| Al-Balad: (11) So he did not ascend the steep path.

Then, the Most High indicated to His servants the virtuous ways in which wealth should be spent, and He made this disbeliever aware that his spending was corrupt and unbeneficial. Thus, He said: {So he did not ascend the steep path} (Al-Balad: 11).

There are several issues concerning this verse:

The Meaning of Iqtihām: Iqtihām means entering into a severe matter. It is said: qamaḥa, yaqmaḥu, quḥūman, and iqtaḥama, iqtihāman, and taqammaḥa, taqammuḥan when one rides al-qahm, which refers to perils and great matters.

The Meaning of Al-'Aqabah: Al-'Aqabah is a difficult, rugged path in a mountain. Its plural is al-'uqab and al-'iqāb.

The commentators have offered two interpretations for Al-'Aqabah here:

1. It refers to the Hereafter:
   • 'Aṭā’ said it means the steep path of Hellfire.
   • Al-Kalbī said it is a path between Paradise and Hellfire.
   • Ibn 'Umar said it is a slippery mountain in Hellfire.
   • Mujāhid and Al-Ḍaḥḥāk said it is the Ṣirāṭ (bridge) laid over Hellfire, which aligns with Al-Kalbī’s statement that it is the path between Paradise and Hellfire.
   • Critique: Al-Wāḥidī noted that this interpretation is questionable because it is known that humans and others did not ascend (or cross) the steep path of Hellfire. Applying the verse to this would be explaining the obvious. Furthermore, when Allah asked, {And what will make you know what the steep path is?} (Al-Balad: 12), He immediately explained it by mentioning freeing a slave and feeding the poor.

2. It is a Metaphor for Striving (Mujāhadah):
   • This interpretation, held by Al-Ḥasan and Muqātil, suggests that Al-'Aqabah here is a metaphor established by Allah for striving against the self (nafs) and Satan in acts of righteousness.
   • Al-Ḥasan said: "The steep path of Allah is severe; it is a person’s struggle against their own self, their desires, and their enemies among the devils of mankind and jinn."
   • My View (Al-Rāzī): This interpretation is the truth (al-ḥaqq). A person desires to ascend from the realm of the senses and imagination to the realm of Divine Lights. Undoubtedly, there are lofty obstacles ('aqabāt) between him and that realm, guarded by fiery bolts, and crossing them is difficult, and ascending toward them is arduous.

There is a linguistic issue in the verse: The particle lā (negation) that enters upon the past tense (māḍī) is usually repeated when listing multiple negations (e.g., lā jannabanī wa lā ba'danī - "do not keep me away and do not distance me"). Also, in the verse {So neither did he believe, nor did he pray} (Al-Qiyāmah: 31), the negation is repeated. However, in this verse, {So he did not ascend the steep path}, the repetition is absent. What is the reason?

This has been answered in several ways:

1. Semantic Repetition (Al-Zajjāj): The meaning is inherently repetitive because {So he did not ascend the steep path} implies "he did not free a slave, nor did he feed a poor person," as the ascent was explained by these acts. Furthermore, the subsequent verse, {Then he was not of those who believed} (Al-Balad: 17), also implies the meaning of {So he did not ascend the steep path}—that is, he did not believe.

2. The Function of Lā as Lam (Abū 'Alī Al-Fārisī): The meaning of {So he did not ascend the steep path} is equivalent to "He did not ascend the steep path" (lam yaqtaḥim al-'aqabah). When lā functions like lam (negating the past tense), repetition is not obligatory, just as repetition is not obligatory with lam (e.g., lam yusrifū wa lam yaqtarū - "nor did they spend wastefully, nor were they restrictive").

Al-Qaffāl suggested that the verse {So he did not ascend the steep path} is an imperative (amr) in meaning, implying: "Why did he not spend his wealth on that which involves ascending the steep path?"

The rest of the scholars, however, adhere to the literal meaning, which is a statement reporting that he did not ascend the steep path.

Then the Almighty said:

! 7 < { And what will make you know what the steep path is? } > 7 !

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