Tafseer of The Rock · Al-Hijr · 15:2
Perhaps those who disbelieve will wish that they had been Muslims.
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.
The Qurʾān scholars have differed among themselves over the reading of رُبَمَا (rubamā). Most of the Qurʾān reciters of Medina and a portion of the Kūfans read it with a light b (rubamā), while most of the reciters of Kūfa and Baṣra read it with a doubled b (rubbamā).
The correct position on this, in our view, is that these are two well-known and recognized readings, two variants of one and the same language with the same meaning; each of them is followed by leading scholars of Qurʾānic recitation. Whoever reads either one of them is correct.
The linguists also differed over the function of "mā" in conjunction with "rubb." A portion of the Baṣran grammarians said: "mā" was joined to "rubb" in order to allow a verb to follow the word. If you wish, you may also give "mā" the meaning of "something" (shayʾ), so that the sentence would read: "How much longing will those who disbelieve long" — that is, how much such longing there will be. Some of the Kūfan grammarians rejected this and said: the verbal noun (maṣdar) does not require a referring pronoun, and the longing (wudd) is directed at "lau" (if); for "rubbamā yawaddūna law kānū" means: that they would wish that they had been. They said: if one posits a pronoun with "lau," then it is not a direct object, yet it nonetheless stands in the position of a direct object, and the verbal noun cannot be described by anything, and yet it is described by it, and after that one even returns a referring pronoun back upon it.
Al-Kisāʾī and al-Farrāʾ held the view that the Arabs rarely combine "rubb" with a future tense form; they ordinarily use it with the past tense, as in: "rubba mā faʿaltu kadhā" (how often I did such-and-such), and "rubba mā jāʾanī akhūka" (how often your brother approached me). They said: yet in the Qurʾān it stands with a future tense form — "rubbamā yawaddu" — and that is only permitted because everything in the Qurʾān concerning promises and threats is as certain as something already seen, and so the manner of expression about what has not yet occurred is the same as about what has already occurred. So too in: وَلَوْ تَرَى إِذِ الْمُجْرِمُونَ نَاكِسُو رُءُوسِهِمْ (And if you were to see the criminals bowing their heads before their Lord) and وَلَوْ تَرَى إِذْ فَزِعُوا (And if you were to see when they are terrified) — although these are future matters, they are expressed in the past tense, because they are established and indisputable. Likewise, when someone utters a prohibition or gives a command and the person addressed does not comply, the speaker says: "Most assuredly you will regret it, and then you will recall my words" — out of knowledge that that person will come to regret. But the word of Allah and His promise is more reliable than the word of created beings. It is also possible that "rubbamā" accompanies what is continuous, even though it stands in the form of an imperfect verb; for one says: "rubbamā yamūtu al-rajul wa-lā yūjadu lahu kafan" (how often a man dies for whom no shroud is to be found). When nouns follow "rub," there is an implied "kāna" with it, as Abū Dāwūd said:
رُبَّمَا الجَامِلُ المُؤَبَّل فِيهِمُ وعَنَاجِيجُ بَيْنَهُنَّ المِهَارُ
The meaning of these words, then, is: how often will those who disbelieve in Allah — who deny His Oneness — wish, in this worldly life, that they had been Muslims.
Thus ʿAlī ibn Saʿīd ibn Masrūq al-Kindī related to us, saying: Khālid ibn Nāfiʿ al-Ashʿarī related to us, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Abī Burda, on the authority of Abū Burda, on the authority of Abū Mūsā: It has reached us that when, on the Day of Resurrection, the inhabitants of the Fire are gathered together in the Fire, along with those of the people of the qibla whom Allah has willed to be in it, the disbelievers will say to the Muslims who are in the Fire: "Were you not Muslims?" They answer: "Yes indeed." The disbelievers say: "Then what did your Islam profit you, seeing that you have ended up in the Fire together with us?" They answer: "We had sins for which we have been called to account." When Allah heard what they said, He commanded that all those of the people of the qibla who were in the Fire be brought out, whereupon those among the disbelievers who were in the Fire said: "Would that it had been granted us to be Muslims!" Then the Prophet ﷺ recited: الر تِلْكَ آيَاتُ الْكِتَابِ وَقُرْآنٍ مُبِينٍ * رُبَمَا يَوَدُّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لَوْ كَانُوا مُسْلِمِينَ.
