Tafsir of An-Naml 27:8

{أن} (That): It is al-mufassira (explicative), because the act of calling contains the meaning of speech. The meaning is: "It was said to him: 'Blessed...'"

If you ask: Is it permissible for it to be the mukhaffafa (lightened) form of the muthaqqala (heavy) anna, with the estimation: "He was called that [it is the case that] he is blessed," with the pronoun being the dhamir al-sha'n (pronoun of state)?

I say: No, because that would require the particle qad.

If you ask: What if it is implied?

I say: That is not valid, for qad is a marker that cannot be omitted.

The meaning of {Blessed is whoever is in the fire and whoever is around it}: Blessed is whoever is in the place of the fire, and whoever is around its place. Its place is the spot where it occurred, which is the "Blessed Spot" mentioned in His saying: "He was called from the right side of the valley, in the blessed spot" (Al-Qasas: 30). This is supported by the reading of Ubayy: "The land and whoever is around it is blessed." Another narration from him says: "The fire is blessed."

The reason the spot was blessed, and those within and around it were blessed, is the occurrence of a religious event therein: God speaking to Moses, commissioning him as a prophet, and manifesting miracles through him. Often, a good event occurs in certain places, and God spreads the blessing of that good throughout its furthest reaches, scattering the traces of its prosperity to its most distant parts. How much more so, then, with such a momentous event that took place in that spot!

It is said: The "blessed ones" refers to Moses and the angels present. However, the apparent meaning is general, encompassing everyone who was in that land, that valley, and their surroundings in the land of the Levant (al-Sham). God has marked the land of the Levant with blessings, as in His saying: "And We saved him and Lot to the land which We have blessed for the worlds" (Al-Anbiya: 71). It is fitting that it be so, for it is the place where prophets were sent, the landing place of revelation, and their refuge both in life and in death.

If you ask: What is the meaning of God beginning His address to Moses with this upon his arrival?

I say: It is a glad tiding to him that a momentous affair has been decreed, from which blessing will spread throughout the entire land of the Levant.

{And exalted is God, Lord of the worlds}: This is to cause Moses (peace be upon him) to marvel at that, and an indication that the One who wills and creates that affair is the Lord of the worlds, alerting him that what is about to happen is among the most significant of matters and the greatest of affairs.