Tafseer of The Overthrowing · At-Takwir · 81:4
And when full-term she-camels are neglected
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 statement: وَإِذَا الْعِشَارُ عُطِّلَتْ ("And when the pregnant she-camels are neglected"). Al-ʿishār is the plural of ʿushārāʾ, and that is the she-camel of which ten months of her pregnancy have passed. The Exalted, whose mention is exalted, says: and when these pregnant animals, over which their owners vie with one another, are disregarded and abandoned because of the severity of the terror that descends upon them — how then will it be with other matters?!
And in keeping with what we have said about this, the people of interpretation (ahl al-taʾwīl) have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
Al-Ḥusayn ibn al-Ḥarīth narrated to us, he said: al-Faḍl ibn Mūsā narrated to us, on the authority of al-Ḥusayn ibn Wāqid, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ ibn Anas, on the authority of Abū al-ʿĀliya, he said: Ubayy ibn Kaʿb narrated to me, concerning وَإِذَا الْعِشَارُ عُطِّلَتْ ("And when the pregnant she-camels are neglected"), he said: when their owners disregard them.
Abū Kurayb narrated to us, he said: Wakīʿ narrated to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Abū Yaʿlā, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ ibn Khuthaym, concerning وَإِذَا الْعِشَارُ عُطِّلَتْ ("And when the pregnant she-camels are neglected"), he said: their owners forsake them; they are not milked and their teats are not tied up.
Ibn Ḥumayd narrated to us, he said: Mihrān narrated to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Abū Yaʿlā, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ ibn Khuthaym, concerning وَإِذَا الْعِشَارُ عُطِّلَتْ ("And when the pregnant she-camels are neglected"), he said: they are not milked and their teats are not tied up, and their owners abandon them.
Muḥammad ibn ʿUmāra narrated to me, he said: ʿUbayd Allāh narrated to us, he said: Isrāʾīl informed us, on the authority of Abū Yaḥyā, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning the statement of Allah: وَإِذَا الْعِشَارُ عُطِّلَتْ ("And when the pregnant she-camels are neglected"), he said: they are let loose roaming free: abandoned.
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr narrated to me, he said: Abū ʿĀṣim narrated to us, he said: ʿĪsā narrated to us; and al-Ḥārith narrated to me, he said: al-Ḥasan narrated to us, he said: Warqāʾ narrated to us — both on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning the statement of Allah: وَإِذَا الْعِشَارُ عُطِّلَتْ ("And when the pregnant she-camels are neglected"), he said: the pregnant she-camels.
Ibn Bashshār narrated to us, he said: Hawdha narrated to us, he said: ʿAwf narrated to us, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, concerning وَإِذَا الْعِشَارُ عُطِّلَتْ ("And when the pregnant she-camels are neglected"), he said: their owners let them roam free, so that their teats were not tied up and they were not milked; and there was in the world no property dearer to them than they.
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā narrated to us, he said: Ibn Thawr narrated to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning وَإِذَا الْعِشَارُ عُطِّلَتْ ("And when the pregnant she-camels are neglected"), he said: the pregnant she-camels are let loose roaming free.
It was narrated to me, on the authority of al-Ḥusayn, he said: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd narrated to us, he said: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning his statement: وَإِذَا الْعِشَارُ عُطِّلَتْ ("And when the pregnant she-camels are neglected"), he says: there is no herdsman for them.