Al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad related to us, saying: ʿAmr ibn al-Haytham Abū Qaṭan al-Qaṭʿī, and Rawḥ al-Qaysī, and ʿAffān ibn Muslim related to us — and the wording is that of Abū Qaṭan —: al-Qāsim ibn al-Faḍl ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī Jarwa related to us, saying: Ibn ʿAbbās and Anas ibn Mālik explained this verse thus: رُبَمَا يَوَدُّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لَوْ كَانُوا مُسْلِمِينَ — that will be on the Day of Resurrection when Allah gathers together in the Fire the people of sins among the Muslims and the polytheists. ʿAffān added: when the people of sins among the Muslims and the polytheists are detained, the polytheists say: "What did the Lord whom you used to worship avail you?" Abū Qaṭan added: "We and you are now together." Abū Qaṭan and ʿAffān said — without Rawḥ ibn ʿUbāda mentioning this —: Allah becomes angry on their behalf through His abundant mercy, and all of them said: Allah brings them out — and that is the moment at which Allah says: رُبَمَا يَوَدُّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لَوْ كَانُوا مُسْلِمِينَ.
Al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: ʿAffān related to us, saying: Abū ʿAwāna related to us, saying: ʿAṭāʾ ibn al-Sāʾib related to us, on the authority of Mujāhid, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning the word of Allah: رُبَمَا يَوَدُّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لَوْ كَانُوا مُسْلِمِينَ: he said: one enters the Garden (janna) and mercy is shown, until in the end it is said: "Whoever was a Muslim, let him enter the Garden." That is the import of this verse.
Al-Muthanná related to me, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning: رُبَمَا يَوَدُّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لَوْ كَانُوا مُسْلِمِينَ: that will be on the Day of Resurrection — those who disbelieved will wish that they had been monotheists.
Aḥmad ibn Isḥāq related to us, saying: Abū Aḥmad related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Salama ibn Kuhayl, on the authority of Abū al-Zaʿrāʾ, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh, concerning: رُبَمَا يَوَدُّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لَوْ كَانُوا مُسْلِمِينَ: he said: this pertains to the inhabitants of Hell (jahannam) when they see how the others are led out of the Fire.
Al-Muthanná related to me, saying: Muslim ibn Ibrāhīm related to us, saying: al-Qāsim related to us, saying: Ibn Abī Farwa al-ʿAbdī related to us that Ibn ʿAbbās and Anas ibn Mālik explained this verse thus: رُبَمَا يَوَدُّ الَّذِينَ and saying: this pertains to the day on which Allah detains the people of sins among the Muslims together with the polytheists in the Fire, and the polytheists say to them: "What did your worship in the world avail you?" — whereupon Allah, through His abundant mercy, becomes angry and brings them out; and that is the moment at which Allah says: رُبَمَا يَوَدُّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لَوْ كَانُوا مُسْلِمِينَ.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ ibn al-Sāʾib, on the authority of Mujāhid, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, saying: Allah keeps right on admitting people into the Garden and bestowing mercy and accepting intercession, until He says: "Whoever was a Muslim, let him enter the Garden." That is the import of this verse.
Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to us, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, on the authority of Hishām al-Dastawāʾī, saying: Ḥammād related to us, saying: I asked Ibrāhīm about this verse: رُبَمَا يَوَدُّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لَوْ كَانُوا مُسْلِمِينَ. He said: it has been related to me that the polytheists said to the Muslims who are in the Fire: "What did the Lord whom you used to worship avail you?" — whereupon Allah becomes angry on their behalf and says to the angels and the prophets: "Intercede!" They intercede, and people are led out of the Fire, so much so that even Iblīs stretches himself out in the hope of being brought out. That is the moment at which those who disbelieved wish that they had been Muslims.
Al-Muthanná related to me, saying: al-Ḥajjāj related to us, saying: Ḥammād related to us, on the authority of Ibrāhīm, that concerning the word of Allah — may He be exalted: رُبَمَا يَوَدُّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لَوْ كَانُوا مُسْلِمِينَ he said: the polytheists who are in the Fire say to the Muslims: "What did 'There is no god but Allah' avail you?" — whereupon Allah becomes angry and says: "Whoever was a Muslim, let him come out of the Fire." Then it is that يَوَدُّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لَوْ كَانُوا مُسْلِمِينَ.
Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Ḥammād, on the authority of Ibrāhīm, concerning: رُبَمَا يَوَدُّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لَوْ كَانُوا مُسْلِمِينَ: he said: the inhabitants of the Fire say: "We were polytheists and disbelievers, but what then was wrong with these monotheists? What did their worship of Allah avail them?" — whereupon the Muslims who were in it are let out of the Fire. Then it is that يَوَدُّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لَوْ كَانُوا مُسْلِمِينَ.
Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: al-Thawrī informed us, on the authority of Ḥammād, on the authority of Ibrāhīm, on the authority of Khuṣayf, on the authority of Mujāhid, saying: the inhabitants of the Fire say to the monotheists: "What did your faith (īmān) avail you?" — and when they say that, it is commanded: "Bring out everyone in whose heart there is an atom's weight of anything." Then it is that يَوَدُّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لَوْ كَانُوا مُسْلِمِينَ.
Al-Muthanná related to me, saying: Muslim related to us, saying: Hishām related to us, on the authority of Ḥammād: I asked Ibrāhīm about the word of Allah — may He be exalted: رُبَمَا يَوَدُّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لَوْ كَانُوا مُسْلِمِينَ. He said: the disbelievers mock the monotheists and say: "What did 'There is no god but Allah' avail you?" — whereupon Allah becomes angry and commands the prophets and angels to intercede; they do so and the monotheists come out of the Fire, so much so that even Iblīs stretches himself out in the hope of being brought out. That is this verse.
Aḥmad related to us, saying: Abū Aḥmad related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Salām related to us, on the authority of Khuṣayf, on the authority of Mujāhid, saying: this pertains to the inhabitants of Hell, when they see that the others are being led out of the Fire: يَوَدُّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لَوْ كَانُوا مُسْلِمِينَ.
Al-Muthanná related to me, saying: al-Ḥajjāj ibn al-Minhāl related to us, saying: Ḥammād related to us, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ ibn al-Sāʾib, on the authority of Mujāhid, saying: when Allah has finished judging His creation, He says: "Whoever was a Muslim, let him enter the Garden." Then it is that يَوَدُّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لَوْ كَانُوا مُسْلِمِينَ.
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us; and al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad related to us, saying: Shabāba related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us; and al-Muthanná related to me, saying: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, saying: Shubayl related to us — all on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning: رُبَمَا يَوَدُّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لَوْ كَانُوا مُسْلِمِينَ: he said: on the Day of Resurrection.
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid: likewise.
Al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Wahhāb ibn ʿAṭāʾ related to us, on the authority of Juwaybir, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk, concerning: رُبَمَا يَوَدُّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لَوْ كَانُوا مُسْلِمِينَ: he said: this verse has two aspects. It is said: when the disbeliever faces his death, he wishes that he had been a Muslim. And others say: Allah punishes a group of monotheists in the Fire on account of their sins; the polytheists recognize them and say: "What did your worship of your Lord avail you, seeing that you too have been cast into the Fire?" — whereupon Allah becomes angry on their behalf and brings them out, and says: رُبَمَا يَوَدُّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لَوْ كَانُوا مُسْلِمِينَ.
Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: his father related to us, on the authority of Abū Jaʿfar, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ, on the authority of Abū al-ʿĀliya, concerning: رُبَمَا يَوَدُّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لَوْ كَانُوا مُسْلِمِينَ: he said: it was sent down concerning those who are led out of the Fire.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning: رُبَمَا يَوَدُّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لَوْ كَانُوا مُسْلِمِينَ: that is — by Allah — on the Day of Resurrection; they wished that they had been Muslims in the world.
Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda: رُبَمَا يَوَدُّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لَوْ كَانُوا مُسْلِمِينَ — [with a report identical to the preceding one].
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, on the authority of Mujāhid, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, saying: Allah keeps right on admitting people into the Garden and interceding until He says: "Whoever is of the Muslims, let him enter the Garden." That is the moment at which يَوَدُّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لَوْ كَانُوا مُسْلِمِينَ.
