Tafseer of The Inevitable · Al-Waaqia · 56:3
It will bring down [some] and raise up [others].
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.
And His word: خَافِضَةٌ رَافِعَةٌ ("abasing, exalting") — the Exalted, whose remembrance is exalted, says: the Event (al-wāqiʿa) will then be abasing for groups who were mighty in the worldly life, casting them down into the Fire of Allah.
And His word: رَافِعَةٌ ("exalting") means: it exalts groups who were lowly in the worldly life, raising them up to the mercy and the garden of Allah. It has also been said: it lowered the voice so that it made the near one hear, and raised the voice so that it made the far one hear.
* Mention of those who said concerning that what we have said:
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Yaḥyā ibn Wāḍiḥ related to us, saying: ʿUbaydallāh — that is, al-ʿAtakī — related to us, on the authority of ʿUthmān ibn ʿAbdallāh ibn Surāqa: خَافِضَةٌ رَافِعَةٌ ("abasing, exalting"), he said: the Hour abased the enemies of Allah into the Fire, and exalted the allies of Allah into the garden.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word: خَافِضَةٌ رَافِعَةٌ ("abasing, exalting"), he says: it penetrated every plain and mountain, until it made the near one and the far one hear; then it exalted groups to the honor of Allah and abased groups to the punishment of Allah.
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda: خَافِضَةٌ رَافِعَةٌ ("abasing, exalting"), and he said: it made the near one and the far one hear, abasing for groups to the punishment of Allah, and exalting for groups to the honor of Allah.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Yaḥyā ibn Wāḍiḥ related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, on the authority of Yazīd, on the authority of ʿIkrima, concerning His word: خَافِضَةٌ رَافِعَةٌ ("abasing, exalting"), he said: it lowered the voice and made the near one hear, and it raised the voice and made the far one hear; he said: thus the near one and the far one were equal with respect to Allah.
Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: خَافِضَةٌ رَافِعَةٌ ("abasing, exalting"), he said: it made the near one and the far one hear.
It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn, he said: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd related to us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning His word: خَافِضَةٌ رَافِعَةٌ ("abasing, exalting"): it lowered and made the near one hear, and it raised and made the far one hear, so that the near one and the far one were equal therein.
