Tafseer of Yaseen · Yaseen · 36:59
[Then He will say], "But stand apart today, you criminals.
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 discourse on the explanation of His statement, the Exalted: وَامْتَازُوا الْيَوْمَ أَيُّهَا الْمُجْرِمُونَ ("Separate yourselves today, O criminals") (36:59).
By His statement وَامْتَازُوا He means: set yourselves apart. It is an iftaʿalū-form (the eighth stem), derived from māza yamīzu; one says: imtāza yamtāzu imtiyāzan.
And in agreement with what we have said concerning this, the exegetes of the Qurʾān have spoken.
* Mention of those who said that:
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His statement وَامْتَازُوا الْيَوْمَ أَيُّهَا الْمُجْرِمُونَ ("Separate yourselves today, O criminals"), he said: they were set apart from all good.
Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Muḥammad al-Muḥāribī related to us, on the authority of Ismāʿīl ibn Rāfiʿ, from someone who related it to him, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn Kaʿb al-Quraẓī, on the authority of Abū Hurayra, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "When the Day of Resurrection comes, Allah commands the Hellfire (jahannam), and from it there emerges an ascending, dark neck. Then He says: أَلَمْ أَعْهَدْ إِلَيْكُمْ يَا بَنِي آدَمَ أَنْ لا تَعْبُدُوا الشَّيْطَانَ ('Did I not enjoin upon you, O children of Adam, that you should not worship the devil')... the rest of the verse, up to His statement هَذِهِ جَهَنَّمُ الَّتِي كُنْتُمْ تُوعَدُونَ ('This is the Hell which you were promised') وَامْتَازُوا الْيَوْمَ أَيُّهَا الْمُجْرِمُونَ ('Separate yourselves today, O criminals'). Then the people separate themselves and fall down upon their knees, and that is the statement of Allah: وَتَرَى كُلَّ أُمَّةٍ ('And you will see every community')... the rest of the verse."
So the explanation of the words is: and separate yourselves today from the believers, O you who disbelieve in Allah, for you arrive at a place other than theirs and enter a place other than theirs.