Tafseer of The Overthrowing · At-Takwir · 81:7
And when the souls are paired
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 النُّفُوسُ زُوِّجَتْ ("And when the souls are paired"). The people of interpretation (ahl al-taʾwīl) differed concerning its interpretation. Some of them said: every person is joined to his like, and the kinds and counterparts are coupled to one another.
* Mention of those who said that:
Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Wakīʿ related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Simāk, on the authority of al-Nuʿmān ibn Bashīr, on the authority of ʿUmar — may Allah be pleased with him — concerning وَإِذَا النُّفُوسُ زُوِّجَتْ ("And when the souls are paired"), he said: they are the two men who perform the same deed by which they both enter the Garden, and by which they both enter the Fire.
Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Simāk ibn Ḥarb, on the authority of al-Nuʿmān ibn Bashīr, on the authority of ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb — may Allah be pleased with him — concerning وَإِذَا النُّفُوسُ زُوِّجَتْ ("And when the souls are paired"), he said: they are the two men who perform the deed by which they both enter the Garden. And he said: احْشُرُوا الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا وَأَزْوَاجَهُمْ ("Gather those who did wrong and their likes"), he said: their kinds.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Mihrān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Simāk ibn Ḥarb, on the authority of al-Nuʿmān ibn Bashīr, on the authority of ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb — may Allah be pleased with him — concerning وَإِذَا النُّفُوسُ زُوِّجَتْ ("And when the souls are paired"), he said: they are the two men who perform the deed by which they both enter the Garden or the Fire.
Ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Simāk ibn Ḥarb, that he heard al-Nuʿmān ibn Bashīr saying: I heard ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb while he was delivering a sermon, he said: وَكُنْتُمْ أَزْوَاجًا ثَلاثَةً * فَأَصْحَابُ الْمَيْمَنَةِ مَا أَصْحَابُ الْمَيْمَنَةِ * وَأَصْحَابُ الْمَشْأَمَةِ مَا أَصْحَابُ الْمَشْأَمَةِ * وَالسَّابِقُونَ السَّابِقُونَ * أُولَئِكَ الْمُقَرَّبُونَ ("And you will be three kinds: the people of the right hand — what are the people of the right hand! — and the people of the left hand — what are the people of the left hand! — and the foremost are the foremost; those are the ones brought near"). Then he said: وَإِذَا النُّفُوسُ زُوِّجَتْ ("And when the souls are paired"), he said: paired groups in the Garden and paired groups in the Fire.
Hannād related to us, saying: Abū al-Aḥwaṣ related to us, on the authority of Simāk, on the authority of al-Nuʿmān ibn Bashīr, he said: ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb — may Allah be pleased with him — was asked about the statement of Allah: وَإِذَا النُّفُوسُ زُوِّجَتْ ("And when the souls are paired"), he said: the righteous man is coupled to the righteous man in the Garden, and the wicked man to the wicked man in the Fire.
Muḥammad ibn Khalaf related to me, saying: Muḥammad ibn al-Ṣabbāḥ al-Dūlābī related to us, on the authority of al-Walīd, on the authority of Simāk, on the authority of al-Nuʿmān ibn Bashīr, on the authority of the Prophet ﷺ — and al-Nuʿmān on the authority of ʿUmar — he said: وَإِذَا النُّفُوسُ زُوِّجَتْ ("And when the souls are paired"), he said: the kinds; every man with every people who performed his deed. And that is because Allah says: وَكُنْتُمْ أَزْوَاجًا ثَلاثَةً * فَأَصْحَابُ الْمَيْمَنَةِ مَا أَصْحَابُ الْمَيْمَنَةِ * وَأَصْحَابُ الْمَشْأَمَةِ مَا أَصْحَابُ الْمَشْأَمَةِ * وَالسَّابِقُونَ السَّابِقُونَ ("And you will be three kinds: the people of the right hand — what are the people of the right hand! — and the people of the left hand — what are the people of the left hand! — and the foremost are the foremost"). He said: they are the kinds.
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 statement: وَإِذَا النُّفُوسُ زُوِّجَتْ ("And when the souls are paired"), he said: that is when the people will be three kinds.
Muḥammad ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Hawdha related to us, saying: ʿAwf related to us, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, concerning his statement: وَإِذَا النُّفُوسُ زُوِّجَتْ ("And when the souls are paired"), he said: every person is joined to his faction (shīʿa).
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 statement: وَإِذَا النُّفُوسُ زُوِّجَتْ ("And when the souls are paired"), he said: the likes among the people are brought together.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning وَإِذَا النُّفُوسُ زُوِّجَتْ ("And when the souls are paired"), he said: every person is joined to his faction: the Jews to the Jews and the Christians to the Christians.
Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Wakīʿ related 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 النُّفُوسُ زُوِّجَتْ ("And when the souls are paired"), he said: the person is gathered with the companion of his deed.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Mihrān related 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, he said: the person comes with the companion of his deed.
And others said: rather, what is meant by it is that the souls are returned to the bodies and paired with them, that is to say: a partner is given to them.
* Mention of those who said that:
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: al-Muʿtamir related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Abū ʿAmr, on the authority of ʿIkrima, concerning وَإِذَا النُّفُوسُ زُوِّجَتْ ("And when the souls are paired"), he said: the souls return to the bodies.
Ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Ibn Abī ʿAdiyy related to us, on the authority of Dāwūd, on the authority of al-Shaʿbī, that he said concerning this verse وَإِذَا النُّفُوسُ زُوِّجَتْ ("And when the souls are paired"): the bodies are paired, and the souls are returned to the bodies.
ʿUbayd ibn Asbāṭ ibn Muḥammad related to me, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of ʿIkrima, concerning وَإِذَا النُّفُوسُ زُوِّجَتْ ("And when the souls are paired"), he said: the souls are returned to the bodies.
Al-Ḥasan ibn Zurayq al-Ṭahawī related to me, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of ʿIkrima, the same.
Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, saying: Dāwūd informed us, on the authority of al-Shaʿbī, concerning his statement: وَإِذَا النُّفُوسُ زُوِّجَتْ ("And when the souls are paired"), he said: the souls are paired with the bodies.
And the correct of the two interpretations of it is that which ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb — may Allah be pleased with him — interpreted, because of the ground he adduced for it, namely the statement of Allah, whose mention is exalted: وَكُنْتُمْ أَزْوَاجًا ثَلاثَةً ("And you will be three kinds"), and His statement: احْشُرُوا الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا وَأَزْوَاجَهُمْ ("Gather those who did wrong and their likes"). By that are undoubtedly meant the counterparts and the kinds in good and in evil; and likewise His statement: وَإِذَا النُّفُوسُ زُوِّجَتْ ("And when the souls are paired") — with the companions and the likes in good and in evil.
And Maṭar ibn Muḥammad al-Ḍabbī related to me, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Mahdī related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn Muslim al-Qasmalī related to us, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ ibn Anas, on the authority of Abū al-ʿĀliya, concerning his statement: إِذَا الشَّمْسُ كُوِّرَتْ ("When the sun is wound round"), he said: its beginning will come while the people are looking on, and its end will come when the souls are paired.
