Tafseer of Yaseen · Yaseen · 36:66
And if We willed, We could have obliterated their eyes, and they would race to [find] the path, and how could they see?
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 meaning of His saying, the Exalted: وَلَوْ نَشَاءُ لَطَمَسْنَا عَلَى أَعْيُنِهِمْ فَاسْتَبَقُوا الصِّرَاطَ فَأَنَّى يُبْصِرُونَ (66) — "And if We willed, We would obliterate their eyes, and then they would race to the path, but how could they see?" (36:66).
The exegetes differed over the explanation of His saying ( وَلَوْ نَشَاءُ لَطَمَسْنَا عَلَى أَعْيُنِهِمْ فَاسْتَبَقُوا الصِّرَاطَ ). Some of them said: its meaning is: and if We willed, We would make them blind to the guidance and cause them to stray from the straight path.
* The 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 ( وَلَوْ نَشَاءُ لَطَمَسْنَا عَلَى أَعْيُنِهِمْ ), he says: I would cause them to stray and make them blind to the guidance. And others said: its meaning is: and if We willed, We would leave them blind.
* The mention of who said that:
Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, on the authority of Abū Rajāʾ, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, concerning His saying ( وَلَوْ نَشَاءُ لَطَمَسْنَا عَلَى أَعْيُنِهِمْ فَاسْتَبَقُوا الصِّرَاطَ فَأَنَّى يُبْصِرُونَ ), he said: If He willed, He would obliterate their eyes and leave them blind, wandering about.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His saying ( وَلَوْ نَشَاءُ لَطَمَسْنَا عَلَى أَعْيُنِهِمْ فَاسْتَبَقُوا الصِّرَاطَ فَأَنَّى يُبْصِرُونَ ), he says: If We willed, We would leave them blind, wandering about. And this saying which we have related from al-Ḥasan and Qatāda is the most fitting with the explanation of the word, because Allah thereby only threatens a disbelieving people. So there is no sense in saying: while they are disbelievers, We — if We willed — would cause them to stray, when He has already caused them to stray. Rather, He says: if We willed, We would punish them for their disbelief, so that We would obliterate their eyes and make them blind, so that they would no longer see any path and would not be able to direct themselves toward it. And the obliteration of the eye (al-ṭams) is that there is no longer any slit between the two eyelids — that is the cleft which is between the two eyelids (3) — just as the wind obliterates a track. One says: an obliterated (maṭmūs) and an obliterated (ṭamīs) blind man.
And His saying ( فَاسْتَبَقُوا الصِّرَاطَ ) — "and then they would race to the path" — means: then they would hasten to the path.
As 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, concerning His saying ( فَاسْتَبَقُوا الصِّرَاطَ ), he said: the path.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda ( فَاسْتَبَقُوا الصِّرَاطَ ), that is to say: the path.
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His saying ( فَاسْتَبَقُوا الصِّرَاطَ ), he said: al-ṣirāṭ is the path.
And His saying ( فَأَنَّى يُبْصِرُونَ ) — "but how could they see?" — means: which path could they then see to walk upon, now that We have obliterated their eyes?
As 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, concerning His saying ( فَأَنَّى يُبْصِرُونَ ): now that We have obliterated their eyes.
And those who directed the explanation of His saying ( وَلَوْ نَشَاءُ لَطَمَسْنَا عَلَى أَعْيُنِهِمْ ) toward the meaning of blindness to the guidance, explained His saying ( فَأَنَّى يُبْصِرُونَ ) as: how could they then find the truth?
* The 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 ( فَأَنَّى يُبْصِرُونَ ), he says: how could they then be rightly guided?
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 ( فَأَنَّى يُبْصِرُونَ ), he says: they do not see the truth.
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The footnotes:
(3) Thus it is in Majāz al-Qurʾān of Abū ʿUbayda (photocopy of the University, folio 207).
