Tafseer of The Pilgrimage · Al-Hajj · 22:55
But those who disbelieve will not cease to be in doubt of it until the Hour comes upon them unexpectedly or there comes to them the punishment of a barren Day.
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.
Allah, exalted be His remembrance, says: Those who disbelieve in Allah will not cease to be in doubt.
Then the exegetes differed concerning the referent to which the "hā" in His word "minhu" points. Some said: it is a reference to the saying of the Prophet ﷺ: "tilka l-gharānīqu l-ʿulā, wa-inna shafāʿata-hunna la-tartajā."
Mention of those who said this: Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Muḥammad related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Abī Bishr, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr: وَلا يَزَالُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا فِي مِرْيَةٍ مِنْهُ — concerning his word: "tilka l-gharānīqu l-ʿulā, wa-inna shafāʿata-hunna tartajā."
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said, concerning the word: وَلا يَزَالُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا فِي مِرْيَةٍ مِنْهُ — he said: from what Iblīs brought — it will not leave their hearts; it has increased their error.
Others said: it refers to the mention of the prostration of the Prophet ﷺ in [sūra] al-Najm.
Mention of those who said this: Ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Ṣamad related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, saying: Abū Bishr related to us, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr: وَلا يَزَالُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا فِي مِرْيَةٍ مِنْهُ — he said: in doubt concerning your prostration.
Others said: it refers to the Qurʾān.
Mention of those who said this: Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj: وَلا يَزَالُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا فِي مِرْيَةٍ مِنْهُ — he said: concerning the Qurʾān.
The most correct of these views in this context is the view of the one who said: it is a pronominal reference to the Qurʾān which Allah has confirmed. That is because this is closer to the referent of His word: وَلِيَعْلَمَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَ أَنَّهُ الْحَقُّ مِنْ رَبِّكَ than to the referent of His word: فَيَنْسَخُ اللَّهُ مَا يُلْقِي الشَّيْطَانُ. And the "hā" of "annahu" refers to the Qurʾān — so linking the "hā" in His word: فِي مِرْيَةٍ مِنْهُ to the "hā" of "annahu l-ḥaqqu min rabbika" is more fitting than linking it to "mā" in "mā yulqī l-shayṭānu" — because of the great distance between them.
His word: حَتَّى تَأْتِيَهُمُ السَّاعَةُ — He says: these disbelievers will not cease to doubt the matter of this Qurʾān, until the Hour reaches them (baghtatan) — that is to say: suddenly.
The exegetes differed concerning which day "this Hour" is. Some said: it is the Day of Resurrection.
Mention of those who said this: Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Hushaym related to us, saying: a shaykh of the people of Khurāsān from the Azd, with the kunya Abū Sāsān, related to us — he said: I asked al-Ḍaḥḥāk about the word: عَذَابُ يَوْمٍ عَقِيمٍ — he said: the punishment of a day upon which no night follows.
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Abū Tumaylah related to us, on the authority of Abī Ḥamza, on the authority of Jābir, on the authority of ʿIkrima: that the Day of Resurrection has no night.
Others said: no, what is meant is the Day of Badr. They said: it is called the "barren day" (yawm ʿaqīm) because they did not reach the night, so that it was barren for them.
Mention of those who said this: Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, on the authority of Layth, on the authority of Mujāhid, who said: عَذَابُ يَوْمٍ عَقِيمٍ — the Day of Badr.
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj: أَوْ يَأْتِيَهُمْ عَذَابُ يَوْمٍ عَقِيمٍ — Ibn Jurayj said: a day without night; they were not deferred until the night. Mujāhid said: the punishment of a tremendous day.
He said: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Abū Tumaylah related to us, on the authority of Abī Ḥamza, on the authority of Jābir — he said: Mujāhid said: the Day of Badr.
Abū al-Sāʾib related to me, saying: Abū Idrīs related to us, saying: al-Aʿmash informed us, on the authority of a man, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, concerning the word: عَذَابُ يَوْمٍ عَقِيمٍ — he said: the Day of Badr.
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning the word: عَذَابُ يَوْمٍ عَقِيمٍ — he said: that is the Day of Badr. Reported on the authority of Ubayy ibn Kaʿb.
Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning the word: عَذَابُ يَوْمٍ عَقِيمٍ — he said: that is the Day of Badr. On the authority of Ubayy ibn Kaʿb.
This second view best fits the interpretation of the verse, for there is no sense in saying: they will not cease to doubt until the Hour reaches them suddenly, or until the Hour reaches them — for the Hour is the Day of Resurrection; if the "barren day" is also the Day of Resurrection, then its meaning is what we have said: the twofold repetition of the mention of the Hour with different words — and that has no sense. Since this is so, the one of the two modes of interpretation that best fits is that which is most correct in meaning and most well-known in speech — and that is what we have mentioned.
The purport of the phrase is therefore: the disbelievers will not cease to doubt the matter of this Qurʾān, until the Hour reaches them suddenly — so that they fall into the barren punishment — or until the punishment of a day that is barren for them reaches them: on that day they will not be deferred until the night, nor will they be deferred in it until the evening, but rather they will be killed before the evening.
