Tafseer of Those drawn up in Ranks · As-Saaffaat · 37:2
And those who drive [the clouds]
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 scholars of exegesis differed concerning the interpretation of His saying فالزاجرات زجرا (And by those who drive forth with force). Some of them said: they are the angels who drive the clouds forth and push them along.
* Mention of who said that:
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 فَالزَّاجِرَاتِ زَجْرًا (And by those who drive forth with force): he said: the angels.
Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to me, saying: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, concerning His saying فَالزَّاجِرَاتِ زَجْرًا (And by those who drive forth with force): he said: they are the angels.
Others said: no, they are the verses of the Qurʾān by which Allah has restrained from that from which He has restrained in the Qurʾān.
* Mention of who said that:
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His saying فَالزَّاجِرَاتِ زَجْرًا (And by those who drive forth with force): he said: that from which Allah has restrained in the Qurʾān.
And that which is preferable according to us concerning the interpretation of the verse is what Mujāhid said, and those who said: they are the angels, because Allah, exalted be His mention, began the oath with one kind of the angels — namely those ranged in rows (al-ṣāffūn), according to the consensus of the scholars of exegesis — so it is more fitting that what follows it be an oath by the remaining kinds of them.
