Tafseer of The Iron · Al-Hadid · 57:13
On the [same] Day the hypocrite men and hypocrite women will say to those who believed, "Wait for us that we may acquire some of your light." It will be said, "Go back behind you and seek light." And a wall will be placed between them with a door, its interior containing mercy, but on the outside of it is torment.
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.
He, exalted is His mention, says: that is the magnificent triumph, on the Day when the hypocrite men and the hypocrite women say — and "the Day" is connected with the triumph for those who believed in Allah and His messengers — : look upon us.
The reciters differed over the reading of His word: انْظُرُونَا (look upon us / wait for us). The majority of the reciters of Medina and Basra, and some of the people of Kufa, read it as انْظُرُونَا with a connected (waṣl) hamza, in the meaning of "wait for us." And the majority of the reciters of Kufa read it as أَنْظِرُونَا with a cut-off (qaṭʿ) alif, derived from "anẓartu," in the meaning of: defer us (grant us respite). Al-Farrāʾ mentioned that the Arabs say "anẓirnī" while they mean: wait a moment for me; and in support of this he recited the verse of ʿAmr ibn Kulthūm:
O Abū Hind, do not be hasty against us, and grant us respite, that we may inform you of the certainty. (1)
He said: the meaning of this is: wait a moment for us, that we may inform you, for here there is no question of respite; it is merely a listening, as you say to a man: listen to me until I inform you.
And the correct reading herein is, in my view, the waṣl (connected reading), because that is what is well-known in the language of the Arabs when "wait for us" is meant by it, and because respite has no meaning in this place, such that one would read أَنْظِرُونَا with fatḥa on the alif and with hamza.
His word: نَقْتَبِسْ مِنْ نُورِكُمْ (that we may take from your light) — He says: that we may illuminate ourselves by your light; and "al-qabas" is the flame.
His word: قِيلَ ارْجِعُوا وَرَاءَكُمْ فَالْتَمِسُوا نُورًا (it will be said: return back and then seek a light) — He, praised be His praise, says: then they will be answered by being told: return whence you came, and seek there for yourselves a light, for there is no way for you to take from our light.
And in accordance with what we have said concerning this, the scholars of exegesis spoke.
* Mention of who said that:
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, concerning His word: يَوْمَ يَقُولُ الْمُنَافِقُونَ وَالْمُنَافِقَاتُ (the Day when the hypocrite men and the hypocrite women say) ... up to His word: وَبِئْسَ الْمَصِيرُ (and evil is the destination) — Ibn ʿAbbās said: while the people were in darkness, Allah sent a light; when the believers saw the light, they turned toward it, and the light was a guide from Allah to the Garden. When the hypocrites saw that the believers had gone away, they followed them, whereupon Allah darkened it for the hypocrites. Then they said: look upon us, that we may take from your light, for we were indeed with you in the worldly life. The believers said: return whence you came, into the darkness, and seek the light there.
It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn, saying: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd informed us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning His word: يَوْمَ يَقُولُ الْمُنَافِقُونَ وَالْمُنَافِقَاتُ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا (the Day when the hypocrite men and the hypocrite women say to those who believed) ... the verse — Ibn ʿAbbās used to say: while the people were in darkness ... then he mentioned something similar.
His word: فَضُرِبَ بَيْنَهُمْ بِسُورٍ لَهُ بَابٌ بَاطِنُهُ فِيهِ الرَّحْمَةُ وَظَاهِرُهُ مِنْ قِبَلِهِ الْعَذَابُ (then a wall will be erected between them, having a gate: its inner side, therein is mercy, and its outer side, from that direction comes the punishment) — He, exalted is His mention, says: then Allah erects between the believers and the hypocrites a wall, and that is a separation between the people of the Garden and the people of the Fire.
And in accordance with what we have said concerning this, the scholars of exegesis spoke.
* Mention of who said that:
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 of them — on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His word: بِسُورٍ لَهُ بَابٌ (a wall having a gate) — he said: like the partition in al-Aʿrāf.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word: فَضُرِبَ بَيْنَهُمْ بِسُورٍ لَهُ بَابٌ — the wall: a barrier between the Garden and the Fire.
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His word: فَضُرِبَ بَيْنَهُمْ بِسُورٍ لَهُ بَابٌ — he said: this is the wall which Allah mentioned: وَبَيْنَهُمَا حِجَابٌ (and between the two is a partition).
And it has been said: that wall is at Jerusalem (Bayt al-Maqdis), by the valley of Jahannam.
* Mention of who said that:
ʿAlī related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan ibn Bilāl related to us, saying: Ḥammād related to us, saying: Abū Sinān informed us, saying: I was with ʿAlī ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbbās by the valley of Jahannam, and he narrated from his father, saying: فَضُرِبَ بَيْنَهُمْ بِسُورٍ لَهُ بَابٌ بَاطِنُهُ فِيهِ الرَّحْمَةُ وَظَاهِرُهُ مِنْ قِبَلِهِ الْعَذَابُ — and he said: this is the location of the wall by the valley of Jahannam.
Ibrāhīm ibn ʿAṭiyya ibn Rudayḥ ibn ʿAṭiyya related to me, saying: my uncle Muḥammad ibn Rudayḥ ibn ʿAṭiyya related to me, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz, on the authority of Abū al-ʿAwwām, on the authority of ʿUbāda ibn al-Ṣāmit, that he used to say concerning بَابٌ بَاطِنُهُ فِيهِ الرَّحْمَةُ وَظَاهِرُهُ مِنْ قِبَلِهِ الْعَذَابُ: he said: this is the gate of mercy.
Ibn al-Barqī related to us, saying: ʿAmr ibn Abī Salama related to us, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn ʿAṭiyya ibn Qays, on the authority of Abū al-ʿAwwām, the muezzin of Jerusalem, saying: I heard ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ say: verily, the wall which Allah mentioned in the Qurʾān — فَضُرِبَ بَيْنَهُمْ بِسُورٍ لَهُ بَابٌ بَاطِنُهُ فِيهِ الرَّحْمَةُ وَظَاهِرُهُ مِنْ قِبَلِهِ الْعَذَابُ — that is the eastern wall: its inner side is the mosque, and its outer side is the valley of Jahannam.
Muḥammad ibn ʿAwf related to me, saying: Abū al-Mughīra related to us, saying: Ṣafwān related to us, saying: Shurayḥ related to us that Kaʿb used to say concerning the gate that is at Jerusalem: verily, that is the gate which Allah mentioned: فَضُرِبَ بَيْنَهُمْ بِسُورٍ لَهُ بَابٌ بَاطِنُهُ فِيهِ الرَّحْمَةُ وَظَاهِرُهُ مِنْ قِبَلِهِ الْعَذَابُ.
His word: لَهُ بَابٌ بَاطِنُهُ فِيهِ الرَّحْمَةُ (having a gate, its inner side, therein is mercy) — He, exalted is His mention, says: that wall has a gate; its inner side, therein is mercy, and its outer side, from that outer side, is the punishment — by which He means the Fire.
And in accordance with what we have said concerning this, the scholars of exegesis spoke.
* Mention of who said that:
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: وَظَاهِرُهُ مِنْ قِبَلِهِ الْعَذَابُ: that is to say, the Fire.
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His word: بَاطِنُهُ فِيهِ الرَّحْمَةُ — he said: the Garden and what is in it.
