Tafseer of Sheba · Saba · 34:23
And intercession does not benefit with Him except for one whom He permits. [And those wait] until, when terror is removed from their hearts, they will say [to one another], "What has your Lord said?" They will say, "The truth." And He is the Most High, the Grand.
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.
The explanation of the saying of the Exalted: وَلا تَنْفَعُ الشَّفَاعَةُ عِنْدَهُ إِلا لِمَنْ أَذِنَ لَهُ حَتَّى إِذَا فُزِّعَ عَنْ قُلُوبِهِمْ قَالُوا مَاذَا قَالَ رَبُّكُمْ قَالُوا الْحَقَّ وَهُوَ الْعَلِيُّ الْكَبِيرُ (23) ("And intercession with Him profits not, except for him to whom He has given permission; until, when fear has been removed from their hearts, they say: 'What did your Lord say?' They say: 'The truth,' and He is the Exalted, the Great" (34:23)).
The Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says: and the intercession of an intercessor, whoever the intercessor may be, profits not the one on whose behalf he intercedes, except that he intercedes for the one to whom Allah has given permission to intercede. The Exalted says: when, then, intercessions with Allah profit no one except the one to whom Allah has given permission to intercede, and Allah grants none of His protégés permission to intercede on behalf of any of those who disbelieve in Him — and you are people of disbelief in Him, O polytheists (mushrikīn) — how then can you worship that which you worship apart from Allah, in your supposition that you worship it so that it may bring you nearer to Allah and so that it may intercede for you with your Lord? The word "man" ("who"), since this is the meaning of the words in His saying إِلا لِمَنْ أَذِنَ لَهُ ("except for him to whom He has given permission"), [refers to]: the one on whose behalf intercession is made.
The reciters differed over the reading of His saying أُذِنَ لَهُ ("to whom permission has been given"). Most of the reciters read it with a ḍamma on the alif: أُذِنَ لَهُ , in the passive form (whose agent is not named). And some of the Kūfans read it أَذِنَ لَهُ — with a difference of transmission from him in this as well — with the meaning: Allah has given him permission.
And His saying: حَتَّى إِذَا فُزِّعَ عَنْ قُلُوبِهِمْ ("until, when fear has been removed from their hearts"). He says: until their hearts are cleared and the fear is removed from them and vanishes.
And in accordance with what we have said concerning this, the scholars of interpretation (ahl al-taʾwīl) spoke.
* 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, His saying حَتَّى إِذَا فُزِّعَ عَنْ قُلُوبِهِمْ ("until, when fear has been removed from their hearts"), that is to say: are cleared.
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 — on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: حَتَّى إِذَا فُزِّعَ عَنْ قُلُوبِهِمْ ("until, when fear has been removed from their hearts"), he said: the veil is removed from them on the Day of Resurrection.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, he said: when their hearts are cleared.
The scholars of interpretation differed over who it is that are described with this attribute, and what is the reason for which the fear was removed from their hearts. Some of them said: those whose hearts were freed from fear are the angels. They said: and the fear was removed from their hearts only because of a swoon that overcomes them upon hearing Allah through the revelation.
* Mention of who said that:
Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, on the authority of Dāwūd, on the authority of al-Shaʿbī, who said: Ibn Masʿūd said concerning this verse حَتَّى إِذَا فُزِّعَ عَنْ قُلُوبِهِمْ ("until, when fear has been removed from their hearts"), he said: when a matter takes place with the Owner of the Throne, the angels who are beneath Him hear a sound like the dragging of a chain over a smooth stone, and they fall unconscious. Then, when the fear vanishes from their hearts, they call out to one another: مَاذَا قَالَ رَبُّكُمْ ("What did your Lord say?"). He said: then whoever wills says: "He spoke the truth, and He is the Exalted, the Great."
