Tafseer of The Ant · An-Naml · 27:8
But when he came to it, he was called, "Blessed is whoever is at the fire and whoever is around it. And exalted is Allah, Lord of the worlds.
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: فَلَمَّا جَاءَهَا — "When he came to it" — that is to say: when Mūsā came to the fire that he had seen. نُودِيَ أَنْ بُورِكَ مَنْ فِي النَّارِ وَمَنْ حَوْلَهَا — "it was called out: Blessed is whoever is in the fire and whoever is around it."
As ʿAlī related to us, saying: ʿAbdullāh related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His word: نُودِيَ أَنْ بُورِكَ مَنْ فِي النَّارِ — he said: "Sanctified."
The expounders of the Qurʾān differed concerning who is meant by مَنْ فِي النَّارِ — "whoever is in the fire." Some said: Allah the Exalted means thereby Himself; it was He who was in the fire, and the fire was the light of Allah the Exalted, according to a group of the expounders.
Mention of those who said this:
Muḥammad 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: فَلَمَّا جَاءَهَا نُودِيَ أَنْ بُورِكَ مَنْ فِي النَّارِ — he said: He means Himself; the light of the Lord of the Worlds was in the tree.
Ismāʿīl ibn al-Haytham Abū al-ʿĀliya al-ʿAbdī related to me, saying: Abū Qutayba related to us, on the authority of Warqāʾ, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ ibn al-Sāʾib, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, concerning the word of Allah: بُورِكَ مَنْ فِي النَّارِ — he said: He called out to him while He was in the fire.
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Abū Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, concerning His word: نُودِيَ أَنْ بُورِكَ مَنْ فِي النَّارِ وَمَنْ حَوْلَهَا — he said: that is the light.
Maʿmar said: Qatāda said: بُورِكَ مَنْ فِي النَّارِ — he said: the light of Allah is blessed.
He said: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, who said: al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī said: بُورِكَ مَنْ فِي النَّارِ [the author omitted the quoted word, since it agrees with what precedes it in wording and meaning].
Others said: its meaning is: blessed be the fire.
Mention of those who said this:
Al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ashyab related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: نُودِيَ أَنْ بُورِكَ مَنْ فِي النَّارِ — blessed be the fire. Likewise also said Ibn ʿAbbās.
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us — both together — on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His word: أَنْ بُورِكَ مَنْ فِي النَّارِ — he said: blessed be the fire.
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid: بُورِكَ مَنْ فِي النَّارِ — he said: blessed be the fire.
Muḥammad ibn Sinān al-Qazzāz related to us, saying: Makkī ibn Ibrāhīm related to us, saying: Mūsā related to us, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn Kaʿb, concerning His word: أَنْ بُورِكَ مَنْ فِي النَّارِ — the light of the Most Merciful; and the light is Allah. وَسُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ .
The expounders also differed concerning the meaning of "the fire" in this place. Some said: its meaning is "the light," as I have already mentioned on the authority of those whom I have cited.
Others said: its meaning is the fire and not the light.
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, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, who said: the veil of Majesty, the veil of the King, the veil of authority, the veil of the fire — and that is the fire from which He called out — the veil of light, the veil of the cloud, and the veil of the water. It is said بُورِكَ مَنْ فِي النَّارِ and not بُورِكَ فيمَنْ فِي النَّارِ , in accordance with the usage of those who say: bārakaka Allāh. The Arabs say both: bārakaka Allāh and bāraka fīka Allāh.
His word: وَمَنْ حَوْلَهَا — "and whoever is around it" — that is to say: whoever is around the fire. It is also said that what is meant by whoever is around it is: the angels.
Mention of those who said this:
Muḥammad 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: وَمَنْ حَوْلَهَا — he said: those are the angels.
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of al-Ḥasan — the same opinion.
Others said: they are Mūsā and the angels.
Muḥammad ibn Sinān al-Qazzāz related to us, saying: Makkī ibn Ibrāhīm related to us, saying: Mūsā related to us, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn Kaʿb: وَمَنْ حَوْلَهَا — he said: the prophet Mūsā and the angels. Then follows: يَا مُوسَى إِنَّهُ أَنَا اللَّهُ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ .
His word: وَسُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ — that is to say: all sanctity belongs to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, exalted above what the wrongdoers ascribe to Him.
