Tafseer of The letter Qaaf · Qaaf · 50:5
But they denied the truth when it came to them, so they are in a confused condition.
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: بَلْ كَذَّبُوا بِالْحَقِّ لَمَّا جَاءَهُمْ فَهُمْ فِي أَمْرٍ مَرِيجٍ ("Nay, they denied the truth when it came to them, and so they are in a confused state") (50:5).
The Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says: what brought these polytheists (mushrikīn), who said أَئِذَا مِتْنَا وَكُنَّا تُرَابًا ذَلِكَ رَجْعٌ بَعِيدٌ ("When we have died and become dust — that is a far-fetched return"), to this saying of theirs: بَلْ كَذَّبُوا بِالْحَقِّ ("Nay, they denied the truth"), and that is the Qurʾān, لَمَّا جَاءَهُمْ ("when it came to them") from Allah.
As for what Bishr related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: بَلْ كَذَّبُوا بِالْحَقِّ لَمَّا جَاءَهُمْ ("Nay, they denied the truth when it came to them"), that is to say: they denied the Qurʾān, فَهُمْ فِي أَمْرٍ مَرِيجٍ ("and so they are in a confused state"). He says: they are in a matter that is jumbled and confused for them; they do not distinguish the true from the false in it. It is said: the affair of the people has become marīj (confused) when it has become mixed up and neglected.
The expressions of the people of interpretation (ahl al-taʾwīl) differ in its explanation, even though their meanings are close to one another. Some of them said: its meaning is: they are in a reprehensible matter. And he said: al-marīj is the reprehensible thing.
* Mention of who said that:
Muḥammad ibn Khālid ibn Khidāsh related to me, he said: Salm ibn Qutayba related to me, on the authority of Wahb ibn Ḥabīb al-Āmidī, on the authority of Abū Ḥamza, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, that he was asked about His words أَمْرٍ مَرِيجٍ ("a confused matter"). He said: al-marīj is the reprehensible thing. Have you not heard the saying of the poet:
"She lashed out and felt her entrails struck by it, and he fell down as though he were a cast-off, hurled twig (marīj)."
Others said: nay, its meaning is: in a matter concerning which there is disagreement.
* Mention of who said that:
ʿAlī related to me, he said: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, he said: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His words فِي أَمْرٍ مَرِيجٍ ("in a confused matter"): in a saying concerning which there is disagreement.
Others said: nay, its meaning is: in a matter of misguidance.
* Mention of who said that:
Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, he said: my father related to me, he said: my uncle related to me, he said: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: فَهُمْ فِي أَمْرٍ مَرِيجٍ ("and so they are in a confused matter"), he said: they are in a matter of misguidance.
Others said: nay, its meaning is: in a confusing, unclear matter.
* Mention of who said that:
Abū Kurayb related to us, he said: Yaḥyā ibn Yamān related to us, on the authority of Ashʿath ibn Isḥāq, on the authority of Jaʿfar ibn Abī al-Mughīra, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, concerning His words فَهُمْ فِي أَمْرٍ مَرِيجٍ ("and so they are in a confused matter"), he said: unclear and confusing.
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to us, Abū ʿĀṣim said, he said: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, he said: al-Ḥasan related to us, he said: Warqāʾ related to us — both of them — on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His words أَمْرٍ مَرِيجٍ ("a confused matter"), he said: unclear and confusing.
Bishr related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His words فَهُمْ فِي أَمْرٍ مَرِيجٍ ("and so they are in a confused matter"): the matter is unclear and confusing for them.
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, he said: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, he said: and his religion has become unclear to him.
Others said: nay, it is the intermingled thing.
* Mention of who said that:
Yūnus related to me, he said: Ibn Wahb informed us, he said: Ibn Zayd said, concerning His words فِي أَمْرٍ مَرِيجٍ ("in a confused matter"), he said: al-marīj is the intermingled thing.
I have said: these expressions, even though their wordings differ, are close to one another in meaning, for something that is divergent and unclear has a meaning that is unclear and problematic. And when that is so, then it is reprehensible, for what is known and correct is plain and clear; and when something is not known, then it is undoubtedly misguidance, for guidance is plain and without any obscurity.
