Tafseer of The Night · Al-Lail · 92:16
Who had denied and turned away.
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.
( Who denied and turned away ) — He says: the one who denied the signs of his Lord, turned away from them, and did not hold them to be true.
And the exegetes (ahl al-taʾwīl) spoke in a sense similar to what we have said about this.
* Mention of who said that:
Abū Kurayb related to me, saying: Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Hishām ibn al-Ghāz related to us, on the authority of Makḥūl, on the authority of Abū Hurayra, who said: "You will surely enter Paradise (janna), except whoever refuses." They said: "O Abū Hurayra, and who would refuse to enter Paradise?" He said: and then he recited: ( Who denied and turned away ).
Al-Ḥasan ibn Nāṣiḥ related to me, saying: Al-Ḥasan ibn Ḥabīb and Muʿādh ibn Muʿādh related to us, both saying: Al-Ashʿath related to us, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, concerning His word: ( None shall be exposed to it but the most wretched ) — Muʿādh said: the one who denied and turned away, but al-Ḥasan did not say that; he said: the polytheist (mushrik).
And some of the grammarians (ahl al-ʿarabiyya) said: there was no denial by an open negation, but he fell short in the obedience he had been commanded, and that was reckoned as denial. As one says: so-and-so met the enemy, and he denied — when he withdrew and turned away. And it is mentioned that some of the Arabs were heard to say: "Their battle line knows no lie," in the meaning that, when they meet the enemy, they are sincere in the fighting and do not withdraw. He said: and likewise is Allah's word: Nothing shall deny it when it comes to pass .
