Tafsir of Al-Mursalat 77:29

It is said to them: "Depart to that which you used to deny of the punishment." The second "depart" is a repetition for emphasis. It is also read as inṭalaqū (in the past tense), serving as a report following the command, describing their inevitable action, for they are compelled to it and cannot refuse.

"To a shadow..." Meaning the smoke of Hell, as in His saying: "And a shadow of black smoke" (56:43).

"Of three branches" It branches out due to its immense size into three sections. This is how great smoke appears, with its plumes spreading out. It is also said that a tongue of fire emerges and surrounds the disbelievers like a canopy, and from its smoke, three branches emerge to shade them until their reckoning is finished, while the believers are in the shade of the Throne.

"Neither cooling" A mockery of them, implying that their shade is not like the shade of the believers.

"Nor availing" It is in the genitive case, meaning: it does not avail them anything against the heat of the flames.

"Against sparks" Also read as bisharār.

"Like a palace" Meaning each spark is like a palace in its magnitude. It is also said that qaṣr refers to thick trees (singular: qaṣrah), like jamrah and jamr. It is also read as al-qaṣar (with two fatḥas), meaning the necks of camels or the trunks of palm trees. Ibn Mas‘ūd read it as al-quṣūr (plural of qaṣr). Sa‘īd ibn Jubayr read it as al-qiṣar, the plural of qiṣrah.

"Like yellow camels" Jamālah is the plural of jamal (camel). They are likened to palaces, then to camels to clarify the comparison. Do you not see them likening camels to tall buildings and fortresses? It is also read as jamālāt (with a damma), meaning the thick ropes of ships.

"Yellow" Intended as a generic description. Some say they are black, tending toward yellow. In the poetry of ‘Imrān ibn Ḥiṭṭān the Kharijite: "She called them with her loudest voice and pelted them / With the likes of yellow camels, stripping away the skin."

Abū al-‘Alā’ [al-Ma‘arrī] said: "Red, with bright plumes in the darkness / Throwing every spark like a tent-covering (ṭirāf)." He likened it to a ṭirāf (a leather tent) in size and redness. It seems he intended, in his malice, to surpass the Quranic simile. In his arrogance over what he imagined to be an improvement, he began his verse with "red" to prepare for it, draw attention to it, and alert the listeners to its status. But he was blinded—may God blind him in both worlds—to the Almighty’s saying: "Like yellow camels." For it is equivalent to saying "like a red tent."

The comparison to a qaṣr (fortress) is a simile from two aspects: size and height in the air. The comparison to jamālāt (thick ropes) is a simile from three aspects: size, length, and yellowness. May God distance his attempt at strangeness in his ṭirāf and the puffing of his cheeks in his self-admiration.

"This is the Day of Decision..." It is read with the accusative al-yawma (the Day), as al-A‘mash read it, meaning: "This which is recounted to you is what happens on that Day." The Day of Resurrection is long, with many stations and times; they speak at one time and do not speak at another. That is why both states are mentioned in the Quran. Or, their speech is rendered as no speech at all, because it is of no benefit and is not heard.

"So they will not be permitted to offer excuses" Conjoined to "they will not be permitted" (yu’dhanu), falling into the sequence of negation. The meaning is: they will have no permission and no subsequent excuse. It is not made a consequence of the permission; had it been in the accusative, it would have been a necessary consequence of it.