Al-Infitar (The Cleaving Asunder) ms9425: (17) And what will make you know...

There are several issues discussed here:

The First Issue: The Addressee of "And what will make you know"

There is a difference of opinion regarding the addressee in the phrase: {And what will make you know} (وما أدراك).

1. Some said it is an address to the disbeliever, intended as a reprimand for him.
2. The majority said it is an address to the Prophet (peace be upon him), and he was addressed this way because he was not aware of the reality before the revelation.

The Second Issue: Repetition of "The Day of Recompense"

The majority hold that the repetition in: {The Day of Recompense * Then what will make you know what is the Day of Recompense?} (يوم الدين * ثم ما أدراك ما يوم الدين) is for the glorification (taʿẓīm) of that Day.

Al-Jubba'i said that it serves a renewed purpose. He suggested that the first mention refers to the people of the Fire, and the second refers to the people of Paradise. It is as if the meaning is: "And what will make you know how the wicked will be treated on the Day of Recompense? Then what will make you know how the righteous will be treated on the Day of Recompense?" The phrase "Day of Recompense" is repeated to magnify what God Almighty will do concerning these two groups.

The Third Issue: Grammatical Analysis of {The Day when you will not possess}

Regarding: {The Day when you will not possess} (يوم لا تملك), there are two readings: raising (nominative case, rafʿ) and نصب (accusative case, naṣb).

There are two views:

1. It is an apposition (badal) to "The Day of Recompense" (يوم الدين).
2. It implies an omitted pronoun (هو), meaning: "It is the Day when you will not possess."

There are several views:

1. It implies an omitted verb (يدانون - they will be judged), as the context of "Recompense" (الدين) suggests it.
2. It implies an omitted command: "Mention" (اذكروا).
3. What Al-Zajjaj mentioned: It might be in the position of rafʿ (nominative), but it is constructed as indeclinable (built on the fatḥa) because it is in an iḍāfah (construct state) with the phrase {you will not possess} (لا تملك). Anything added to an indeclinable noun (غير المتمكن) may be built on fatḥa even if it is in a position of rafʿ or jarr, as in the verse:

   "The drinking did not prevent them except that a dove cooed from branches..." (Poetic example provided). Al-Wāḥidī commented that Al-Zajjaj's view on building on fatḥa is only permissible according to Al-Khalīl and Sībawayh if the iḍāfah is to a past tense verb (e.g., ʿalā ḥīna ʿātabta). However, with a future tense verb, building on fatḥa is not permissible according to them. This construction is permissible according to the Kufans. We have discussed this issue previously in the commentary on {This is the Day when the truthful will benefit from their truthfulness} (Al-Māʾidah: 119).

4. What Abū ʿAlī mentioned: Since the word yawm (Day) is most often used adverbially (as a ẓarf), it is left in its most common state (accusative/indeclinable fatḥa). Evidence for this is the consensus of reciters and Arabs in the phrase: {Among them are the righteous, and among them are those less than that} (ومنهم دون ذالك) (Al-Aʿrāf: 168), which no one disputes. What strengthens the naṣb is the usage in: {And what will make you know what is the Striking Calamity? * The Day when people will be...} (ما القارعة * يوم يكون الناس) (Al-Qāriʿah: 3, 4), and {They ask you, "When is the Day of Recompense?" * The Day they are being tried over the Fire} (أيان يوم الدين * يوم هم على النار يفتنون) (Adh-Dhāriyāt: 12, 13). Thus, the naṣb in {Day when you will not possess} (يوم لا تملك) is similar to this.

The Fourth Issue: Negation of Intercession for Sinners

They use the phrase {The Day when no soul will possess anything for another soul} (يوم لا تملك نفس لنفس شيئا) as evidence for the negation of intercession for sinners. This is similar to the Almighty's saying: {And fear a Day when no soul will avail another soul in anything} (واتقوا يوما لا تجزى نفس عن نفس شيئا) (Al-Baqarah: 48). The response to this has already been covered in Sūrat Al-Baqarah.

The Fifth Issue: The Nullification of Worldly Power

The people of the world used to overpower others, assist one another in matters, and protect each other. However, on the Day of Resurrection, the dominion built in the world ceases, and their leadership vanishes. Therefore, no one will protect anyone, no one will benefit anyone, and no one will overpower anyone's dominion.

This is analogous to His saying: {And the command that Day will be for God} (والامر يومئذ لله) and {Sovereign of the Day of Recompense} (مالك يوم الدين) (Al-Fātiḥah: 4). This is a tremendous warning because it informs them that on that Day, only righteousness and obedience will benefit them, unlike in the world where wealth, children, helpers, and intercessors might have offered benefit.

Al-Wāḥidī said: The meaning is that God Almighty did not grant anyone authority over any matter on that Day, just as He granted them authority in the dwelling of this world.

Al-Wāsiṭī said: In the phrase {The Day when no soul will possess anything for another soul} (يوم لا تملك نفس لنفس شيئا), there is an indication of the annihilation of everything except God Almighty. On that Day, messages, words, and ultimate goals will vanish. Whoever had this characteristic (of dependence/non-possession) in the world, his world will be his hereafter.

As for His saying: {And the command that Day will be for God} (والامر يومئذ لله), it indicates that permanence and existence belong to God. This has been the case eternally, is the case today, and will be the case in the Hereafter; it has not changed from one state to another. Therefore, the variation pertains to the states of the observer, not the states of the Observed (God). The states of the perfected ones do not vary according to the variation of times, just as it is said: "If the veil were lifted, my certainty would not increase," and like Ḥārithah, when he was informed in the presence of the Prophet (PBUH), said: "It is as if I see, and it is as if I see, and it is as if I see..."

And God Almighty knows best. Praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds.

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