Al-Kashshaf on Ibraheem 14:21

Surah Ibraheem 14:21

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ﱗ ﱘ ﱙ ﱚ ﱛ ﱜ ﱝ ﱞ ﱟ ﱠ ﱡ ﱢ ﱣ ﱤ ﱥ ﱦ ﱧ ﱨ ﱩ ﱪ ﱫ ﱬ ﱭ ﱮ ﱯ ﱰ ﱱ ﱲ ﱳ ﱴ ﱵ ﱶ ﱷ ﱸ ﱹ ﱺ

And they will come out [for judgement] before Allah all together, and the weak will say to those who were arrogant, "Indeed, we were your followers, so can you avail us anything against the punishment of Allah?" They will say, "If Allah had guided us, we would have guided you. It is all the same for us whether we show intolerance or are patient: there is for us no place of escape."

{And they appeared before Allah} They will appear on the Day of Resurrection. It is expressed in the past tense because what the Almighty has foretold is so certain that it is as if it has already occurred and exists. Similar to this is: {And the companions of Paradise called out} (Al-A'raf: 44).

{And the companions of the Fire called out} Regarding the waw before the hamza (in the orthography of the Quran): It was written according to the pronunciation of those who emphasize the alif before the hamza, inclining it toward a waw. An example is {with me, the Children of Israel} (Ash-Shu'ara: 197).

{The weak} These are the followers and the commoners.

{And those who were arrogant} These are their masters and leaders who led them astray, seduced them, and prevented them from listening to the Prophets and their followers.

{Followers} Plural of tābi' (follower), based on taba'. Similar to how they say khādim (servant) and khadam, or ghā'ib (absent) and ghuyyab, or dhawī taba'. Al-taba' means the followers; it is said: tabi'ahu taba'an.

{From the punishment of Allah} and {from anything} If you ask: What is the difference between min (from) in these two instances? I say: The first is for clarification (tabyīn), and the second is for partitivity (tab'īḍ). It is as if it were said: "Can you spare us some of the thing that is the punishment of Allah?" It is also possible that both are for partitivity, meaning: "Can you spare us some thing that is a part of the punishment of Allah?"—that is, a part of a part of the punishment.

{If Allah had guided us, we would have guided you} The weak spoke to them in reproach and blame for having led them astray. Their statement {So are you going to spare us?} is a form of mockery (tabkīt), for they knew the arrogant could not spare them anything. The arrogant replied with an excuse: that if Allah had guided them to faith, they would have guided the weak and not led them astray. They either attribute the guilt of their misguidance to Allah—as He recounted: {If Allah had willed, we would not have associated others with Him} (Al-An'am: 148)—or they mean: "If we had been among the people of grace, and our Lord had shown us grace and we had been guided, we would have guided you."

Others say it means: "If Allah had guided us to the path of salvation from the punishment, we would have guided you," meaning we would have spared you and led you to the path of salvation just as we led you to the path of destruction.

{It is all the same to us whether we show intolerance or are patient} It is narrated that they say: "Let us show intolerance," and they do so for five hundred years, but it avails them nothing. Then they say: "Let us be patient," and they are patient for the same duration, then they say: "It is all the same to us."

If you ask: How does "It is all the same to us" connect to what precedes it? I say: It connects because their reproach was a form of intolerance toward their situation. They said this to themselves and to the others, as they were united in the punishment of the misguidance they shared. They mean: "What is the point of this intolerance and reproach? There is no benefit in intolerance, just as there is no benefit in patience; the matter is far greater than that." Or, having said "If Allah had guided us... we would have spared you," they followed it with despair of salvation, saying: {We have no place of escape}—that is, no savior or refuge, whether we show intolerance or patience. It is also possible that this is spoken by both the weak and the arrogant together. Al-maḥīṣ can be a verbal noun (like maghīb or mashīb) or a place (like mabīt or maṣīf). It is said ḥāṣa 'anhu and jāḍa 'anhu, both meaning the same thing.

{And Satan will say when the matter has been concluded, "Indeed, Allah had promised you the promise of truth. And I promised you, but I betrayed you. But I had no authority over you except that I invited you, and you responded to me. So do not blame me; but blame yourselves. I cannot be called to your aid, nor can you be called to my aid. Indeed, I deny your association of me with Allah before. Indeed, for the wrongdoers is a painful punishment."}

Tafsir of Ibraheem 14:21

Al-Kashshaf

{And they appeared before Allah} They will appear on the Day of Resurrection. It is expressed in the past tense because what the Almighty has foretold is so certain that it is as if it has already occurred and exists. Similar to this is: {And the companions of Paradise called out} (Al-A'raf: 44).

{The weak} These are the followers and the commoners.

{And those who were arrogant} These are their masters and leaders who led them astray, seduced them, and prevented them from listening to the Prophets and their followers.

{Followers} Plural of *tābi'* (follower), based on *taba'*. Similar to how they say *khādim* (servant) and *khadam*, or *ghā'ib* (absent) and *ghuyyab*, or *dhawī taba'*. *Al-taba'* means the followers; it is said: *tabi'ahu taba'an*.

{Followers} Plural of tābi' (follower), based on taba'. Similar to how they say khādim (servant) and khadam, or ghā'ib (absent) and ghuyyab, or dhawī taba'. Al-taba' means the followers; it is said: tabi'ahu taba'an.