Tafseer of The Winnowing Winds · Adh-Dhaariyat · 51:39
But he turned away with his supporters and said," A magician or a madman."
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.
His saying Then he turned away with his pillar of support — He says: then Farʿawn (Pharaoh) turned away, after We had sent Mūsā to him, with his people of his army and his companions. And in accordance with what we have said about this, the exegetes have spoken, even though the wordings of those who said it differ.
* Mention of who said that:
ʿAlī related to me, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His saying Then he turned away with his pillar of support, he says: to his people, or: with his people — I am in doubt.
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 on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His saying Then he turned away with his pillar of support, he said: with his power and his companions.
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His saying Then he turned away with his pillar of support: the enemy of Allah overpowered his people.
Yūnus related to us, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning the saying of Allah, blessed and exalted is He, Then he turned away with his pillar of support, he said: with his troops who were with him, and he recited Would that I had power against you or could take refuge in a strong pillar of support, he said: in a power of men, in a pillar of support with which I would fight against you. He said: and Farʿawn and his troops and those who were with him were his pillar of support. He said: and with Lūṭ there was not a single believer. He said: and he offered to give them his daughters in marriage, hoping that through them he would have a power that would help him, or that would protect him, and he recited These are my daughters, they are purer for you, he said: he means marriage, but they refused him that, and he recited the saying of Allah, blessed and exalted is He: Indeed, you know that we have no right to your daughters, and indeed, you well know what we desire. The root meaning of rukn (pillar of support) is: the side and the flank upon which one leans and by which one becomes strong.
His saying and he said: a sorcerer or a madman — He says: and he said concerning Mūsā: he is a sorcerer who bewitches the eyes of the people, or a madman, in whom there is insanity. Maʿmar ibn al-Muthannā used to say: "or" in this place has the meaning of the "and" that indicates conjunction, because they said both against him; and he cited concerning that the verse of Jarīr al-Khaṭafī:
Was it Thaʿlaba of the horsemen, or Riyāḥ,
that you have made equal with them — Ṭuhayya and al-Khishāb? (1)
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The footnotes:
(1) The verse is by Jarīr ibn al-Khaṭafī, from a poem in which he satirizes al-Rāʿī al-Numayrī (his dīwān, al-Ṣāwī edition 66). Abū ʿUbayda said in Majāz al-Qurʾān (folio 227-1) concerning His saying, the Exalted: (and they said: a sorcerer or a madman): "or" here stands in place of the "and" that indicates conjunction, because they said both against him. Jarīr said: "Was it Thaʿlaba ... the verse." Ṭuhayya, on the pattern of Sumayya: a clan of Tamīm, named after their mother. And al-Khishāb: the sons of Razām ibn Mālik, and Rabīʿa and Kaʿb ibn Mālik, and Ḥanẓala.
