Tafseer of The Resurrection · Al-Qiyaama · 75:34
Woe to you, and woe!
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.
His word: ثُمَّ ذَهَبَ إِلَى أَهْلِهِ يَتَمَطَّى ("Then he went to his family, strutting"). The Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says: then he went on to his family, turning toward them, swaggering pompously in his gait.
And in the spirit of what we have said about this, the exegetes (ahl al-taʾwīl) also 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: ثُمَّ ذَهَبَ إِلَى أَهْلِهِ يَتَمَطَّى ("Then he went to his family, strutting"), that is to say: he swaggered pompously.
Saʿīd ibn ʿAmr al-Sakūnī related to me, saying: Baqiyya ibn al-Walīd related to us, on the authority of Maysara ibn ʿUbayd, on the authority of Zayd ibn Aslam, concerning His word: ثُمَّ ذَهَبَ إِلَى أَهْلِهِ يَتَمَطَّى ("Then he went to his family, strutting"), he said: he swaggered pompously. He said: that was the gait of the Banū Makhzūm.
Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Wakīʿ related to us, on the authority of Mūsā ibn ʿUbayda, on the authority of Ismāʿīl ibn Umayya, on the authority of Mujāhid: ذَهَبَ إِلَى أَهْلِهِ يَتَمَطَّى ("he went to his family, strutting"), he said: he saw a man of Quraysh walking and said: this is how he walked, just as this one walks; he swaggered pompously.
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word: يَتَمَطَّى ("strutting"), he said: he swaggered pompously; and it was Abū Jahl ibn Hishām — that was his gait.
And it has been said: this verse was revealed concerning Abū Jahl.
* 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 on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His word: يَتَمَطَّى ("strutting"), he said: Abū Jahl.
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His word: فَلا صَدَّقَ وَلا صَلَّى وَلَكِنْ كَذَّبَ وَتَوَلَّى ثُمَّ ذَهَبَ إِلَى أَهْلِهِ يَتَمَطَّى ("For he neither believed nor prayed, but he denied and turned away, and then he went to his family, strutting"), he said: this concerns Abū Jahl, who swaggered pompously.
And by His word يَتَمَطَّى ("strutting") is meant: he turns his back out of pomposity; and the "maṭā" is the back. From this derives the report concerning the Messenger of Allah ﷺ: "When my community walks with al-muṭayṭāʾ (the pompous swaggering gait)" — and that is that the man lets his arms swing and sways back and forth.
And His word: أَوْلَى لَكَ فَأَوْلَى ثُمَّ أَوْلَى لَكَ فَأَوْلَى ("Woe to you, and again woe; then woe to you, and again woe") — this is a threat from Allah, threat upon threat, against Abū Jahl.
As Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: أَوْلَى لَكَ فَأَوْلَى ثُمَّ أَوْلَى لَكَ فَأَوْلَى ("Woe to you, and again woe; then woe to you, and again woe"): threat upon threat, as you hear. He claimed that this was revealed concerning the enemy of Allah, Abū Jahl. It has been transmitted to us that the Prophet of Allah ﷺ seized him by the collar of his garments and said: أَوْلَى لَكَ فَأَوْلَى ثُمَّ أَوْلَى لَكَ فَأَوْلَى ("Woe to you, and again woe; then woe to you, and again woe"). Then the enemy of Allah, Abū Jahl, said: does Muḥammad threaten me? By Allah, neither you nor your Lord can do anything to me; by Allah, I am mightier than anyone who walks between her two mountains.
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda, he said: the Prophet ﷺ seized him by the hand, that is, by the hand of Abū Jahl, and said: أَوْلَى لَكَ فَأَوْلَى ثُمَّ أَوْلَى لَكَ فَأَوْلَى ("Woe to you, and again woe; then woe to you, and again woe"). Then he said: O Muḥammad, neither you nor your Lord can do anything to me; I am truly mightier than anyone who walks between her two mountains. And when it was the day of Badr, he looked down upon them and said: after this day Allah will no longer be worshipped. And Allah struck off his neck and killed him in the worst manner of killing.
