Tafseer of The Night Journey · Al-Israa · 17:104
And We said after Pharaoh to the Children of Israel, "Dwell in the land, and when there comes the promise of the Hereafter, We will bring you forth in [one] gathering."
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.
And We said to them — مِنْ بَعْدِ — after the destruction of Pharaoh — اسْكُنُوا الأَرْضَ (dwell in the land): the land of Syria. فَإِذَا جَاءَ وَعْدُ الآخِرَةِ جِئْنَا بِكُمْ لَفِيفًا (when the promise of the Hereafter comes, We shall bring you together as laffan): that is, when the Hour comes — and that is the promise of the Hereafter — We shall bring you together out of your graves to the standing-place of the Resurrection, laffan: that is to say: mingled with one another, woven together, without your recognizing one another or any of you separating off to his tribe and his quarter. This is derived from the usage: "I wrapped the armies into one another" when you make them fight intermingled so that everything becomes mixed together; thus everything that is mixed with something is wrapped into that other thing.
The exegetes differed in the explanation of this, and some said something similar to what we said.
* Mention of who said that:
Muhammad ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Rahmān related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Mansūr, on the authority of Ibn Abī Razīn, concerning جِئْنَا بِكُمْ لَفِيفًا (We shall bring you together): "From every people."
Others said: rather the meaning is "We shall bring you all together."
* Mention of who said that:
Muhammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His word جِئْنَا بِكُمْ لَفِيفًا (We shall bring you together): "All together."
Muhammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀsim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Hārith related to me, saying: al-Hasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us — both on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīh, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning جِئْنَا بِكُمْ لَفِيفًا (We shall bring you together): "All together."
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Husayn related to us, saying: Hajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid: likewise.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word فَإِذَا جَاءَ وَعْدُ الآخِرَةِ جِئْنَا بِكُمْ لَفِيفًا (when the promise of the Hereafter comes, We shall bring you together): "that is to say: all together — your first ones and your last ones."
Al-Hasan ibn Yahyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word جِئْنَا بِكُمْ لَفِيفًا (We shall bring you together): "All together."
It was related to me on the authority of al-Husayn, saying: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd related to us, saying: I heard al-Dahhāk say concerning His word جِئْنَا بِكُمْ لَفِيفًا (We shall bring you together): "that is to say: all together."
The word laffīf was used in the singular while it is a statement about a multitude, because it has the meaning of a verbal noun — as one says: "I wrapped it (lafaftuhu) — a wrapping and a wrapped-mass (laffan wa-laffīfan)".
