Surah Ibraheem 14:15
ﲓ ﲔ ﲕ ﲖ ﲗ
And they requested victory from Allah, and disappointed, [therefore], was every obstinate tyrant.
Tafsir of Ibraheem 14:15-17
Tafsir
Al-Kashshaf
Verse range: 14:15-17
{ واستفتحوا } They sought victory, meaning they asked God for help against their enemies. As in: {If you seek victory, then the victory has come to you} (Al-Anfal: 19). Or, they sought judgment from God, asking Him to decide between them, from *al-fatahah*, which means arbitration, as in His saying: {Our Lord, decide between us and our people in truth} (Al-A'raf: 89).
It is conjoined to {Their Lord inspired them}. It is also read as an imperative: Wastaftihu (Seek victory!). In this reading, it is conjoined to {We will surely destroy}, meaning: Their Lord inspired them and said to them, "We will surely destroy," and said to them, "Seek victory."
{ واستفتحوا وخاب كل جبار عنيد } Its meaning is: They were granted victory, triumphed, and succeeded, while every stubborn tyrant failed. These are their people.
It is also said: The disbelievers sought victory against the messengers, thinking they were on the truth and the messengers were on falsehood. Thus, every stubborn tyrant among them failed and did not succeed in his seeking of victory.
{ من ورائه } Meaning: from before him. It is said: *Perhaps the distress in which you are* *Will have a near relief behind it.*
This describes his state while in the world, for he is destined for Hell; it is as if it is before him, and he is on its brink. Or, it describes his state in the Hereafter when he is resurrected and made to stand.
If you ask: To what is {and he is given to drink} conjoined? I say: To an omitted phrase, the estimation of which is: "Behind him is Hell; he encounters in it what he encounters, and he is given to drink of purulent water." It is as if it is the most severe of its torments, so it is singled out for mention alongside His saying: {And death comes to him from every place, but he is not to die}.
If you ask: What is the aspect of His saying {of purulent water}? I say: Sadid (purulent) is an explanatory apposition (bayan) for ma' (water). He said: {given to drink of water}, then made it vague, then clarified it by saying {purulent}, which is what flows from the skins of the people of Hell.
{ يتجرعه ولا يكاد يسيغه } He forces himself to swallow it, {and he is not near to swallowing it}. The word *kada* (near to) is used for hyperbole. It means: he does not even approach swallowing it, so how could he actually swallow it? Like His saying: {He is not near to seeing it} (An-Nur: 40), meaning he does not even approach seeing it, so how could he see it?
{ ويأتيه الموت من كل مكان } It is as if all the causes and types of death have gathered against him and surrounded him from all directions, to emphasize the horror of the pains that afflict him. It is said: {From every place} means from his body, even from his big toe. It is also said: from the root of every hair.
{ ومن ورائه عذاب غليظ } Meaning: from before him. At every moment he faces, he encounters a torment more severe and thicker than the one before it. Al-Fudayl said: It is the cutting off of breath and its confinement within the bodies.
It is possible that the people of Mecca "sought victory" (istaftahu), meaning they sought rain—as fath can mean rain—during the years of drought sent upon them due to the prayer of the Messenger of God (peace be upon him), but they were not given rain. So, the Exalted mentioned that, and that He disappointed the hope of every stubborn tyrant, and that he will be given to drink in Hell, in place of the water he sought, another water: the purulent discharge of the people of Hell. Under this interpretation, {And they sought victory} is a new, independent statement, disconnected from the narrative of the messengers and their nations.