Tafsir of Al-Burooj 85:12

Surah Al-Buruj (The Constellations)

(Verse 12)

إِنَّ بَطْشَ رَبِّكَ لَشَدِيدٌ Indeed, the grasp (or vengeance) of your Lord is severe.

It is noted that after Allah (Exalted is He) mentioned the warning (wa'īd) for those who persecuted the believing men and women first, and then mentioned the promise (wa'd) for those who believed and did righteous deeds, He followed this with confirmation.

To confirm the warning, He said: {Indeed, the grasp of your Lord is severe}.

This powerful Being's delay in action is not due to negligence, but because He is Wise—either by the wisdom of His Will (Mashī'ah) or by the wisdom of expediency (Maṣlaḥah). The postponement of this matter until the Day of Resurrection is why He said:

{إِنَّهُ هُوَ يُبْدِئُ وَيُعِيدُ} Indeed, it is He who originates and repeats (or restores).

This means He creates His creation, then causes them to perish, and then brings them back to life to recompense them on the Day of Resurrection. Thus, the delay is for this reason, not for neglect. Ibn Abbas narrated that the people of Hell will be consumed by the Fire until they become charcoal, and then Allah will restore them to a new creation; this is what is meant by {Indeed, it is He who originates and repeats}.

Then, to confirm the promise, He said:

{وَهُوَ الْغَفُورُ الْوَدُودُ} And He is the Forgiving, the Loving (Al-Wadūd).

He mentioned five of His Attributes of Majesty and Greatness:

1. Al-Ghafūr (The Forgiving): The Mu'tazila say He forgives only those who repent. Our companions (Ahl al-Sunnah) say He is forgiving absolutely, both to those who repent and those who do not, based on the verse: {Indeed, Allah does not forgive association with Him, but He forgives what is less than that of whom He wills} (An-Nisā: 48). Furthermore, forgiving the repentant is obligatory, and fulfilling an obligation does not merit praise, yet this verse is in the context of praise.

2. Al-Wadūd (The Loving): There are several opinions on this:

• First Opinion: He is the Loving (Al-Muḥibb). This is the view of most commentators and aligns with rational proofs, as goodness is intrinsically desired, while evil is incidental. Evil must be less than good, so the dominant reality must be good, making Him intrinsically beloved.
• Second Opinion: Al-Kalbī said Al-Wadūd is He Who shows affection to His allies through forgiveness and reward. The first opinion is preferred.
• Third Opinion: Al-Azhari reported that some linguists suggest Wadūd might be in the form of fa'ūl (like rukūb or ḥalūb), meaning maf'ūl (passive). In this sense, it means His righteous servants love Him because of the perfection they recognize in His Essence, Attributes, and Actions. Both attributes (His loving them, and them loving Him) are praise: His loving the obedient servants is His grace, and their loving Him is due to the immense favor they perceive from Him.
• Fourth Opinion: Al-Qaffāl suggested Al-Wadūd can mean Al-Ḥalīm (the forbearing), derived from the term dābbah wadūd (a tractable, obedient animal that yields to guidance). He cited the poet Quṭrub:

  "And I prepared for war a swift mare, tractable in guidance, obedient and yielding."

3. Dhū al-'Arsh (The Owner of the Throne): Al-Qaffāl said this means the Owner of Sovereignty and Dominion, just as one says, "So-and-so is on the throne of his kingdom," even if he is not physically seated there, or "The throne of so-and-so has collapsed" when his dominion ends. This meaning is agreed upon as sound. It is also possible that Al-'Arsh refers to the physical throne, and Allah (Glorified is He) created a throne in His heavens of such immense majesty and grandeur that only He and those He informs know its magnitude.

4. Al-Majīd (The Glorious): There are two readings for this:

• Rafa' (Nominative): This is the choice of most reciters and commentators, making it an attribute of Allah (Exalted is He), as glory (majd) is an attribute of loftiness and majesty, fitting only for Allah. The separation and interjection between the attribute and the described object in this manner is not prohibited.
• Khafd (Genitive): This is the reading of Ḥamzah and Al-Kisā'ī, making it an attribute of the Throne (Al-'Arsh). They argue that the Qur'an permits describing things other than Allah as glorious, as seen in {Nay, it is a glorious Qur'an} (Al-Burūj: 21). Since Allah described the Throne as Noble (Karīm), it is not unlikely to describe it as Glorious (Majīd). They further explain that the glory of Allah is His necessary, inherent greatness, perfection of power, wisdom, and knowledge. The greatness of the Throne, however, is its loftiness in direction, the magnitude of its size, and the beauty of its form and composition (it is said the Throne is the most beautifully composed and formed of bodies).

5. Fa'ālun li-mā Yurīd (A Doer of whatever He Wills): This involves several issues:

• Issue 1: Fa'ālun is the predicate (khabar) of an implied subject (mubtada').
• Issue 2: Some grammarians argue that {And He is the Forgiving, the Loving} are two predicates for a single subject. This is weak because when attributing something to a subject, the attribution must apply either to the combination of predicates or to each one individually. If it applies to the combination, the predicate is singular (the two attributes together). If it applies individually, it implies two separate sentences, which contradicts the structure.
• Issue 3: Our companions use this verse to argue concerning the creation of actions. They say: Allah certainly wills faith; therefore, He must be the doer of faith, based on this verse. If He is the doer of faith, He must necessarily be the doer of disbelief, as no one differentiates between the two. Al-Qāḍī argued that this verse cannot be used to prove that whatever Allah wills from the obedience of creation must occur, because the phrase {A Doer of whatever He wills} only applies to what has occurred as His action, not to what has not occurred as His action. The weakness of Al-Qāḍī's statement is apparent.
• Issue 4: Our companions use this verse to argue that Allah is under no obligation whatsoever to any of the accountable beings. This is weak because the verse indicates that He does what He wills; why then would they claim He wills not to give reward?
• Issue 5: Al-Qaffāl said: {A Doer of whatever He Wills} means that no objector can object to Him, nor can any vanquisher overcome Him. He admits His allies into Paradise without any barrier preventing Him, and He admits His enemies into the Fire without any helper supporting them against Him. He grants respite to the disobedient as He wills until He recompenses them, or He hastens punishment for some if He wills, and punishes whomever He wills in this world and the Hereafter. He does what He wills from these actions and others.

(Verses 13-17)

هَلْ أَتَاكَ حَدِيثُ الْجُنُودِ * فِرْعَوْنَ وَثَمُودَ * بَلِ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا فِي تَكْذِيبٍ * وَاللَّهُ مِن وَرَائِهِم مُّحِيطٌ * بَلْ هُوَ قُرْآنٌ مَّجِيدٌ * فِي لَوْحٍ مَّحْفُوظٍ

Has there not reached you the story of the soldiers, Of Pharaoh and Thamūd? Nay, those who disbelieve are in denial. And Allah encompasses them from behind. Nay, it is a glorious Qur'an, In a Preserved Tablet.