Tafsir of Al-Muddathir 74:31

Surah Al-Muddaththir (The Cloaked One) - Verses 31-32

Verse 31: {And We have not made the keepers of the Fire anything but angels.}

It is narrated that when the Almighty's saying, {Over it are nineteen} (Al-Muddaththir: 30) was revealed, Abu Jahl said to the Quraysh: "May your mothers be bereaved! He says the guards of the Fire are nineteen, and you are the great multitude! Can every ten of you not overpower one of them?"

Abu al-Ashadd ibn Usayd ibn Kalda al-Jumahi, who was known for his great strength, replied: "I will take care of seventeen of them, and you take care of the remaining two."

When Abu Jahl and Abu al-Ashadd said this, the Muslims responded: "Woe to you! The angels cannot be compared to our strong men!" This saying became a proverb for comparing two things that are not equal.

The meaning here is: The angels cannot be compared to the jailers or the strong men.

So, Allah Almighty revealed: {And We have not made the keepers of the Fire anything but angels.}

Allah made them angels for several reasons:

1. To be of a different species than those being punished: Kinship often suggests compassion and mercy. This is why the Messenger sent to us was from our own kind, to have compassion and mercy upon us.
2. They are the furthest creation from disobeying Allah and the strongest in performing arduous acts of obedience.
3. Their power is greater than that of the Jinn and humankind.

If it is argued: It is established in the reports that angels are created from light. How can something created from light endure being in the Fire?

We reply: The basis of affirming the Resurrection rests on Allah's power over all possibilities. Just as it is not impossible for a living being to remain in such severe torment for eternity without dying, it is similarly not impossible for the angels to remain there without feeling pain.

Verse 32: {And We have not made their number anything but a trial for those who disbelieve, and that those who were given the Scripture may be certain, and that those who believe may increase in faith.}

Regarding this verse, there are two main issues:

This occurred in two ways:

1. The disbelievers mocked it: They asked, "Why were they not twenty? What necessitates the specification of this exact number?"
2. The disbelievers questioned their capability: They said, "How can such a small number be sufficient to punish the majority of creation—Jinn and humankind—from the beginning of creation until the Day of Resurrection?"

The people of faith do not pay attention to these two questions.

Regarding the first question (Why this specific number?): The totality of the universe is finite. Therefore, the fundamental, indivisible elements (the jawāhir al-fardah) that compose this universe must have a specific, determined number. This leads to the question: Why was this specific number chosen for existence, and why was another element not added, or one subtracted?

The same question applies to the creation of the universe itself: Since the universe is contingent (muhdath) and God is eternal (Qadīm), the universe was preceded by an infinite duration of time before its creation. Why did the universe not begin a moment earlier or later? This applies to the specific time appointed for every contingent thing, and the specific parts for every body.

There is no answer to any of these questions except that He is Capable and Willful (Qādir Mukhtār). The Willful chooses one thing over its equal without an external cause. If this is the established answer for the creation of the entire universe, it is also the answer for specifying the number of the Fire's guards (zabāniyah).

Regarding the second question (Their capability to punish everyone): This is also weak. It is not beyond the power of Allah Almighty to grant this number of guards such power and strength that they become capable of punishing the entire creation without any deficiency. In summary, both questions aim to challenge the perfection of Allah's power. Whoever acknowledges that Allah is capable of infinite possibilities, and knows that the conditions of the Hereafter are contrary to the conditions of this world, will have these doubts completely removed.

Those who argue that Allah wills misguidance use this verse, as it states: {And We have not made their number anything but a trial for those who disbelieve.} This indicates that the primary purpose was the trial of the disbelievers.

The Mu'tazila responded in several ways:

1. Al-Jubbā'ī said: The meaning of fitnah (trial) is to intensify the obligation of worship, so they may deduce and know that Allah is capable of empowering these nineteen to do what a hundred thousand strong angels cannot do.
2. Al-Ka'bī said: The meaning of fitnah is testing, so that the believers entrust the wisdom behind specifying this exact number to the knowledge of their Creator, as this is among the ambiguous matters they are commanded to believe in.
3. Another view: The meaning of fitnah is the disbelief they fell into due to their denial of the number of guards. The meaning becomes: "except as a trial for those who disbelieve, so that they may deny it and say what they said," which is a punishment for their disbelief. This ultimately reverts to the concept of withholding divine favors (altāf).

