Tafseer of The Jinn · Al-Jinn · 72:17
So We might test them therein. And whoever turns away from the remembrance of his Lord He will put into arduous punishment.
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.
( لِنَفْتِنَهُمْ فِيهِ ) — He said: so that We might test them thereby.
He said: Mihrān related to us, on the authority of Abū Sinān, on the authority of more than one, on the authority of Mujāhid: (مَاءً غَدَقًا) — he said: the water. And al-ghadaq means: the abundant. ( لِنَفْتِنَهُمْ فِيهِ ) — so that they might return to My knowledge concerning them.
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 on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His word: (لأَسْقَيْنَاهُمْ مَاءً غَدَقًا) — he said: We would have given them much wealth. His word: ( لِنَفْتِنَهُمْ فِيهِ ) — he said: so that We might test them.
Abū al-Sāʾib related to me, saying: Abū Muʿāwiya related to us, on the authority of one of his companions, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of al-Minhāl, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr concerning His word: (وَأَنْ لَوِ اسْتَقَامُوا عَلَى الطَّرِيقَةِ) — he said: the religion (لأَسْقَيْنَاهُمْ مَاءً غَدَقًا) — he said: much wealth ( لِنَفْتِنَهُمْ فِيهِ ) — he says: so that We might test them thereby.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word: (وَأَنْ لَوِ اسْتَقَامُوا عَلَى الطَّرِيقَةِ لأَسْقَيْنَاهُمْ مَاءً غَدَقًا) — he said: if they had all believed, We would have bestowed upon them abundance from this world. Allah said: ( لِنَفْتِنَهُمْ فِيهِ ) — He says: so that We might test them thereby.
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda: (لأَسْقَيْنَاهُمْ مَاءً غَدَقًا) — he said: if they had feared Allah, He would have expanded their provision ( لِنَفْتِنَهُمْ فِيهِ ) — he said: so that We might test them therein.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Mihrān related to us, on the authority of Abū Jaʿfar, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ ibn Anas: (مَاءً غَدَقًا) — he said: a pleasant, agreeable life.
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His word: (وَأَنْ لَوِ اسْتَقَامُوا عَلَى الطَّرِيقَةِ لأَسْقَيْنَاهُمْ مَاءً غَدَقًا) — he said: al-ghadaq is the abundant: much wealth ( لِنَفْتِنَهُمْ فِيهِ ) — so that We might test them therein.
ʿAmr ibn ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd al-Āmulī related to us, saying: al-Muṭṭalib ibn Ziyād related to us, on the authority of al-Taymī, saying: ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with him) said concerning His word: (وَأَنْ لَوِ اسْتَقَامُوا عَلَى الطَّرِيقَةِ لأَسْقَيْنَاهُمْ مَاءً غَدَقًا) — he said: where there is water, there is wealth, and where there is wealth, there is the trial.
And others said: no, rather its meaning is: and if they had persisted in error, We would have given them ample provision in order to lure them thereby step by step.
* Mention of who said that:
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: al-Muʿtamir ibn Sulaymān related to us, saying: I heard ʿImrān ibn Ḥudayr, on the authority of Abū Mijlaz, saying: and if they had persisted upon the path of error.
And others said: no, rather its meaning is: and if they had persisted upon the path of truth and had believed, We would have given them ampleness.
* Mention of who said that:
It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn, saying: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd related to us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning His word: (وَأَنْ لَوِ اسْتَقَامُوا عَلَى الطَّرِيقَةِ) — he said: this is a parable that Allah has given, like His word: وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ أَقَامُوا التَّوْرَاةَ وَالإِنْجِيلَ وَمَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْهِمْ مِنْ رَبِّهِمْ لأَكَلُوا مِنْ فَوْقِهِمْ وَمِنْ تَحْتِ أَرْجُلِهِمْ (And if they had observed the Torah and the Gospel and what was sent down to them from their Lord, they would have eaten from above them and from beneath their feet), and His exalted word: وَلَوْ أَنَّ أَهْلَ الْقُرَى آمَنُوا وَاتَّقَوْا لَفَتَحْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ بَرَكَاتٍ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ وَالأَرْضِ (And if the people of the towns had believed and been godfearing, We would have opened upon them blessings from heaven and earth). And the abundant water means: the much water. ( لِنَفْتِنَهُمْ فِيهِ ) — so that We might test them therein.
And His word: ( وَمَنْ يُعْرِضْ عَنْ ذِكْرِ رَبِّهِ يَسْلُكْهُ عَذَابًا صَعَدًا ) — the Exalted and Mighty says: and whoever turns away from the remembrance of his Lord, by which He has admonished him, and that is this Qurʾān; its meaning is: and whoever turns away from listening to the Qurʾān and acting upon it, Allah will drive him into a grievous punishment (ʿadhāb); He says: Allah will drive him into a severe, grievous punishment.
And in accordance with what we have said about it, the scholars 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, concerning His word: ( وَمَنْ يُعْرِضْ عَنْ ذِكْرِ رَبِّهِ يَسْلُكْهُ عَذَابًا صَعَدًا ) — he says: a severity of punishment which he must climb up.
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to me, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us, both on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His word: ( عَذَابًا صَعَدًا ) — he said: a severity of punishment.
Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Wakīʿ related to us, on the authority of Isrāʾīl, on the authority of Jābir, on the authority of Mujāhid, the same.
Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Wakīʿ related to us, on the authority of Isrāʾīl, on the authority of Simāk, on the authority of ʿIkrima, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: ( عَذَابًا صَعَدًا ) — he said: a mountain in Hell (jahannam).
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word: ( يَسْلُكْهُ عَذَابًا صَعَدًا ) — a punishment in which there is no relief.
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda: ( عَذَابًا صَعَدًا ) — he said: a steep ascent of the punishment of Allah in which there is no relief.
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His word: ( يَسْلُكْهُ عَذَابًا ) — he said: al-ṣaʿad is the punishment that pours forth.
And the reciters differed over the recitation of His word: ( يَسْلُكْهُ ). Some reciters of Mecca and Basra recited it as ( نَسْلُكْهُ ) with the nūn, in conformity with His word ( لِنَفْتِنَهُمْ ) which is with the nūn. And the general reciters of Kūfa recited it with the yāʾ, with the meaning: Allah drives him, referring back to the Lord in His word ( وَمَنْ يُعْرِضْ عَنْ ذِكْرِ ).
