Tafsir of Al-Mursalat 77:25

"Kifatan" (a receptacle/gathering place): Derived from kafta (to gather/collect something). It is a noun for that which gathers, similar to saying dimam (that which encloses) or jama' (that which collects). One says, "This chapter is the jama' (collection) of all chapters."

It is in the accusative case (nasb) due to the implied meaning of "gathering" (kāfitatan), as if it were said: "Gathering the living and the dead." Alternatively, it is governed by an implied verb indicated by the noun, which is takfutu (it gathers). The meaning is: It gathers the living upon its back and the dead within its belly.

Some followers of Al-Shafi‘i (may Allah have mercy on him) used this as evidence for the punishment of the grave-robber (nabbāsh), arguing that since Allah made the earth a kifāt (receptacle) for the dead, its interior serves as a hirz (protected place/sanctuary) for them; therefore, the grave-robber is a thief who has stolen from a sanctuary.

If you ask: Why were "living" (aḥyā') and "dead" (amwāt) mentioned with indefinite articles (tanwīr), when it is a receptacle for all the living and the dead?

I reply: It is for the purpose of magnification (tafkhīm), as if to say: "It gathers living beings beyond count and dead beings beyond measure." Furthermore, the living and dead of humanity are not the entirety of all living and dead beings. It is also possible that the meaning is: "It gathers you, living and dead," in which case they are in the accusative as a state (ḥāl) of the pronoun, because it is already understood that it is a receptacle for humanity.

If you ask: What about the indefinite usage in "lofty mountains" (rawāsin shāmikhāt) and "sweet water" (mā'in furāt)?

I reply: It may imply partiality (tab'īḍ), because in the sky there are mountains—as Allah said: "And He sends down from the sky, from mountains within it, of hail" (An-Nur: 43)—and there is also sweet water in it; indeed, the sky is its source and origin. It may also be for the purpose of magnification.

"Depart to that which you used to deny. Depart to a shadow of three columns, neither providing shade nor availing against the flame. Indeed, it throws sparks like a fortress, as if they were yellow camels. Woe, that Day, to the deniers. This is a Day they will not speak, nor will it be permitted for them to offer excuses. Woe, that Day, to the deniers."