Tafseer of Those drawn up in Ranks · As-Saaffaat · 37:51
A speaker among them will say, "Indeed, I had a companion [on earth]
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.
Explanation of the words of the Exalted: قَالَ قَائِلٌ مِنْهُمْ إِنِّي كَانَ لِي قَرِينٌ (37:51) ("One of them will say: 'Indeed, I had a companion'") (51).
The Exalted, whose praise is sublime, says: One of the inhabitants of Paradise will say, when they turn to one another and question one another: إِنِّي كانَ لِي قَرِينٌ ("Indeed, I had a companion"). The exegetes (ahl al-taʾwīl) differed concerning the companion (qarīn) who is mentioned here. Some said: that companion was a devil (shayṭān), and it was he who said to him: أَئِنَّكَ لَمِنَ الْمُصَدِّقِينَ ("Are you truly among those who hold it to be true") — namely, the resurrection after death.
* 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 of them — on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning the words of Allah: إِنّي كَانَ لِي قَرِينٌ ("Indeed, I had a companion"), he said: a devil (shayṭān).
Others said: that companion was an associate he had among the children of Adam, or a comrade.
* Mention of who said that:
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 words: قَالَ قَائِلٌ مِنْهُمْ إِنِّي كَانَ لِي قَرِينٌ * يَقُولُ أَئِنَّكَ لَمِنَ الْمُصَدِّقِينَ ("One of them will say: 'Indeed, I had a companion, who used to say: Are you truly among those who hold it to be true?'"), he said: it is the polytheist man (mushrik) who in the worldly life has a comrade among the believers; and the polytheist then says to him: "Do you truly hold it to be true that you will be raised after death, when we have become dust?" Then, when they had passed on to the Hereafter, and the believer was admitted into Paradise and the polytheist was admitted into the Fire (al-nār), the believer looked down and saw his comrade in the midst of the blazing Hellfire (al-jaḥīm). قَالَ تَاللَّهِ إِنْ كِدْتَ لَتُرْدِينِ ("He said: By Allah, you almost brought me to ruin").
