Tafseer of The letter Saad · Saad · 38:21
And has there come to you the news of the adversaries, when they climbed over the wall of [his] prayer chamber -
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 statement of the Exalted: وَهَلْ أَتَاكَ نَبَأُ الْخَصْمِ إِذْ تَسَوَّرُوا الْمِحْرَابَ (And has the report of the disputants reached you, when they climbed over the wall of the prayer-niche?) (21).
The Exalted, whose remembrance is exalted, says to His Prophet Muḥammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace: and has the report of the disputants (al-khaṣm) reached you, O Muḥammad? It has been said: by "the disputants" (al-khaṣm) two angels are meant in this place, and the word is put in the singular form, because it is a verbal noun (maṣdar), like al-zawr (visitors) and al-safr (travelers): it is not put in the dual nor in the plural. To this also belongs the statement of Labīd:
And a band of disputants (khaṣm) pursuing the blood-vengeance, as though they
are stud-stallions, impetuous, each one white and strong and untamable (1)
And His statement إِذْ تَسَوَّرُوا الْمِحْرَابَ (when they climbed over the wall of the prayer-niche) means: they did not enter it through the door of the prayer-niche (al-miḥrāb). And the miḥrāb is the foremost and most elevated part of every hall and dwelling.
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The footnotes:
(1) The verse is by Labīd (Majāz al-Qurʾān of Abū ʿUbayda, folio 213-b). He said: "the report of the disputants" (nabaʾ al-khaṣm) applies to both the singular and the plural. Labīd said: "And a band of disputants…" — the verse. And al-dhuḥūl is the plural of dhiḥl, which is the blood-vengeance (al-thaʾr). And al-qurūm is the plural of qarm, which is the great stud-stallion among the camels. And ghayārā is the plural of ghayrān. And al-azhar is the white one; and al-muṣʿab is the strong, powerful one which is spared from being ridden and from work, for the purpose of covering (i.e. breeding). (al-Lisān: ṣ-ʿ-b. End of quotation.) He compared the strong disputants to the stud-stallions among the camels.
