Tafseer of The Inevitable · Al-Waaqia · 56:36
And made them virgins,
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 words: فَجَعَلْنَاهُنَّ أَبْكَارًا ("and We have made them virgins") mean: We have made them virgins, untouched women, after they previously were not.
As Ḥumayd related to us, he said: Mihrān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Mūsā ibn ʿUbayda, on the authority of Yazīd ibn Abān al-Raqāshī, on the authority of Anas ibn Mālik, on the authority of the Prophet ﷺ: إِنَّا أَنْشَأْنَاهُنَّ إِنْشَاءً ("We have brought them into being in a new creation"), he said: "They were old women who in the world had light-colored, weak-sighted, rheumy eyes."
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, he said: Mihrān related to us, on the authority of Mūsā ibn ʿUbayda, on the authority of Yazīd ibn Abān al-Raqāshī, on the authority of Anas ibn Mālik, who said: the Prophet ﷺ said: إِنَّا أَنْشَأْنَاهُنَّ إِنْشَاءً ("We have brought them into being in a new creation"), he said: He brought into being old women who in the world had weak-sighted, rheumy eyes.
ʿUmar ibn Ismāʿīl ibn Mujālid related to us, he said: Muḥammad ibn Rabīʿa al-Kilābī related to us, on the authority of Mūsā ibn ʿUbayda al-Rabadhī, on the authority of Yazīd al-Raqāshī, on the authority of Anas ibn Mālik, who said: the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said concerning His words: إِنَّا أَنْشَأْنَاهُنَّ إِنْشَاءً ("We have brought them into being in a new creation"), he said: "Among them are the old women who in the world had weak-sighted, rheumy eyes."
Sawwār ibn ʿAbdallāh ibn Dāwūd related to us, on the authority of Mūsā ibn ʿUbayda al-Rabadhī, on the authority of Yazīd al-Raqāshī, on the authority of Anas ibn Mālik, on the authority of the Prophet ﷺ concerning His words: إِنَّا أَنْشَأْنَاهُنَّ إِنْشَاءً ("We have brought them into being in a new creation"), he said: "They are those who in the world were old women with weak-sighted, rheumy eyes."
Ibn Bashshār related to us, he said: ʿAmr ibn ʿĀṣim related to us, he said: al-Muʿtamir related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Qatāda, on the authority of Ṣafwān ibn Muḥriz concerning His words: إِنَّا أَنْشَأْنَاهُنَّ إِنْشَاءً * فَجَعَلْنَاهُنَّ أَبْكَارًا ("We have brought them into being in a new creation and made them virgins"), he said: they are the old women with rheumy eyes.
Ibn Bashshār related to us, he said: Sulaymān related to us, he said: Abū Hilāl related to us, he said: Qatāda related to us, concerning His words: إِنَّا أَنْشَأْنَاهُنَّ إِنْشَاءً * فَجَعَلْنَاهُنَّ أَبْكَارًا ("We have brought them into being in a new creation and made them virgins"), he said: among them are the trembling old women, whom Allah brought into being in this creation.
Bishr related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: إِنَّا أَنْشَأْنَاهُنَّ إِنْشَاءً ("We have brought them into being in a new creation"), Qatāda said: Ṣafwān ibn Muḥriz used to say: among them are the trembling old women, whom Allah has made just as you hear.
It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn, he said: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd related to us, he said: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning His words: أَبْكَارًا ("virgins"), he says: untouched women.
Aḥmad ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, he said: Muḥammad ibn al-Faraj al-Ṣadafī al-Dimyāṭī related to us, on the authority of ʿAmr ibn Hāshim, on the authority of Ibn Abī Karīma, on the authority of Hishām ibn Ḥassān, on the authority of Umm Salama, the wife of the Prophet ﷺ, that she said: I said: O Messenger of Allah, tell me about the words of Allah: إِنَّا أَنْشَأْنَاهُنَّ إِنْشَاءً * فَجَعَلْنَاهُنَّ أَبْكَارًا * عُرُبًا أَتْرَابًا * لأصْحَابِ الْيَمِينِ ("We have brought them into being in a new creation and made them virgins, loving and of equal age, for the people of the right hand"). He said: "They are those who were taken from the world as old women with rheumy eyes and gray hair; Allah created them anew after old age and made them untouched virgins."
Abū ʿUbayd al-Waṣṣābī related to us, he said: Muḥammad ibn Ḥumayr related to us, he said: Thābit ibn ʿAjlān related to us, he said: I heard Saʿīd ibn Jubayr narrate on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His words: إِنَّا أَنْشَأْنَاهُنَّ إِنْشَاءً * فَجَعَلْنَاهُنَّ أَبْكَارًا * عُرُبًا أَتْرَابًا ("We have brought them into being in a new creation and made them virgins, loving and of equal age"), he said: they belong to the children of Adam; they are your wives in this world, whom Allah brings into being as untouched, loving virgins.
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Footnotes:
(6) Possibly he omitted the predicate of "kunna" ("they were"), relying on its explicit mention in the subsequent narration; that is: after they had been old women.