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: al-Muʿtamir related to us, saying: I heard Dāwūd, on the authority of ʿĀmir, on the authority of Masrūq, who said: when a matter takes place with the Owner of the Throne, the angels hear a sound like the dragging of a chain over a smooth stone. He said: then they fall unconscious. Then, when the fear is removed from their hearts, they say: "What did your Lord say?" He said: then whoever Allah wills says: "The truth, and He is the Exalted, the Great."
Ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to me, saying: Dāwūd related to us, on the authority of ʿĀmir, on the authority of Ibn Masʿūd, that he said: when a matter takes place with the Owner of the Throne — and then he mentioned something of the same meaning, except that he said: then they fall unconscious from fear, until, when that vanishes from them, they call out to one another: "What did your Lord say?"
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Ibrāhīm, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn Masʿūd concerning His saying حَتَّى إِذَا فُزِّعَ عَنْ قُلُوبِهِمْ ("until, when fear has been removed from their hearts"), he said: when the revelation is cast down, the inhabitants of the heavens hear a ringing like the ringing of the chain over the smooth rock. He said: then they call out to one another in the heavens: "What did your Lord say?" He said: then they call out to one another: "The truth, and He is the Exalted, the Great."
And through him, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Abū l-Ḍuḥā, on the authority of Masrūq, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh, the like of it.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Yaʿqūb related to us, on the authority of Jaʿfar, on the authority of Saʿīd, he said: the command descends from the Lord of Might to the lowest heaven; then the inhabitants of the lowest heaven are seized by fear, until the matter concerning which it has descended becomes clear to them, and they say to one another: "What did your Lord say?" Then they say: "He spoke the truth, and He is the Exalted, the Great." That is His saying حَتَّى إِذَا فُزِّعَ عَنْ قُلُوبِهِمْ ... the verse.
Aḥmad ibn ʿAbda al-Ḍabbī related to us, saying: Sufyān ibn ʿUyayna related to us, on the authority of ʿAmr ibn Dīnār, on the authority of ʿIkrima, who said: Abū Hurayra related to us, on the authority of the Prophet ﷺ, who said: "Truly, when Allah decrees a matter in heaven, the angels all beat with their wings, and His saying has a sound like the sound of the chain over the smooth stone. That is His saying حَتَّى إِذَا فُزِّعَ عَنْ قُلُوبِهِمْ قَالُوا مَاذَا قَالَ رَبُّكُمْ قَالُوا الْحَقَّ وَهُوَ الْعَلِيُّ الْكَبِيرُ ('until, when fear has been removed from their hearts, they say: What did your Lord say? They say: The truth, and He is the Exalted, the Great')."
Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, saying: Ayyūb related to us, on the authority of Hishām ibn ʿUrwa, who said: al-Ḥārith ibn Hishām said to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ: how does the revelation come to you? He said: "It comes to me at times in a ringing like the ringing of a bell, and then it ceases from me when it ceases, and I have already grasped it; and it comes at times in the form of a man, and he addresses me with it in a speech that is lighter for me."
Zakariyyā ibn Abān al-Miṣrī related to me, saying: Nuʿaym related to us, saying: al-Walīd ibn Muslim related to us, on the authority of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Yazīd ibn Jābir, on the authority of Ibn Abī Zakariyyā, on the authority of Jābir ibn Ḥaywa, on the authority of al-Nawwās ibn Samʿān, who said: the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "When Allah wills to reveal the matter, He utters the revelation, and the heavens are seized by a quaking or — as he said — a violent trembling out of fear of the command of Allah. Then, when the inhabitants of the heavens hear that, they are stricken and fall down before Allah in prostration. The first to raise his head is Jibrāʾīl, and Allah addresses him with what He wills of His revelation. Then Jibrāʾīl passes by the angels; whenever he passes a heaven, the angels of it ask him: 'What did our Lord say, O Jibrāʾīl?' Then Jibrāʾīl says: 'He spoke the truth, and He is the Exalted, the Great.' He said: then they all say the same as what Jibrāʾīl said. Thus Jibrāʾīl brings the revelation to where Allah has commanded him."
