Tafseer of Those who drag forth · An-Naazi'aat · 79:3
And [by] those who glide [as if] swimming
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 words: وَالسَّابِحَاتِ سَبْحًا ("And by those who glide along, gliding") (79:3). Allah, whose mention is exalted, says: and by those who glide along, gliding.
The exegetes differed concerning that by which He, whose praise is exalted, swore under "those who glide along." Some of them said: it is death, which glides along into the soul of the son of Adam.
* Mention of who said that:
Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Wakīʿ related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: وَالسَّابِحَاتِ سَبْحًا ("And by those who glide along, gliding"), he said: death. Thus I found it in my book.
And Ibn Ḥumayd related it to us, saying: Mihrān related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: وَالسَّابِحَاتِ سَبْحًا ("And by those who glide along, gliding"), he said: the angels. And this too I found thus in my book. If what we have mentioned from Ibn Ḥumayd is correct, then Mujāhid held the view that the descent of the angels from heaven is a gliding, just as one says of the noble steed: "it glides," when it passes by swiftly.
And others said: they are the stars, which glide along in their course.
* Mention of who said that:
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: وَالسَّابِحَاتِ سَبْحًا ("And by those who glide along, gliding"), he said: they are the stars.
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda, the like of that.
And others said: they are the ships.
* Mention of who said that:
Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Wakīʿ related to us, on the authority of Wāṣil ibn al-Sāʾib, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ: وَالسَّابِحَاتِ سَبْحًا ("And by those who glide along, gliding"), he said: the ships.
The correct judgment concerning this, in my view, is that one says: indeed, Allah, whose praise is exalted, swore by those who glide along, gliding, among His creatures, and He did not single out one part of that to the exclusion of another. Thus that encompasses everyone who glides along, for the reason which we previously described in connection with "al-Nāziʿāt" (those who pull out).
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Footnotes:
(10) It is as though Jābir did not consider sound the interpretation of "al-sābiḥāt" — which is a plural — by "death," which is singular, and so he said: thus I found it in my book. Perhaps he means: thus I wrote it down as I heard it from the masters.
(11) "fa-dhālika" (thus that encompasses) ... perhaps the original wording was: "fa-shamila dhālika" (thus that encompassed) ... and so forth.
(12) That is to say: in the interpretation of the word "al-Nāziʿāt."
