Tafseer of The Rock · Al-Hijr · 15:56
He said, "And who despairs of the mercy of his Lord except for those astray?"
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.
His word قَالَ وَمَنْ يَقْنَطُ مِنْ رَحْمَةِ رَبِّهِ إِلا الضَّالُّونَ — Allah, may His mention be exalted, says: Ibrāhīm spoke to the guests: "Who despairs of the mercy of Allah except the people who have missed the path of rightness, who have abandoned the straight path by giving up hope in Allah — and whoever hopes in Him will not be disappointed — and have thus strayed from the religion of Allah."
The Qurʾān reciters differed concerning the reading of His word وَمَنْ يَقْنَطُ . The majority of the reciters of Medina and Kūfa read it as وَمَنْ يَقْنَطُ — with a fatḥa on the nūn — with the exception of al-Aʿmash and al-Kisāʾī, both of whom read the nūn in يَقْنِطُ with a kasra. Those whom we mentioned who read the nūn with fatḥa also read مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا قَنَطُوا with fatḥa on the qāf and the nūn. Al-Aʿmash read that as: "min baʿdi mā qaniṭū" — with kasra on the nūn. Al-Kisāʾī read the nūn with fatḥa, and Abū ʿAmr ibn al-ʿAlāʾ read both words in the manner which we mentioned as the reading of al-Kisāʾī.
The correct reading in this connection is that of those who read مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا قَنَطُوا with fatḥa on the nūn, and وَمَنْ يَقْنِطُ with kasra on the nūn — because of the common agreement of the authoritative reciters upon the fatḥa in قَنَطُوا , by which the kasra in وَمَنْ يَقْنِطُ is the most correct: when, concerning a verb of the pattern faʿala, it has been agreed that the ʿayn of the verb has a fatḥa, and the ʿayn does not belong to the six guttural consonants, then in the form yafʿilu it has either a kasra or a ḍamma on the ʿayn. As for the fatḥa — that is not known in Arabic usage.
