Tafseer of The Criterion · Al-Furqaan · 25:14
[They will be told], "Do not cry this Day for one destruction but cry for much destruction."
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.
It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn, who said: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd informed us, he said: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say, concerning His word: لا تَدْعُوا الْيَوْمَ ثُبُورًا وَاحِدًا (Call not this day for a single destruction): "Al-thubūr" is perdition (halāk).
Imam al-Ṭabarī says: "Al-thubūr" in Arabic is originally the turning away of a man from something. One says: "What turned you away (thābaraka) from this matter" — that is: what diverted you from it? In this verse it is the supplication of these people in remorse over their turning away from obedience to Allah in the world, and over their not believing in what the Prophet of Allah ﷺ had brought them, until they deserved the punishment — as one says: "O my shame! O my regret! Over what I have neglected toward Allah!" One of the experts of the Arabic language among the Basrans used to say concerning His word: دَعَوْا هُنَالِكَ ثُبُورًا : that is, perdition (halaka); he said: it is a verbal noun (maṣdar) derived from "thabara al-rajul" — that is: he was destroyed. He used as proof for his interpretation the verse of Ibn al-Zibaʿrā:
When I accompanied Satan upon the path of error — And whoever chose his direction had perished (mathbūran)
His word: لا تَدْعُوا الْيَوْمَ — O polytheists — for a single remorse: that is, not merely once, but call out for it repeatedly. It is said: لا تَدْعُوا الْيَوْمَ ثُبُورًا وَاحِدًا (Call not this day for a single destruction) because "thubūr" is a verbal noun (maṣdar); and verbal nouns are not made plural, but are indicated by the extent of their duration and their frequency — as one says: "he remained a long sitting (quʿūdan ṭawīlan)" and "he ate much food (aklan kathīran)".
Muḥammad ibn Marzūq related to us, he said: Ḥajjāj related to us, he said: Ḥammād related to us, he said: ʿAlī ibn Zayd related to us, on the authority of Anas ibn Mālik, that the Prophet of Allah ﷺ said: "The first one to be clothed in a garment of the Fire is Iblīs — he places it over his eyebrows and drags it behind him, while his progeny follow behind him, as he cries out: O my destruction! and they cry out: O their destruction! Then it is said: لا تَدْعُوا الْيَوْمَ ثُبُورًا وَاحِدًا وَادْعُوا ثُبُورًا كَثِيرًا (Call not this day for a single destruction, but call for much destruction)".
