Tafsir of Al-Mulk 67:22

"Is he who walks prone upon his face..."

Some make akabba (to fall prone) the intransitive form (muṭāwiʿ) of kabbahu (he caused him to fall prone). They say: "I caused him to fall, so he fell," which is among the rare and irregular usages. Similar to this is: "The wind cleared the clouds (qashaʿa), so they cleared (aqshaʿa)."

However, this is not the case; no verb of the form afʿala acts as an intransitive (muṭāwiʿ). Only those who have mastered the book of Sībawayh can grasp this. In reality, akabba belongs to the category of anfaḍa (to have much dust) and laʾama (to have many base people), meaning: he entered into the state of falling prone, or became one who falls prone. Likewise, aqshaʿa al-saḥāb means: it entered into the state of clearing. The true intransitive forms of kabba and qashaʿa are inkabba and inqashaʿa.

If you ask: What is the meaning of "walking prone upon his face," and how does it contrast with "walking upright on a straight path"?

I say: Its meaning is that he walks stumbling in a place that is not level, containing depressions and elevations, so he trips every hour and falls upon his face, prone. His state is the opposite of the one who walks sawiyyan (upright), meaning: standing tall, safe from tripping and falling. Or, it means one who walks on a level path with little deviation, as opposed to the one who stumbles, deviating this way and that on a path that is not level.

It is also possible that it refers to the blind man who cannot find the path, so he stumbles and keeps falling upon his face. This is a parable for the believer and the disbeliever; the disbeliever is not like the upright man who has sound vision, walks on the path, and is guided by it.

Qatadah said: The disbeliever fell prone into the disobedience of Allah, so Allah will gather him on the Day of Resurrection upon his face.

Al-Kalbi said: It refers to Abu Jahl ibn Hisham, and by "the upright one" (the sawiyy), it refers to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). It is also said that it refers to Hamza ibn Abd al-Muttalib.

"And they say, 'When is this promise, if you should be truthful?' Say, 'The knowledge is only with Allah, and I am only a clear warner.' But when they see it approaching, the faces of those who disbelieved will be distressed, and it will be said, 'This is that which you used to call for.'"