Tafseer of The Sovereignty · Al-Mulk · 67:4
Then return [your] vision twice again. [Your] vision will return to you humbled while it is fatigued.
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: ( ثُمَّ ارْجِعِ الْبَصَرَ كَرَّتَيْنِ — "then return the gaze a second time"). The Exalted, praised be His praise, says: then return the gaze, O son of Adam, two times, one after the other, and look ( هَلْ تَرَى مِنْ فُطُورٍ — "do you see any cleft") or irregularity? ( يَنْقَلِبْ إِلَيْكَ الْبَصَرُ خَاسِئًا — "the gaze will return to you humbled"). He says: your gaze returns to you humbled and driven away, derived from their expression to the dog: "ikhsaʾ" ("be off!"), when they drive it away, that is to say: removed and humbled ( وَهُوَ حَسِيرٌ — "while it is worn out"). He says: while it is wearied and exhausted.
In the spirit of what we have said about that, the people of exegesis have spoken.
* 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 ( ثُمَّ ارْجِعِ الْبَصَرَ كَرَّتَيْنِ — "then return the gaze a second time"), he says: do you see in the heaven any flaw? ( يَنْقَلِبْ إِلَيْكَ الْبَصَرُ خَاسِئًا وَهُوَ حَسِيرٌ — "the gaze will return to you humbled and worn out") through the darkness of the night.
ʿAlī related to me, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His word: ( خَاسِئًا وَهُوَ حَسِيرٌ — "humbled while it is worn out"), he says: humbled. And His word: ( وَهُوَ حَسِيرٌ — "while it is worn out"), he says: oppressed/trembling.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word: ( يَنْقَلِبْ إِلَيْكَ الْبَصَرُ خَاسِئًا — "the gaze will return to you humbled"), that is to say: worn out ( وَهُوَ حَسِيرٌ — "while it is worn out"), that is to say: wearied.
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to me, saying: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word: ( خَاسِئًا — "humbled"), he said: lowly and driven away, ( وَهُوَ حَسِيرٌ — "while it is worn out"), he says: wearied; it saw neither flaw nor irregularity.
And some of them said: al-khāsiʾ and al-ḥasīr mean the same thing.
* Mention of who said that:
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said, concerning His word: ( فَارْجِعِ الْبَصَرَ هَلْ تَرَى مِنْ فُطُورٍ — "so return the gaze; do you see any cleft") ... the verses, he said: al-khāsiʾ and al-khāsir mean the same thing; his gaze became worn out in searching for a cleft in it, and it returned, worn out, before it had seen any cleft in it. He said: and when the Day of Resurrection comes, it (the heaven) will split, then be rent open, and then comes a matter greater than that, by which it is drawn away.
The statement concerning the exegesis of the word of the Exalted: وَلَقَدْ زَيَّنَّا السَّمَاءَ الدُّنْيَا بِمَصَابِيحَ وَجَعَلْنَاهَا رُجُومًا لِلشَّيَاطِينِ وَأَعْتَدْنَا لَهُمْ عَذَابَ السَّعِيرِ ("And indeed, We have adorned the nearest heaven with lamps and have made them projectiles for the devils, and We have prepared for them the punishment of the Blaze") (5).
