Tafsir of Al-Furqan 25:22

{The day they see the angels...}

The word "day" (yawm) is in the accusative case (mansūb) due to one of two things:

1. What is indicated by {no good tidings}: Meaning, "On the day they see the angels, they are denied good tidings or deprived of them." The phrase "on that day" (yawma’idhin) is for emphasis.
2. An implied verb (Remember): Meaning, "Remember the day they see the angels." Then He says: {no good tidings on that day for the criminals.}

{A forbidden barrier} (ḥijran maḥjūran):

Sibawayh mentioned this in the chapter on non-inflected verbal nouns (maṣādir) that are in the accusative case due to verbs whose expression is omitted, such as: "I seek refuge in God" (maʿādha Allāh), "By your sitting" (qaʿdaka Allāh), and "By your life" (ʿumruka Allāh).

This was a phrase they used when encountering a vengeful enemy, the onset of a calamity, or similar situations. They used it in place of seeking refuge. Sibawayh said: If a man says to another, "Will you do such and such?" the other replies, "A barrier!" (ḥijran). It is derived from "to forbid" (ḥajara), meaning to prevent. Because the one seeking refuge is asking God to prevent the disliked thing from reaching him, the meaning is: "I ask God to prevent that with a prevention, and to bar it with a barrier."

Its appearance as ḥijran or ḥujran (in the reading of al-Hasan) is a variation used because it is restricted to one specific context, just as qaʿdaka and ʿumruka are. A rajaz poet recited: And I said, while in it there was evasion and panic: I seek refuge in my Lord from you, and a barrier.

If you ask: Since it is established that it is a verbal noun, what is the meaning of describing it as "forbidden" (maḥjūr)? I say: This adjective comes to emphasize the meaning of "barrier," just as they say: "a base humiliation" (dhaylun dhā’il), where dhayl is humiliation; and "a dying death" (mawtun mā’it).

The meaning in the verse is: They request the descent of the angels and demand it, yet when they see them at the time of death or on the Day of Resurrection, they dislike meeting them and are terrified of them, because they only meet them with what they dislike. Upon seeing them, they say what they used to say when encountering a vengeful enemy or a severe calamity.

It is also said: It is from the speech of the angels, meaning: "Forbidden, strictly forbidden for you is forgiveness, Paradise, and good tidings." That is, God has made that forbidden for you.

{And We shall turn to whatever deeds they did and make them scattered dust.}