Tafseer of The Criterion · Al-Furqaan · 25:46
Then We hold it in hand for a brief grasp.
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 saying ثُمَّ قَبَضْنَاهُ إِلَيْنَا قَبْضًا يَسِيرًا — he said: "The sun absorbed the shadow." It is also said that the pronoun in ثُمَّ قَبَضْنَاهُ إِلَيْنَا refers back to the shadow, and that the meaning of the sentence is: Then We drew the shadow back to Ourselves after the setting of the sun; for when the sun sets, the extended shadow disappears. They say: that is the time of its withdrawal.
The exegetes differed concerning the meaning of يَسِيرًا. Some said: the meaning is "quick."
Mention of who said that:
ʿAlī related to me, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His saying ثُمَّ قَبَضْنَاهُ إِلَيْنَا قَبْضًا يَسِيرًا — he says: "Quick."
Others said: The meaning is rather: "a hidden withdrawal."
Mention of who said that:
Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn Rufayʿ, on the authority of Mujāhid — concerning ثُمَّ قَبَضْنَاهُ إِلَيْنَا قَبْضًا يَسِيرًا — he said: "Hidden."
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, saying: Ibn Jurayj said concerning قَبْضًا يَسِيرًا — he said: "Hidden. For the boundary between the sun and the shadow is like a thread." The word yasīr is the intensive pattern (fāʿil) derived from al-yusr, that is: the easy and light in the Arabic language. The meaning of the sentence is, if that is so, in agreement with what is related from Ibn ʿAbbās and Mujāhid; for the ease of withdrawing that shadow can be expressed both through quickness and through hiddenness. It is also said that ثُمَّ قَبَضْنَاهُ إِلَيْنَا قَبْضًا يَسِيرًا is to be understood as follows: the shadow, after the setting of the sun, does not disappear all at once and in its entirety, nor does the darkness enter in its entirety all at once; rather, that shadow is withdrawn in a hidden manner, bit by bit, and every bit that is withdrawn is followed by a bit of darkness.