It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn, who said: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd informed us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning His saying حَتَّى إِذَا فُزِّعَ عَنْ قُلُوبِهِمْ ... the verse, he said: Ibn ʿAbbās used to say: truly, when Allah willed to reveal to Muḥammad, He called Jibrīl; and when our Lord uttered the revelation, His voice was like the sound of iron upon the smooth stone. When the inhabitants of the heavens heard the sound of the iron, they fell down in prostration. When Jibrāʾīl came to them with the message, they raised their heads and said: مَاذَا قَالَ رَبُّكُمْ قَالُوا الْحَقَّ وَهُوَ الْعَلِيُّ الْكَبِيرُ ("What did your Lord say? They say: The truth, and He is the Exalted, the Great"). And this is the saying of the angels.
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, His saying حَتَّى إِذَا فُزِّعَ عَنْ قُلُوبِهِمْ ... up to وَهُوَ الْعَلِيُّ الْكَبِيرُ ("... and He is the Exalted, the Great"), he said: when Allah, whose praise is exalted, revealed to Muḥammad ﷺ, He called the messenger of the angels and sent him with the revelation. The angels heard the voice of the Almighty as He uttered the revelation; and when the fear was removed from their hearts, they asked about what Allah had said, and they said: "The truth," and they knew that Allah says nothing but the truth and that He fulfills what He has promised. Ibn ʿAbbās said: and the sound of the revelation was like the sound of iron upon the smooth stone; and when they heard it, they fell down in prostration, and when they raised their heads قَالُوا مَاذَا قَالَ رَبُّكُمْ قَالُوا الْحَقَّ وَهُوَ الْعَلِيُّ الْكَبِيرُ ("they said: What did your Lord say? They say: The truth, and He is the Exalted, the Great"). Then Allah commanded His prophet to ask the people: قُلْ مَنْ يَرْزُقُكُمْ مِنَ السَّمَاوَاتِ ... ("Say: Who provides for you from the heavens ...") up to His saying فِي ضَلالٍ مُبِينٍ ("... in manifest error").
Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Abū ʿĀmir related to us, saying: Qurra related to us, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Qāsim concerning His saying حَتَّى إِذَا فُزِّعَ عَنْ قُلُوبِهِمْ ... the verse, he said: the revelation descends from heaven, and when He has completed it قَالُوا مَاذَا قَالَ رَبُّكُمْ قَالُوا الْحَقَّ وَهُوَ الْعَلِيُّ الْكَبِيرُ ("they say: What did your Lord say? They say: The truth, and He is the Exalted, the Great").
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Mughīra, on the authority of Ibrāhīm, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh concerning His saying حَتَّى إِذَا فُزِّعَ عَنْ قُلُوبِهِمْ ("until, when fear has been removed from their hearts"), he said: truly, the revelation, when it is completed in the corners of heaven — he said: like the falling of steel upon the rock — then they are frightened and know not what has happened, and they are seized by fear. And when the messengers pass by them قَالُوا مَاذَا قَالَ رَبُّكُمْ قَالُوا الْحَقَّ وَهُوَ الْعَلِيُّ الْكَبِيرُ ("they say: What did your Lord say? They say: The truth, and He is the Exalted, the Great").
And others of those who said that the ones described with that are the angels [said]: the fear was removed from their hearts — that is, their fear — only because of a decree that Allah decrees, out of fear that it would be the coming of the Hour.
* Mention of who said that:
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, His saying حَتَّى إِذَا فُزِّعَ عَنْ قُلُوبِهِمْ قَالُوا مَاذَا قَالَ رَبُّكُمْ ... the verse, he said: Allah reveals to Jibrāʾīl, and the angels are made fearful, or are seized by fear, out of fear that it would be something of the matter of the Hour. Then, when their hearts are cleared and they know that it is not the matter of the Hour قَالُوا مَاذَا قَالَ رَبُّكُمْ قَالُوا الْحَقَّ وَهُوَ الْعَلِيُّ الْكَبِيرُ ("they say: What did your Lord say? They say: The truth, and He is the Exalted, the Great").
