Tafseer of The Constellations · Al-Burooj · 85:13
Indeed, it is He who originates [creation] and repeats.
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.
Exposition of the interpretation of His statement, the Exalted: إِنَّهُ هُوَ يُبْدِئُ وَيُعِيدُ (13) ("Indeed, He it is who originates [the creation] and repeats it (13)").
The exegetes (ahl al-taʾwīl) differed concerning the meaning of His statement: إِنَّهُ هُوَ يُبْدِئُ وَيُعِيدُ ("Indeed, He it is who originates and repeats"). Some of them said: its meaning is: indeed, Allāh originated His creation, and He it is who makes a beginning — in the sense that: He brings forth His creation for the first time, then He causes them to die, then He causes them to return alive after their death, in the same form as before their death.
* Mention of those who said that:
It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn, who said: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd related to us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning His statement: يُبْدِئُ وَيُعِيدُ ("He originates and repeats"): by this the creation is meant.
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His statement: يُبْدِئُ وَيُعِيدُ ("He originates and repeats"), he said: He originates the creation when He creates it, and He repeats it on the Day of Resurrection.
And others said: no, rather its meaning is: indeed, He it is who originates the punishment and repeats it.
* Mention of those 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: إِنَّهُ هُوَ يُبْدِئُ وَيُعِيدُ ("Indeed, He it is who originates and repeats"), he said: He originates the punishment (ʿadhāb) and repeats it.
And the more correct of the two interpretations therein, according to me, is the one that is most consistent with the apparent meaning to which the revelation points, [namely] the statement which we have mentioned from Ibn ʿAbbās, and that is that He originates the punishment for the people of disbelief in Him and repeats it, just as the Exalted, glorified be His praise, said: فَلَهُمْ عَذَابُ جَهَنَّمَ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابُ الْحَرِيقِ ("for them is the punishment of Hell (jahannam) and for them is the punishment of the burning fire") in this world — thus He originated that for them in this world, and He repeats it for them in the Hereafter.
And I have only said: this is the more correct of the two interpretations, because Allāh followed it with His statement: إِنَّ بَطْشَ رَبِّكَ لَشَدِيدٌ ("Indeed, the grip of your Lord is severe") — thus, as an exposition of the meaning of the severity of His grip which He had already mentioned beforehand, it is more in accordance with the exposition than an exposition of something of which no prior mention has been made. And among that which supports what we have said, in clarity and correctness, is His statement: وَهُوَ الْغَفُورُ الْوَدُودُ ("and He is the Forgiving, the Loving") — this clarifies that what precedes it is the mention of His report concerning His punishment and the severity of His retribution.
