generating (mūllidah) powers. These total seven.

The sum of the animalistic (12) and natural (7) powers is nineteen. Since the source of afflictions (in the soul) is these nineteen powers, it is fitting that the number of the Zabāniyah (the guards of Hell) is nineteen.

Second View: The gates of Hell are seven: six are for the disbelievers, and one is for the sinners (fussaq).

• The disbelievers enter Hell due to three things: abandoning belief (i'tiqād), abandoning confession (iqrār), and abandoning action ('amal). Thus, each of the six gates for the disbelievers has three corresponding reasons, totaling eighteen (guards/reasons).
• As for the gate of the sinners, there are no guards due to abandoning belief or abandoning speech, but only due to abandoning action. Therefore, there is only one guard assigned to their gate.

The total is $18 + 1 = \mathbf{19}$.

Third View: There are twenty-four hours in a day. Five of these hours are occupied by the five obligatory prayers. This leaves nineteen hours occupied by non-worship activities. Since the number of the Zabāniyah is nineteen, this is seen as a correspondence.

The Third Issue: Recitations of the Number

1. Abū Ja'far, Yazīd, and Ṭalḥah ibn Sulaymān recited it as {عَلَيْهَا تِسْعَةَ عَشَرَ} ('alayhā tis'ata 'ashara) with the structure of fa'lān (implying a pause or separation). Ibn Jinni, in Al-Muḥtasab, explained that this is because the two words (tis'ah and 'ashar) are treated as a single unit, leading to many short vowels. The first part of the second word ('ashar) is made silent (sākin) for ease of pronunciation, and this is taken as a sign of the strength of the connection between the two names (numbers).

2. Anas ibn Mālik recited it as {تِسْعَةَ عَشَرَ} (tis'ata 'ashara - with the 'ashara pronounced fully). Abū Hātim stated that this recitation has no clear grammatical basis unless it is interpreted as "nine tens" (tis'a 'ashar), similar to how yamīn (oath) is related to ayman (oaths), meaning ninety in total.

وَمَا جَعَلْنَا أَصْحَابَ النَّارِ إِلَّا مَلَائِكَةً وَمَا جَعَلْنَا عِدَّتَهُمْ إِلَّا فِتْنَةً لِّلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لِيَسْتَيْقِنَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ وَيَزْدَادَ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِيمَانًا وَلَا يَرْتَابَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ وَالْمُؤْمِنُونَ وَلِيَقُولَ الَّذِينَ فِي قُلُوبِهِم مَّرَضٌ وَالْكَافِرُونَ مَاذَا أَرَادَ اللَّهُ بِهَٰذَا مَثَلًا كَذَٰلِكَ يُضِلُّ اللَّهُ مَن يَشَاءُ وَيَهْدِي مَن يَشَاءُ وَمَا يَعْلَمُ جُنُودَ رَبِّكَ إِلَّا هُوَ وَمَا هِيَ إِلَّا ذِكْرَىٰ لِلْبَشَرِ

(And We have not made the keepers of the Fire except angels. And We have not made their number except as a trial for those who disbelieve, so that those who were given the Scripture may be certain, and that those who believe may increase in faith, and that those who were given the Scripture and the believers may have no doubt, and so that those in whose hearts is disease and the disbelievers may say, "What does Allah intend by this as a parable?" Thus does Allah leave astray whom He wills and guides whom He wills. And none knows the soldiers of your Lord except He. And it is not but a reminder to mankind.)