Tafseer of Abraham · Ibrahim · 14:21
And they will come out [for judgement] before Allah all together, and the weak will say to those who were arrogant, "Indeed, we were your followers, so can you avail us anything against the punishment of Allah?" They will say, "If Allah had guided us, we would have guided you. It is all the same for us whether we show intolerance or are patient: there is for us no place of escape."
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
Abū Jaʿfar said: By His words — وَبَرَزُوا لِلَّهِ جَمِيعًا (and they all appeared before Allah) — Allah, exalted be His remembrance, means that those who disbelieved in Him will, on the Day of Resurrection, rise up from their graves and find themselves in the open, exposed part of the earth (4), all together — that is to say: all of them. فَقَالَ الضُّعَفَاءُ لِلَّذِينَ اسْتَكْبَرُوا (and the weak will say to those who were arrogant) — He means: the followers among them will say to those who were followed, namely those who in the worldly life were too proud to devote themselves sincerely and purely to Allah and to follow the messengers who were sent to them. (6) إِنَّا كُنَّا لَكُمْ تَبَعًا (we were your followers) — in the worldly life.
"Al-tabaʿ" is the plural of "tābiʿ" (follower), just as "al-ghayab" is the plural of "ghāʾib" (one who is absent).
What they meant by: إِنَّا كُنَّا لَكُمْ تَبَعًا is that they followed them in the worldly life, obedient to their commands regarding the worship of idols and disbelief (kufr) in Allah, and that they abstained from what they forbade, namely the following of the messengers of Allah. فَهَلْ أَنتُم مُّغْنُونَ عَنَّا مِنْ عَذَابِ اللَّهِ مِن شَيْءٍ (can you avert anything of the punishment of Allah from us?) — they mean: can you today avert anything of the punishment of Allah from us? (7)
Ibn Jurayj said something of similar import:
20638 — Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, concerning His words: وَقَالَ الضُّعَفَاءُ: the followers; لِلَّذِينَ اسْتَكْبَرُوا: to the leaders.
As for His words: لَوْ هَدَانَا اللَّهُ لَهَدَيْنَاكُمْ (if Allah had guided us, we would have guided you) — Allah, mighty and glorified be His remembrance, says: the leaders in disbelief (kufr) in Allah say to their followers: لَوْ هَدَانَا اللَّهُ — they mean: had Allah made clear to us something by which we could today avert His punishment from ourselves, لَهَدَيْنَاكُمْ — then we would have made that clear to you as well, so that you could have averted the punishment from yourselves. But we have succumbed to the punishment; neither our succumbing nor our patience has availed us. (8) سَوَاءٌ عَلَيْنَا أَجَزِعْنَا أَمْ صَبَرْنَا مَا لَنَا مِن مَّحِيصٍ (it is the same for us whether we complain or are patient — we have no escape) — they mean: there is for them no recourse by which they may escape. (9)
For this one says: "ḥāṣa ʿan kadhā" when he wishes to flee from it, "yaḥīṣu ḥayṣan, wa-ḥuyūṣan, wa-ḥayaṣānan". (10)
20639 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Suwayd ibn Naṣr related to us, saying: Ibn al-Mubārak informed us, on the authority of al-Ḥakam, on the authority of ʿUmar ibn Abī Laylā, one of the Banū ʿĀmir, who said: I heard Muḥammad ibn Kaʿb al-Quraẓī say: it reached me, or it was mentioned to me, that the inhabitants of the Fire said to one another: "O people! You see what punishment and trial has descended upon you. Come, let us be patient — perhaps patience will avail us, just as the people in the worldly life were patient in obedience to Allah and it availed them." He said: they came to a collective decision to be patient. They were patient, and their patience lasted long; then they succumbed and cried out: سَوَاءٌ عَلَيْنَا أَجَزِعْنَا أَمْ صَبَرْنَا مَا لَنَا مِن مَّحِيصٍ — that is to say: no way out. (11)
20640 — Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said, concerning His words: سَوَاءٌ عَلَيْنَا أَجَزِعْنَا أَمْ صَبَرْنَا مَا لَنَا مِن مَّحِيصٍ: the inhabitants of the Fire said to one another: "Come — the inhabitants of the Garden (janna) attained the Garden through their weeping and their imploring supplication to Allah; come, let us weep and supplicate imploringly to Allah!" They wept. When they saw that this did not avail them, they said: "Come — the inhabitants of the Garden attained it through patience; (12) come, let us be patient!" And they exercised a patience the like of which had never been seen. But that too did not avail them. Only then did they say: سَوَاءٌ عَلَيْنَا أَجَزِعْنَا أَمْ صَبَرْنَا مَا لَنَا مِن مَّحِيصٍ.