The Response (to the Mu'tazila): We do not dispute any of the points you mentioned, except we ask: Does revealing these ambiguous matters have an effect in strengthening the inclination towards disbelief, or not?

• If it has no effect in strengthening the inclination towards disbelief, then revealing them is like any other external matter, and the claim that revealing these ambiguous matters is a trial for the disbelievers has no basis whatsoever.
• If it does have an effect in strengthening the inclination towards disbelief, then the intended purpose is achieved. When the inclination toward action is strengthened, the inclination toward abandonment becomes weaker. The weaker inclination becomes impossible to act upon, making the action obligatory. (And Allah knows best.)

Allah Almighty clarified that the purpose of revealing this ambiguous matter involves four things:

1. {that those who were given the Scripture may be certain}
2. {and that those who believe may increase in faith}
3. {and that those who were given the Scripture and the believers may have no doubt}
4. {and that those in whose hearts is disease and the disbelievers may say, "What did Allah intend by this as a parable?"}

The interpretation of these verses is only fully realized through questions and answers:

Answer: He did not make their trial by the number the cause for these things. This is explained in two ways:

1. Interpretation by Conjunction (The Wāw): The structure is like saying: "I did such-and-such for your glorification, and to humiliate your enemy." The conjunction (wāw) is sometimes mentioned and sometimes omitted in this context.
2. Metaphorical Expression: The meaning of {And We have not made their number anything but a trial for those who disbelieve} is: "And We have not made their number anything but nineteen." Instead of saying "nineteen," He used the word indicating the effect (trial), as if expressing the cause by the word denoting the result, indicating that this result is a necessary consequence of that cause.

Answer: There are several aspects:

1. Since this number was present in their Scriptures, and the Prophet (PBUH) reported it exactly without prior study, it became clear that this came through divine revelation. Thus, those People of the Scripture who believed in Muhammad (PBUH) increased in faith.
2. The Torah and the Gospel had been corrupted. The People of the Scripture read in them that the number of the guards was this specific figure, but they did not fully rely on it due to their knowledge that these books were subject to alteration. When they heard this from the Messenger of Allah (PBUH), their faith in that number was strengthened, and they became certain that it was the truth.
3. The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) knew the disposition of Quraysh: whenever he informed them of this strange number, they would mock and laugh at him, just as they mocked him regarding the clearer issues of Monotheism, Power, and Knowledge. If they mocked him over those clear issues, how much more so over this strange number! Yet, their mockery and intense ridicule did not prevent him from revealing this truth. At this point, any rational person knows that if Muhammad's goal were worldly gain or leadership, he would have avoided mentioning this strange number. Since he mentioned it, knowing they would inevitably mock him, every wise person knows his goal was only to convey the revelation, and he cared neither for the affirmation of the believers nor the denial of the deniers.

Answer: A person obligated to religious duties (mukallaf) cannot submit to this number and acknowledge its reality unless he internalizes that Allah is Omniscient of all knowledge, independent of all contingent events, and pure from lying and false oaths. When he engages in recalling these proofs, and then accepts the general knowledge that He is truthful (does not lie), wise (does not err), and that He removes the astonishment naturally arising from this strange number, only then can he believe in the reality of this number. Undoubtedly, the believer, upon considering these points, becomes stronger in recalling the proofs and more submissive to the religion. This is what is meant by the increase in faith.

Answer: We interpret this as referring to the fruits, effects, and consequences of faith.

Answer: When a required truth is obscure, its proof subtle, and it is prone to many doubts, even if a person strives and achieves certainty, he might momentarily overlook one of the subtle premises of that proof, causing doubt and suspicion to return. Therefore, establishing certainty in some states does not negate the possibility of doubt arising later. The purpose of repeating this statement is to affirm that they attained a firm certainty such that doubt and suspicion will absolutely not follow it.

Answer: The view of the commentators is correct. This is because it was within Allah's knowledge that hypocrisy would eventually arise, so He informed about what was to come. Under this interpretation, the verse becomes a miracle, as it is a report about a future unseen event that occurred exactly as reported. Alternatively, "disease" could mean doubt, as most people in Mecca were doubtful, while some were definitively committed to falsehood.

