Tafseer of The Inevitable · Al-Waaqia · 56:65
If We willed, We could make it [dry] debris, and you would remain in wonder,
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.
The statement concerning the interpretation of His word, the Exalted: لَوْ نَشَاءُ لَجَعَلْنَاهُ حُطَامًا فَظَلْتُمْ تَفَكَّهُونَ ("If We willed, We would make it broken debris, so that you would remain in amazement") (65)
The Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says: if We willed, We would make that crop which We caused to grow into debris — that is, into withered straw from which one derives no benefit, neither in food nor in sustenance.
And His word: فَظَلْتُمْ تَفَكَّهُونَ ("so that you would remain in amazement"). The people of interpretation (ahl al-taʾwīl) differ over its interpretation. Some of them said: its meaning is: so that you would continue to marvel at the calamity that struck you in your crop through its burning and destruction.
* 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, concerning His word: فَظَلْتُمْ تَفَكَّهُونَ ("so that you would remain in amazement"), he said: you marvel.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, he said: Mihrān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: فَظَلْتُمْ تَفَكَّهُونَ ("so that you would remain in amazement"), he said: you marvel.
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, he said: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda: فَظَلْتُمْ تَفَكَّهُونَ ("so that you would remain in amazement"), he said: you marvel.
And others said: its meaning is: so that you would continue to reproach one another over your negligence in obedience to your Lord, exalted be His praise, until there befell you what befell you in the destruction of your crop.
* Mention of who said that:
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, he said: Yaḥyā ibn Wāḍiḥ related to us, he said: al-Ḥusayn related to us, on the authority of Yazīd, on the authority of ʿIkrima, concerning His word: فَظَلْتُمْ تَفَكَّهُونَ ("so that you would remain in amazement"), he says: you reproach one another.
He said: Mihrān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Simāk ibn Ḥarb al-Bakrī, on the authority of ʿIkrima: فَظَلْتُمْ تَفَكَّهُونَ ("so that you would remain in amazement"), he said: you reproach one another.
And others said: rather, its meaning is: so that you would continue to feel remorse over what you had previously done of disobedience toward Allah, which made His punishment binding upon you, until there befell you in your crop what befell you.
* Mention of who said that:
Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, he said: Ibn ʿUlayya related to me, on the authority of Abū Rajāʾ, on the authority of al-Ḥasan: فَظَلْتُمْ تَفَكَّهُونَ ("so that you would remain in amazement"), he said: you feel remorse.
Bishr related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word: فَظَلْتُمْ تَفَكَّهُونَ ("so that you would remain in amazement"), he said: you feel remorse.
And others said: rather, its meaning is: so that you would marvel.
* Mention of who said that:
Yūnus related to me, he said: Ibn Wahb informed us, he said: Ibn Zayd said concerning His word: فَظَلْتُمْ تَفَكَّهُونَ ("so that you would remain in amazement"), he said: you marvel when there happens to your field what happens to it. And he recited the word of Allah, Mighty and Exalted: إِنَّا لَمُغْرَمُونَ * بَلْ نَحْنُ مَحْرُومُونَ ("Indeed, we are laden with debt; nay, we are deprived"). And he recited the word of Allah: وَإِذَا انْقَلَبُوا إِلَى أَهْلِهِمُ انْقَلَبُوا فَكِهِينَ ("And when they returned to their families, they returned rejoicing"), he said: these are in delight. And he recited the word of Allah, exalted be His praise: فَأَخْرَجْنَاهُمْ مِنْ جَنَّاتٍ وَعُيُونٍ ("So We drove them out of gardens and springs") ... up to His word: كَانُوا فِيهَا فَاكِهِينَ ("in which they used to take delight").
And the correct of the statements concerning this is the statement of him who said: the meaning of فَظَلْتُمْ ("so that you would remain") is: so that you would continue to marvel at what struck your crop. Its origin is from al-tafakkuh in conversation, when a man relates to another man something at which he marvels and with which he amuses himself; and likewise here. It is as though the meaning of the words is: so that you would continue to marvel, each one astonishing the other at what befell you.
