Tafsir of Qaf 50:1-3

Qāf, and the Glorious Qur’an.

The discourse regarding {Qāf, and the Glorious Qur’an} is identical to that of {Ṣād, and the Qur’an, possessor of the Reminder. Nay, those who disbelieve...} (Ṣād: 1–2), as they both converge in a single stylistic approach.

The Glorious (al-Majīd): Possessing glory and honor above all other books. Whoever encompasses its meanings with knowledge and acts upon what is within it becomes glorious before God and before people. It is through a connection to God, the Glorious (al-Majīd), that it is permissible for it to be described by His attribute.

His saying, "Nay, they wondered": {That a warner from among them has come to them} is a rejection of their wonderment at that which is not a matter of wonder. It is that a man from among them—whose lineage, justice, and trustworthiness they have known—should warn them of fear. Whoever is of such a character can only be a sincere advisor to his people, compassionate toward them, and fearful that harm might reach them or misfortune befall them. If he knows that a danger has loomed over them, it is incumbent upon him to warn and caution them; how much more so regarding that which is the ultimate of fears and the extremity of dangers?

It is also a rejection of their wonderment at what he warned them of—the Resurrection—despite their knowledge of God Almighty’s power to create the heavens and the earth and what is between them, His ability to originate and innovate all things, their own admission of the first creation, and the testimony of reason that there must be a recompense.

Then, He relied upon one of the two rejections with His saying: {But the disbelievers said, "This is a strange thing. When we have died..."} as an indication that their wonderment at the Resurrection is more deeply rooted in improbability and more deserving of rejection. The noun "the disbelievers" was placed in the position of the pronoun to testify that, in this statement of theirs, they are embarking upon grave disbelief.

"This" (hādhā): An allusion to the return (to life). "When" (idhā): Governed by an implied verb; its meaning is: "Shall we return when we die and decay?" {That is a far return}: Improbable and rejected, like your saying: "This is a far-fetched statement." One says, "So-and-so has gone far (abʿada) in his statement." Its meaning is: far from imagination and custom.

It is permissible for "the return" (al-rajʿ) to mean "the returned" (al-marjūʿ), which is the answer. In this interpretation, it is the speech of God Almighty, expressing the improbability of their denial of the Resurrection they were warned about; pausing before it, according to this interpretation, is good.

It has been recited: (idhā mitnā) as a declarative statement, meaning: "When we die, after we return," and what points to this is {That is a far return}.

If you ask: What is the governor of the adverb (idhā) if "the return" means "the returned"? I say: That which is indicated by the warner regarding that which is warned of, which is the Resurrection.

{We know what the earth consumes of them, and with Us is a preserved record.}