Tafsir of Ibraheem 14:48-51

Its grammatical position is as a substitute (badal) for "the day" (yawm) in "the day they come to them," or as an adverb of time for "retribution." The meaning is: the day this earth you know is replaced by another earth, different from this known one, and likewise the heavens.

"Replacement" (tabdīl) means changing. It can apply to substances, as when you say, "I replaced dirhams with dinars," or as in the verses: "We replaced them with skins other than them" (4:56) and "We replaced their two gardens with two others" (34:16). It can also apply to attributes, as when you say, "I replaced the ring with a seal," meaning you melted it and reshaped it, moving it from one form to another. From this is His saying: "God will replace their evil deeds with good deeds" (25:70).

There is disagreement regarding the replacement of the earth and heavens:

• Some say: Their attributes are changed; the mountains are removed from the earth, the seas are made to gush forth, and it is leveled so that no crookedness or unevenness is seen in it.
• Ibn Abbas said: It is the same earth, but it is altered. He recited:
  • The people are not the people I once knew,
  • Nor is the land the land you used to recognize.
• The heavens are replaced by the scattering of their stars, the eclipsing of their sun, the darkening of their moon, their splitting, and their becoming like doors.
• Others say: A different earth and heavens are created in their place.
• Ibn Mas‘ud and Anas said: People will be gathered on a white earth where no one has ever committed a sin.
• Ali (may God be pleased with him) said: It is replaced by an earth of silver and heavens of gold.
• Al-Dahhak said: An earth of white silver like sheets.

It is also read as "the day We replace" (nubaddilu) with an nūn.

If you ask: How did He say "the One, the Prevailing" (al-wāḥid al-qahhār)? I say: It is like His saying, "To whom does the kingdom belong today? To God, the One, the Prevailing" (40:16). Because when the kingdom belongs to One who is dominant—who cannot be overcome or opposed—there is no refuge or sanctuary for anyone with anyone else, and the matter becomes one of extreme difficulty and severity.

{Mugarranīn}: Bound together with one another, or with the devils, or their hands are bound to their feet in shackles.

{In the shackles} (fī al-aṣfād): This either relates to "bound" (mugarranīn), meaning they are bound in shackles, or it does not relate to it, in which case the meaning is: bound and shackled. Al-aṣfād are fetters or chains. Salamah ibn Jandal said:

• And Zayd al-Khayl has met a shackle,
• Biting into the forearm and the bone of the leg.

{Qatrān} (Tar): There are three dialects: qaṭrān, qiṭrān, and quṭrān (with the qāf opened, broken, or with a quiescent ṭā’). It is what is extracted from a tree called the abhal (juniper), which is then cooked. It is used to smear mangy camels, and its heat and sharpness burn the mange and the skin; its heat can even reach the internal organs. It is known for accelerating the ignition of fire, and it is sometimes used for lamps. It is black in color and foul-smelling. The skins of the people of the Fire will be coated with it until the coating becomes like garments (sarābīl)—which are shirts—so that four things combine upon them: the stinging of the tar, its burning, the acceleration of the fire on their skins, and the hideous color and foul smell.

However, the difference between these two types of "tar" (the worldly and the otherworldly) is like the difference between the two fires. Everything God has promised in the Hereafter is of a nature so far beyond what we observe that its magnitude cannot be estimated; it is as if we possess only the names, while the realities are there. Through His vast generosity, we seek refuge from His wrath and ask Him for the success that will save us from His punishment.

It is also read as "from qiṭr" (molten copper or brass). Al-ānī means that which has reached its peak in heat.

{And the Fire will cover their faces}: Like His saying, "Is he who shields himself with his face from the evil of the punishment?" (39:24) and "The day they are dragged into the Fire on their faces" (54:48). This is because the face is the most honored and noble part of the outer body, just as the heart is in the inner body. That is why He said, "Which mounts to the hearts" (104:7). It is also read as "their faces will be covered" (tataghashshā), meaning the criminals will be treated in such a way that...

{So that God may recompense every soul}—every criminal soul—{for what it has earned}, or every soul, whether criminal or obedient, because when He punishes the criminals for their crimes, it is known that He rewards the obedient for their obedience.

{This is a notification for the people, and that they may be warned by it, and that they may know that He is but one God, and that those of understanding may take heed.}