And others said: rather, it is the action of the angels of the heavens when the alternating [guardian angels] (al-muʿaqqibāt) pass by them, out of fear that the matter of the Hour has arrived.
* Mention of who said that:
It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn, who said: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd informed us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning His saying حَتَّى إِذَا فُزِّعَ عَنْ قُلُوبِهِمْ ... the verse: Ibn Masʿūd claimed that the alternating angels (al-malāʾika al-muʿaqqibāt), who go back and forth to the earth to record their deeds — when the Lord sends them forth and they descend — a violent sound is heard from them, such that the angels who are beneath them suppose that it is from the matter of the Hour, and they fall down in prostration. And thus they do this whenever they pass by them, out of fear of their Lord.
And others said: no, the ones described with that are the polytheists (mushrikīn). They said: and it is rather the satan whose [influence] is removed from their hearts; and they say "What did your Lord say?" only at the descent of death upon them.
* Mention of who said that:
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His saying حَتَّى إِذَا فُزِّعَ عَنْ قُلُوبِهِمْ ("until, when fear has been removed from their hearts"), he said: the satan was removed from their hearts, and he separated himself from them and from their desires and from that with which he used to deceive them قَالُوا مَاذَا قَالَ رَبُّكُمْ قَالُوا الْحَقَّ وَهُوَ الْعَلِيُّ الْكَبِيرُ ("they say: What did your Lord say? They say: The truth, and He is the Exalted, the Great"). He said: and this concerns the children of Adam, and this is at death: they acknowledged it at the moment when acknowledgment no longer profited them.
And the correct of the sayings concerning this is the saying that al-Shaʿbī reported on the authority of Ibn Masʿūd, because of the soundness of the transmission which we reported on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, on the authority of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, in support of it. And since that is so, the meaning of the words is: intercession profits not with Him except for him to whom He has given permission to intercede with Him. Then, when Allah gives permission to the one whom He has given permission to intercede, he is seized by fear upon hearing His permission, until, when the fear is removed from their hearts and they are cleared and the fear is removed from them, they say: "What did your Lord say?" Then the angels say: "The truth," وَهُوَ الْعَلِيُّ ("and He is the Exalted") above all things, الْكَبِيرُ ("the Great") beneath Whom is nothing.
The Arabs use "fuzziʿa" in two meanings: they say of the brave man to whom resort is made in matters that are feared: he is "mufazzaʿ" (the one to whom one resorts in fear); and they say of the coward who is afraid of everything: truly, he is "mufazzaʿ" (the one who is overcome by fear). Likewise they say of the man for whom people judge, in disputes, with victory over whoever contends with him: he is "mughallib," and when this meaning is intended, he is the victor; and they also say of the man who is always defeated: "mughallab."
And the reciters differed over the reading of it. The generality of the reciters of the regions, all of them, read it فُزِّعَ with the zāy and the ʿayn, according to the interpretation which we reported on the authority of Ibn Masʿūd and whoever followed his saying therein. And from al-Ḥasan it is transmitted that he read it حَتَّى إِذَا فُرِغَ عَنْ قُلُوبِهِمْ with the rāʾ and the ghayn, according to the interpretation which we reported on the authority of Ibn Zayd. And it is possible to construe the meaning of al-Ḥasan's reading of it in this way, toward حَتَّى إِذَا فُرِغَ عَنْ قُلُوبِهِمْ ("until, when their hearts are emptied"): so that they became empty of the fear that had seized them. From Mujāhid it is mentioned that he read it فُزِعَ with the meaning: Allah removed the fear from them.
And the correct of the readings of it is the reading with the zāy and the ʿayn, because of the consensus of the authoritative body of the reciters and the scholars of interpretation concerning it, and because of the soundness of the transmission which we reported on the authority of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in support of it and as an indication of its correctness.
