Tafseer of The Forgiver · Ghafir · 40:52
The Day their excuse will not benefit the wrongdoers, and they will have the curse, and they will have the worst home.
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 reciters differed over the recitation of His statement: ( وَيَوْمَ يَقُومُ الأشْهَادُ يَوْمَ لا يَنْفَعُ الظَّالِمِينَ مَعْذِرَتُهُمْ ) (and on the Day when the witnesses arise, the Day on which their excuse will not benefit the wrongdoers). Most of the reciters of Medina and Kufa read that ( وَيَوْمَ يَقُومُ ) (and on the Day when they arise) with the yāʾ. And "yanfaʿu" (benefits) likewise with the yāʾ. And some of the people of Mecca and some of the reciters of Basra read it as "taqūmu" with the tāʾ, and "tanfaʿu" with the tāʾ.
And the correct view concerning this is that they are two well-known recitations with one and the same meaning, so with whichever of the two the reciter recites, he has done correctly.
And we have already explained earlier that the Arabs express the action of the man both as masculine and as feminine when it precedes in a manner that makes repetition unnecessary.
And by His statement ( وَيَوْمَ يَقُومُ الأشْهَادُ ) (and on the Day when the witnesses arise) is meant: the Day when the witnesses arise from among the angels, the prophets, and the believers against the communities that denied their messengers, to testify that the messengers conveyed to them the messages of their Lord, and that the communities denied them. And "al-ashhād" is the plural of "shahīd" (witness), just as "al-ashrāf" is the plural of "sharīf" (noble).
And in line with what we have said concerning this, the scholars of interpretation have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda ( وَيَوْمَ يَقُومُ الأشْهَادُ ) (and on the Day when the witnesses arise): from among the angels of Allah, His prophets, and those who believed in Him.
Muḥammad related to us, saying: Aḥmad related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī ( وَيَوْمَ يَقُومُ الأشْهَادُ ) (and on the Day when the witnesses arise): the Day of Resurrection.
Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Muʾammil related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning the statement of Allah: ( وَيَوْمَ يَقُومُ الأشْهَادُ ) (and on the Day when the witnesses arise), he said: the angels.
And His statement: ( يَوْمَ لا يَنْفَعُ الظَّالِمِينَ مَعْذِرَتُهُمْ ) (the Day on which their excuse will not benefit the wrongdoers). The Exalted, whose mention is exalted, says: that is a Day on which the excuse of the people of shirk (the ascribing of partners to Allah) will not benefit them, for even if they do excuse themselves, they excuse themselves only with falsehood. That is because Allah, in the worldly life, already left them no excuse and brought the proofs against them therein in succession, so that in the Hereafter they have no argument except clinging to the lie, by saying: وَاللَّهِ رَبِّنَا مَا كُنَّا مُشْرِكِينَ (By Allah, our Lord, we were not polytheists (mushrikīn)).
And His statement: ( وَلَهُمُ اللَّعْنَةُ ) (and for them is the curse). He says: and for the wrongdoers is the curse, and that is the removal of the mercy of Allah. ( وَلَهُمْ سُوءُ الدَّارِ ) (and for them is the evil of the abode). He says: and for them, in addition to the curse of Allah, is the worst of what is in the abode of the Hereafter, and that is the painful punishment (ʿadhāb).
