Tafsir of Maryam 19:66

It is possible that "man" refers to the entire human species, or to a specific portion of it, namely the disbelievers.

If you ask: How is it permissible to intend all humans when not all of them say this? I reply: Because this statement exists among those who are of their kind, it is valid to attribute it to all of them. Just as people say, "The Banu Fulan killed so-and-so," even though the killer was only one man among them. Al-Farazdaq said: The sword of the Banu ‘Abs—though they struck with it— Glanced off, by the hands of Warqa’, from the head of Khalid. He attributed the striking to the Banu ‘Abs, despite saying "by the hands of Warqa’," who was Warqa’ ibn Zuhayr ibn Judhayma al-‘Absi.

If you ask: What governs the accusative case of idha (when), given that its governance by ukhraj (I shall be brought forth) is prevented by the lam (the emphatic lam of la-uskhraju)? For you cannot say, "Today for Zayd I am standing." I reply: It is governed by an implied verb indicated by the mentioned one.

If you ask: The lam of commencement (lam al-ibtida’) entering upon the imperfect verb gives it the meaning of the present, so how does it combine with a particle of the future? I reply: It does not combine with it except as a pure intensifier, just as the hamza in Ya Allah is used for compensation, while its meaning of definition (the vocative) fades away. The ma in a-idha ma is also for emphasis. It is as if they said: "Shall I truly be brought forth alive when death and destruction have taken hold of me?"—expressed in a tone of denial and improbability.

The meaning is either being brought forth from the earth or from the state of annihilation. Or, it is like their saying, "So-and-so went out a scholar" or "went out brave," meaning he was rare in that state. He means: "Shall I be brought forth alive, as a rarity?"—by way of mockery.

Al-Hasan and Abu Haywa read: la-sawfa ukhraju. From Talha ibn Musarrif, may Allah be pleased with him, it is reported as la-sa-ukhraju, like the reading of Ibn Mas‘ud, may Allah be pleased with him, in wa-la-sa-yu‘tika.

The fronting of the adverbial phrase (idha) and placing it before the particle of denial is because the time after death is when the state of life is denied; hence their denial stems from it. It is like saying to one who does evil to a benefactor: "Is it at the time when the favor of so-and-so has been completed upon you that you do evil to him?"

The waw (in wa-la yadhkurun) conjoins "they do not remember" to "he says," and the hamza of denial is placed between the conjoined and the conjunction. It means: Does he say that, yet not remember the first creation, so that he might not deny the second? For the first is more wondrous, stranger, and more indicative of the Creator’s power, as He brought substances and accidents from non-existence into existence, then arranged them, filled with various forms of wisdom that baffle the intellects, without following a model or imitating a designer. Rather, it was an invention and an origination from a Powerful One, whose power is exalted and whose wisdom is subtle.

As for the second (the resurrection), its counterpart has already passed, and it has become like a model to be followed. It involves nothing but the assembly of existing, remaining parts, their composition, and their return to the state they were in before being dismantled and scattered. His saying, "And he was nothing," is proof of this meaning, as is His saying, "And it is easier for Him" (Ar-Rum: 27). This indicates that for the Lord of Might, both creations are the same; there is no difference in His power between the difficult and the easy. He does not need to follow a model, seek help from a wise one, or look at a scale. Rather, He confronts the denier of the resurrection with this to push him into the sea of his own obstinacy and to uncover the surface of his ignorance.

All reciters read la yadhkurun with a shadda (doubled dh), except for Nafi‘, Ibn ‘Amir, and ‘Asim, may Allah be pleased with them, who read it with a light dh. In the codex of Ubayy, it is yatadhakkarun. "Before" refers to the state he is currently in, which is the state of his remaining (alive).

"Then by your Lord, We will surely gather them and the devils; then We will surely bring them to be present around Hell on their knees. Then We will surely extract from every sect whichever of them was most intense against the Most Merciful in insolence. Then We are most knowing of those who are most worthy of burning therein."