Tafsir of Ghafir 40:69-76

{In the Book}: In the Qur’an. {And that with which We sent Our messengers}: Of the Scriptures.

If you ask: Is the statement {Then they will come to know * when the shackles are on their necks} like saying, "I will fast yesterday"? I reply: The meaning is based on "when" (idh). However, because future events in the reports of Allah Almighty are certain and definitive, they are expressed using the wording of what has already occurred and existed, though the meaning remains in the future.

It is narrated from Ibn Abbas: {And the chains, they are dragged} (wa-al-salāsilu yusḥabūn) in the nominative case with a fatha on the ya, by joining a verbal sentence to a nominal one. Also from him: {And the chains, they are dragged} (wa-al-salāsila yusḥabūn) as the object of "dragged." The justification is that if one were to say, "When their necks are in the shackles" instead of {when the shackles are on their necks}, it would be correct and sound. Since these are interchangeable expressions, the word {and the chains} is carried over to the other expression. Its parallel is the verse: They are ill-omened, not reformers of a clan, Nor is there a croaker except that its crow is for separation. (It is as if it were said: "They are not reformers.")

It is also recited: {And with chains they are dragged} (wa-bi-al-salāsili yusḥabūn).

{In the Fire they are fueled}: From sajara al-tannūr (the oven was fueled), meaning he filled it with fuel. From this is al-sajīr, as if it were filled with love, meaning: filled. Its meaning is that they are in the Fire, so it surrounds them, and they are fueled by the Fire, their interiors filled with it. From this is His saying: {The kindled fire of Allah * which mounts to the hearts} (Al-Humazah: 7). O Allah, protect us from Your Fire, for we seek refuge in Your neighborhood.

{They have strayed from us}: They have disappeared from our sight, so we do not see them nor do we benefit from them.

If you ask: Did you not mention in the interpretation of His saying: {Indeed, you and what you worship other than Allah are the firewood of Hell} (Al-Anbiya: 98) that they are joined with their gods? How can they be with them while they have strayed from them? I reply: It is possible that they stray from them when they are rebuked and told: "Where are those you used to associate with Allah so that they might help you and intercede for you?" It is also possible they are with them at other times, or at all times; yet, because they did not benefit them, it is as if they have strayed from them.

{Rather, we did not invoke anything before}: Meaning: It has become clear to us that they were not "anything," and what we used to worship was not "anything," just as you say: "I thought so-and-so was something, but when I tested him, I found he was nothing," having seen no good in him.

{Thus does Allah lead the disbelievers astray}: Just as their gods stray from them, He leads them away from their gods, until if they sought the gods or the gods sought them, they would not encounter one another.

{Because}: The leading astray is because of the joy and exultation you had. {Without right}: Which is polytheism and the worship of idols.

{Enter the gates of Hell}: The seven gates allotted to you. Allah Almighty said: {It has seven gates; for every gate is a portion of them allotted} (Al-Hijr: 44). {Abiding eternally}: Destined for eternity. {How wretched is the residence of the arrogant}: Those who are arrogant toward the truth and belittle it. Your residence, or Hell, is wretched.

If you ask: Is the standard of the composition not to say, "How wretched is the entrance of the arrogant," just as you say: "Visit the House of Allah, for it is a blessed place to visit," and "Pray in the Sacred Mosque, for it is a blessed place to pray"? I reply: The entry, being qualified by eternity, carries the meaning of "residence" (thawā’).

{So be patient; indeed, the promise of Allah is truth. Whether We show you some of what We promise them or We take you in death, it is to Us they will be returned.}