Tafseer of Those drawn up in Ranks · As-Saaffaat · 37:9
Repelled; and for them is a constant punishment,
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.
And His saying duḥūran ("driven away"): he said: it means "chased off."
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said, concerning His saying wa-yuqdhafūna min kulli jānibin * duḥūran ("and they are pelted from every side, driven away"): he said: the devils (shayāṭīn) are thereby chased away from eavesdropping. And he recited and said: illā man istaraqa al-samʿa fa-atbaʿahu shihābun thāqibun ("except him who steals a hearing, and then a piercing flame follows him").
And His saying wa-lahum ʿadhābun wāṣibun ("and for them is a wāṣib punishment"): the Exalted, whose renown is exalted, says: and for these devils who eavesdrop on the hearing there is a wāṣib punishment (ʿadhāb) from Allah.
The people of interpretation (tafsīr) differed concerning the meaning of al-wāṣib. Some of them said: its meaning is: the painful.
* Mention of who said that:
Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Ibn Abī Zāʾida related to us, on the authority of Ismāʿīl ibn Abī Khālid, on the authority of Abū Ṣāliḥ, wa-lahum ʿadhābun wāṣibun: he said: painful.
And Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, concerning His saying ʿadhābun wāṣibun: he said: the painful.
And others said: no, its meaning is: the lasting.
* Mention of who said that:
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, wa-lahum ʿadhābun wāṣibun: that is to say: lasting.
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to us, 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 ʿadhābun wāṣibun: he said: lasting.
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, wa-lahum ʿadhābun wāṣibun: he says: for them is a lasting punishment.
Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Ibn Abī Zāʾida related to us, from someone he named, on the authority of ʿIkrima, wa-lahum ʿadhābun wāṣibun: he said: lasting.
Yūnus related to us, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said, concerning His saying wa-lahum ʿadhābun wāṣibun: he said: al-wāṣib means: the continuous.
And the more correct of the two interpretations herein is the interpretation of him who said: its meaning is: lasting and pure. And that is because Allah said: wa-lahu al-dīnu wāṣiban ("and to Him belongs religion continuously"), of which it is known that He did not describe it with pain and torment, but rather He described it with permanence and purity. And among that is the verse of Abū al-Aswad al-Duʾalī:
"I do not buy praise whose endurance is slight on a day, with the reproach of all time, wāṣiban (continuous)"
that is to say: lasting.