Answer:

• According to our doctrine (Ahl al-Sunnah): There is no issue, as Allah guides whom He wills and misguides whom He wills. We will establish a stronger argument for this in the following verse.
• According to the Mu'tazila: Since this state (their saying) occurred, it resembles a purpose because it actually happened. Therefore, the particle Lām (for/that) is attached to it, similar to His saying: {And certainly, We have created for Hell...} (Al-A'rāf: 128).

Answer: Since this number was strange, the people suspected that Allah might not have intended its literal meaning, but rather used it as a parable for something else or as an indication of another purpose. Hence, they called it a parable.

Answer:

• As for those in whose hearts is disease (the hypocrites), they outwardly confessed that the Qur'an was from Allah, so they said this with their tongues.
• As for the disbelievers, they said it either as mockery or as an argument: if the Qur'an were truly from Allah, He would not have mentioned such a statement.

Verse 33: {Thus does Allah leave astray whom He wills and guides whom He wills.}

The basis for the Ash'arites' argument from this verse is clear. At the beginning of the verse, Allah mentioned: {And We have not made their number anything but a trial for those who disbelieve} and then concluded with: {and that those in whose hearts is disease and the disbelievers may say, "What did Allah intend by this as a parable?"} Then He said: {Thus does Allah leave astray whom He wills and guides whom He wills.}

The Mu'tazila mentioned their well-known arguments:

1. The meaning of leaving astray (iḍlāl) is withholding divine favors (altāf).
2. Since some people were guided by their own choice upon the revelation of these verses, and others were left astray by their own choice, it resembles that the influencer for that guidance and misguidance is these verses themselves, similar to His saying: {and it increases them only in faith} (At-Tawbah: 124) and {but it increases them only in revulsion} (At-Tawbah: 125).
3. The meaning of {He leaves astray} and {He guides} is Allah's judgment that someone is astray and someone is guided.
4. He leaves them astray on the Day of Resurrection from the abode of reward. These points, along with their answers, were previously discussed in Surah Al-Baqarah regarding the verse: {He leaves astray by it many and guides by it many} (Al-Baqarah: 26).

Verse 34: {And none knows the soldiers of your Lord except He.}

There are several interpretations:

1. The primary view: When the people focused on the number nineteen, Allah responded: {And none knows the soldiers of your Lord except He.} Even if these are nineteen, each one of them has soldiers and helpers whose number is known only to Allah.
2. Vastness of Numbers: None knows the soldiers of your Lord because of their immense quantity except Him. It is not difficult for Him to complete the guards to twenty, but He has a wisdom in this specific number that creation does not know, and He, the Glorified and Exalted, knows it.
3. Sufficiency of Power: Allah does not need these guards to punish the disbelievers and the wicked, as He is the true Punisher, and He creates the pain within them. If Allah were to twist a single hair on a man's eye or inflict pain upon one vein in his body, that would suffice as affliction and trial. Therefore, a small number of guards does not imply a small amount of punishment. The soldiers of Allah are infinite because His capabilities are infinite.

Verse 35: {No, by the moon,} Verse 36: {And by the night when it departs,}

Verse 37: {And by the morning when it brightens,}

(Note: The provided excerpt ends abruptly before the translation of verse 35 onwards, which seems to be a continuation of the oath structure from the preceding verses, though the numbering in the source text jumps to 7. Assuming the intended continuation is the oath structure often found in this section, and based on the context of the surrounding verses in Al-Muddaththir, the following is the standard translation for the subsequent verses, though the source text formatting is unusual here.)

{No! By the moon, And by the night as it withdraws, And by the dawn as it brightens,}

Verse 38: {Indeed, it [Hellfire] is but a reminder for mankind,}

Regarding {Indeed, it} (* وما هي* - Wa mā hiya), to what does the pronoun refer? There are two opinions:

1. It refers to Saqar (Hellfire). The meaning is: Hellfire and its description are but a reminder for mankind.
2. It refers to these verses containing these ambiguous matters. They are a reminder for all humanity, even if only the people of faith benefit from them.