Tafseer of The Dawn · Al-Fajr · 89:14
Indeed, your Lord is in observation.
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.
And His word: إِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَبِالْمِرْصَادِ ("Indeed, your Lord lies in wait") — the Exalted, whose remembrance is exalted, says to His Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ: Indeed, your Lord, O Muḥammad, lies in wait for those whose history I have related to you, and for their like among the people of unbelief — He lies in wait for them on account of their deeds in this world and in the hereafter, upon the bridges of hell (jahannam), to heap them up therein when they enter it on the Day of Resurrection.
The exegetes (ahl al-taʾwīl) differed over its interpretation. Some of them said: the meaning of His word لَبِالْمِرْصَادِ is: in a place where He sees and hears.
* Mention of who said that:
ʿAlī related to me, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His word: إِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَبِالْمِرْصَادِ — he says: He sees and hears.
And others said: thereby is meant that He lies in wait for the people of injustice.
* Mention of who said that:
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Mihrān related to us, on the authority of al-Mubārak ibn Mujāhid, on the authority of Juwaybir, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk concerning this verse, he said: when the Day of Resurrection comes, the Lord commands that His throne-seat (kursī) be brought, and it is placed above the Fire (al-nār), and He takes His place upon it. Then He says: by My might and My majesty, today no one with a grievance shall pass Me by. That is His word: لَبِالْمِرْصَادِ .
He said: al-Ḥakam ibn Bashīr related to us, saying: ʿAmr ibn Qays related to us, saying: it has reached me that over hell (jahannam) there are three bridges: a bridge upon which is the entrusted charge (amāna) — when they pass over it, it says: O Lord, this one is faithful, O Lord, this one is treacherous; and a bridge upon which is kinship (raḥim) — when they pass over it, it says: O Lord, this one maintained the ties, O Lord, this one severed the ties; and a bridge upon which is the Lord: إِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَبِالْمِرْصَادِ .
He said: Mihrān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān: إِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَبِالْمِرْصَادِ — that is to say: hell (jahannam), above it are three bridges: a bridge upon which is mercy, a bridge upon which is the entrusted charge (amāna), and a bridge upon which is the Lord, the Blessed and Exalted.
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of al-Ḥasan: إِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَبِالْمِرْصَادِ — he said: a place of lying in wait for the deeds of the children of Adam.
