Tafsir of Al-Muddathir 74:11

{Leave Me and him whom I created alone}

{Alone} is a state (ḥāl) referring to Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He), interpreted in two ways:

1. "Leave Me alone with him," meaning: I will suffice you in taking vengeance upon him, better than any other avenger.
2. "I created him alone," meaning: No one partnered with Me in his creation.

Alternatively, it is a state referring to the created one, meaning: I created him while he was solitary and unique, possessing neither wealth nor children, similar to His saying: {And you have come to Us alone as We created you the first time} (Al-Anʿām: 94).

It is said this was revealed regarding Al-Walīd ibn al-Mughīrah al-Makhzūmī, who was nicknamed "Al-Waḥīd" (The Unique/The Solitary) among his people. Perhaps he was nicknamed this after the verse was revealed. If he was nicknamed this before, then it is a mockery of him and his title, subverting the intent they aimed for—praising him as the "unique one" of his people due to his leadership, wealth, and worldly status—into a meaning of blame and defect: that he was created alone, without wealth or children, then Allah granted him those things, yet he disbelieved in Allah’s favor, associated partners with Him, and mocked His religion.

{Extended} means: spread out and abundant, or "extended" through growth, from the expression "the cat stretched" or "the river extended." It is said he possessed crops, livestock, and trade. Ibn ʿAbbās said: It refers to the various types of wealth he held between Mecca and Ṭāʾif. Others say he had a garden in Ṭāʾif whose fruits never ceased, summer or winter. Some say he had 1,000 mithqāls, others 4,000, others 9,000, and some say a million. Ibn Jurayj said: The profit of a month for every month.

{And children present} means: they were always with him in Mecca, not departing for work or trade because they were provided for by their father’s abundant wealth and had no need to earn a living themselves. He was comforted by them; his heart was not occupied by their absence, nor did he fear the dangers of travel for them, nor did he grieve for their separation or long for them. It may also mean they were men who attended gatherings and assemblies with him, or whose testimony was heard in legal disputes. Mujāhid said he had ten sons. Others say thirteen, or seven—all men: Al-Walīd, Khālid, ʿUmārah, Hishām, Al-ʿĀṣ, Qays, and ʿAbd Shams. Three of them embraced Islam: Khālid, Hishām, and ʿUmārah.

{And I smoothed the way for him completely} means: I spread out for him broad influence and leadership among his people. I perfected My favor upon him with both wealth and status—the combination of which is perfection in the eyes of worldly people. From this is the people's saying: "May Allah perpetuate your support and your smoothing," meaning the increase of status and prestige. Al-Walīd was one of the notables and leaders of Quraysh; hence he was nicknamed "The Unique" and "The Basil of Quraysh."

{Then he desires} is an expression of disbelief and disapproval of his greed and covetousness. It means there is no increase beyond what he has already been given in terms of breadth and abundance. It is said he used to say: "If Muhammad is truthful, then Paradise was created only for me."

{No!} is a rebuke to him and a severance of his hope and greed.

{Indeed, he was stubborn toward Our signs} is a justification for the rebuke, presented as a new statement. As if someone asked: "Why will he not be given more?" The answer: He was stubborn toward the signs of the Bestower and thereby disbelieved in His favor, and the disbeliever does not deserve an increase. It is narrated that after this verse was revealed, he remained in a state of diminishing wealth until he perished.

{I will exhaust him with a difficult ascent} means: I will cover him with a mountain path that is difficult to climb. This is a metaphor for the arduous, unbearable torment he will encounter. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "He is tasked to climb a mountain in the Fire; every time he places his hand upon it, it melts, and when he lifts it, it returns. When he places his foot, it melts, and when he lifts it, it returns." And he (peace be upon him) said: "The Saʿūd is a mountain of fire; he climbs it for seventy years, then falls down it, and so on forever."

{Indeed, he thought} is a justification for the threat. It is as if Allah (Exalted is He) hastened his poverty after wealth and his humiliation after honor in this world due to his stubbornness, and he will be punished in the Hereafter with the most severe and hideous torment because he reached the limit and extreme of his stubbornness in his thinking and his labeling of the Qurʾān as magic.

It is possible that the word of rebuke is followed by {I will exhaust him with a difficult ascent} as a rejection of his claim that Paradise was created only for him, informing him that he is among the most severely punished of the people of the Fire. The justification for this is his stubbornness. {Indeed, he thought} would then be a substitute for {Indeed, he was stubborn toward Our signs}, explaining the nature of his stubbornness—meaning he thought about what to say regarding the Qurʾān.

{And he determined} within himself what to say and prepared it.

{So may he be destroyed, how he determined!} This expresses astonishment at his determination and his hitting the mark—hitting the target that the Quraysh were aiming for. Or, it is praise in the manner of mockery, or a narration of what they repeated. "May he be destroyed, how he determined!" is a mockery of them, their admiration for his determination, and their glorification of his words. The meaning of a speaker saying "May Allah destroy him, how brave he is!" or "May Allah disgrace him, how poetic he is!" is to signal that he has reached a level worthy of being envied, and thus the envier prays against him.

It is narrated that Al-Walīd said to the Banū Makhzūm: "By Allah, I have just heard from Muhammad words that are neither the words of humans nor of jinn. It has sweetness, it has beauty, its top is fruitful, its bottom is overflowing, and it rises and cannot be surpassed." Quraysh said: "By Allah, Al-Walīd has apostatized; by Allah, all of Quraysh will apostatize." Abū Jahl said: "I will handle him for you." He sat with him, saddened, and spoke to him in a way that angered him. Al-Walīd stood up and went to them, saying: "You claim Muhammad is mad—have you seen him choking? You say he is a soothsayer—have you ever seen him practicing soothsaying? You claim he is a poet—have you ever seen him composing poetry? You claim he is a liar—have you tested any lies upon him?" They said in all of this: "By Allah, no." Then they said: "Then what is he?" He thought and said: "He is nothing but a magician. Have you not seen him separate a man from his wife, his children, and his kin? What he says is nothing but magic he has learned from Musaylimah and the people of Babylon." The assembly erupted in joy, and they dispersed, admiring his statement and astonished by it.

{Then he looked} at the faces of the people, {then he frowned}, {then he turned back} in retreat, {and was arrogant} when the heinous word crossed his mind. He intended to throw it out, describing the forms he had shaped until he deduced what he deduced, in mockery of him. It is also said: He determined what to say, then looked into it, then frowned when the tricks became narrow for him and he did not know what to say. It is also said: He frowned at the face of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him).

{Then he turned his back} on the truth, {and was arrogant} toward it, and said what he said. {Then he looked} is a conjunction to {he thought and determined}, and the imprecation is an interruption between them.

If you ask: "What is the meaning of thumma (then) used in the repetition of the imprecation?" I say: To indicate that the second instance is more emphatic than the first. Similar to the saying: "Oh, be safe, then be safe, then be safe."

If you ask: "What is the meaning of the thumma placed between the verbs that follow?" I say: To indicate that he took his time in contemplation and deliberation, as if there is a delay and distance between the coordinated verbs.

If you ask: "Why was it said {Then he said} with the fāʾ (so) after coordinating what preceded it with thumma?" I say: Because when the word crossed his mind after the search, he could not help but utter it without delay.

If you ask: "Why was the conjunction not placed between the two sentences?" I say: Because the second one functions in relation to the first as an emphasis to the emphasized.