Tafsir of Ya seen 36:8

"Indeed, We have placed..."

Then, He provides a parable for their determination to disbelieve and the impossibility of their being deterred. He likens them to those who are shackled and forced to look upward, in that they do not turn toward the truth, nor do they incline their necks toward it, nor do they bow their heads before it. He also likens them to those caught between two barriers, unable to see what is in front of them or behind them, in that they possess no contemplation or insight, and are willfully blind to reflecting upon the signs of Allah.

If you ask: What is the meaning of His saying, "so they are up to the chins"? I say: It means the shackles are reaching the chins and are pressed tightly against them. This is because the collar of the shackle around the neck of the shackled person has its two ends meet under the chin in a ring, with the head of a rod protruding from the ring toward the chin. This prevents him from bowing his head or lowering his nape, so he remains muqmah (forced to look upward).

Al-muqmah is one who raises his head and lowers his gaze. It is said: "The camel is qāmiḥ (raising its head)" when it has drunk its fill and raises its head. From this comes the term shahrā qamāḥ (the two months of Qamāḥ), referring to the two months of Kanūn (December and January), because camels raise their heads away from the water due to its coldness during those months.

If you ask: What do you say about those who refer the pronoun [in "they are up to"] to the "hands," claiming that since the shackle gathers the hand and the neck—and is thus called a jāmiʿah (gatherer)—the mention of the necks implies the mention of the hands? I say: The correct interpretation is what I have mentioned to you. The evidence for this is His saying, "so they are forced to look upward." Do you not see how He made the iqmāḥ (looking upward) a result of His saying, "so they are up to the chins"? If the pronoun referred to the hands, the causal link to the iqmāḥ would not be apparent. Furthermore, this interpretation involves a degree of forced reasoning, abandoning the apparent meaning—which the context naturally demands—in favor of a hidden meaning that the text rejects, and leaving the clear, radiant truth for a stammering falsehood.

If you ask: But Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) recited it as "in their hands," and Ibn Masʿūd as "in their right hands." Does this allow for the pronoun to refer to the hands or the right hands? I say: Even if the forced interpretation of the pronoun were to be accepted, the text still resists it, as the pronoun clearly refers to the shackles, and the meaning is sound as I have described.

"Saddan" (a barrier) is read with both fatḥ (sadd) and ḍamm (sudd). It is said that what is made by human labor is with fatḥ, and what is created by Allah is with ḍamm.

"So We have covered them" means We have covered their sight; that is, We have veiled it and placed a covering over it so that it cannot look toward anything visible. Mujāhid said: "We have covered them" means We have clothed their sight with a veil. It has also been read with an ʿayn (ʿashā - blindness).

It is said that this was revealed regarding the Banū Makhzūm. Abū Jahl swore that if he saw Muhammad praying, he would crush his head. He approached him while he was praying, carrying a stone to strike him. When he raised his hand, it became fixed to his neck, and the stone stuck to his hand until they freed him with great difficulty. He returned to his people and told them. Another Makhzūmī said, "I will kill him with this stone." He went, and Allah blinded his eyes.

"And it is all the same for them whether you warn them or do not warn them, they will not believe. You can only warn one who follows the Reminder and fears the Most Merciful unseen. So give him tidings of forgiveness and a noble reward."