Tafseer of The Winnowing Winds · Adh-Dhaariyat · 51:59
And indeed, for those who have wronged is a portion [of punishment] like the portion of their predecessors, so let them not impatiently urge Me.
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 statement Truly, for those who have done wrong, there is a portion like the portion of their companions; so let them not ask Me to hasten it — the Exalted, whose remembrance is exalted, says: truly, for those who have ascribed partners to Allah from among the Quraysh and others, there is a dhanūb, and that is the large bucket, and it is also the sijl (full bucket) when it is filled or nearly filled. By dhanūb in this place is meant only: the share and the portion. Of this is the statement of ʿAlqama ibn ʿAbada:
And at every people you have struck with a benefaction,
so to Shaʾs from your generosity a portion (dhanūb) is due (4)
that is to say: a portion; and its origin is what I have mentioned. Of this also is the statement of the rajaz-poet:
For us there is a bucket (dhanūb) and for you a bucket (dhanūb);
and if you refuse, then for us is the well (al-qalīb) (5)
And the meaning of the words is: truly, for those who have done wrong, there is from the punishment of Allah a portion and a share that descends upon them, like the portion of their companions who have passed away before them among the communities, according to their manner of punishment; so let them not hasten it.
And in accordance with what we have said concerning this, the exegetes have spoken.
* 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 statement Truly, for those who have done wrong, there is a portion (dhanūban), he says: a bucket.
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, concerning His statement Truly, for those who have done wrong, there is a portion like the portion of their companions, he said: He says: for those who have done wrong there is a punishment like the punishment of their companions, so let them not ask for hastening.
Ibn Bashshār related to us, he said: Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar related to us, he said: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Abū Bishr, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr a portion like the portion of their companions; let them not ask for hastening: a full bucket (sijl) of the punishment.
He said: ʿAffān ibn Muslim related to us, he said: Shihāb ibn Surayʿa related to us, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, concerning His statement a portion like the portion of their companions, he said: a bucket like the bucket of their companions.
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, he said: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, 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 on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid a portion (dhanūban), he said: a full bucket (sijl).
Bishr related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His statement Truly, for those who have done wrong, there is a portion: a full bucket (sijl) of the punishment of Allah.
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, he said: Muḥammad ibn Thawr related to me, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His statement Truly, for those who have done wrong, there is a portion like the portion of their companions, he said: a punishment like the punishment of their companions.
Yūnus related to me, he said: Ibn Wahb informed us, he said: Ibn Zayd said concerning His statement Truly, for those who have done wrong, there is a portion like the portion of their companions, he said: He says: a portion of the punishment. He said: He says: for them there is a full bucket (sijl) of the punishment of Allah, and this He did with their companions before them; so for them there is a punishment like the punishment of their companions, so let them not ask for hastening.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, he said: Mihrān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Ibrāhīm a portion like the portion of their companions, he said: a part of the punishment.
