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Ayah
Word by Word
قُتِلَ
Is destroyed
ٱلۡإِنسَٰنُ
the man
مَآ
how
أَكۡفَرَهُۥ
ungrateful is he!
قُتِلَ
Is destroyed
ٱلۡإِنسَٰنُ
the man
مَآ
how
أَكۡفَرَهُۥ
ungrateful is he!
Translation
Destroyed [i.e., cursed] is man;1 how disbelieving is he.
Footnotes
1 - i.e., those who deny Allāh's message.
Tafsir
Perish man!, accursed be the disbeliever! What has made him ungrateful? (an interrogative statement meant as a rebuke) - what has driven him to disbelief?
The Refutation against Whoever denies Life after Death
Allah rebukes those who deny the Resurrection and the Final Gathering.
قُتِلَ الاِْنسَانُ مَا أَكْفَرَهُ
Qutila mankind! How ungrateful he is!
Ad-Dahhak reported from Ibn Abbas that he said, (
قُتِلَ
الاِْنسَانُ
Qutila mankind!)
May man be cursed.
Abu Malik also made a similar statement. He said,
This refers to the rejecting type of man, due to his abundant denial without any supporting argument. Rather he denies simply because he thinks it is farfetched and because he lacks knowledge of it.
Ibn Jurayj said,
مَأ أَكْفَرَهُ
How ungrateful he is!
This means none is worse in disbelief than he is.
Qatadah said,
مَأ أَكْفَرَهُ
How ungrateful he is!
This means none is more cursed than he is.
Then Allah explains how He created him from something despised and that He is able to bring him back to life just as He created him initially.
Allah says,
مِنْ أَيِّ شَيْءٍ خَلَقَهُ
مِن نُّطْفَةٍ خَلَقَهُ فَقَدَّرَهُ
From what thing did He create him From a Nutfah He created him, and then set him in due proportion.
meaning, He decreed his life span, his sustenance, his deeds, and whether he would be miserable or happy.
ثُمَّ السَّبِيلَ يَسَّرَهُ
Then He made the path easy for him.
Al-`Awfi reported from Ibn `Abbas,
Then He made his coming out of his mother's belly easy for him.
This was also said by Ikrimah, Ad-Dahhak, Abu Salih, Qatadah, As-Suddi, and it was the explanation preferred by Ibn Jarir.
Mujahid said, This is similar to Allah's statement,
إِنَّا هَدَيْنَـهُ السَّبِيلَ إِمَّا شَاكِراً وَإِمَّا كَفُوراً
Verily, We guided him on the path, he is either grateful or ungrateful. (76:3)
meaning, We explained it to him, clarified it, and made it easy for him to act upon.
Al-Hasan and Ibn Zayd both said the same.
This is the most correct view and Allah knows best.
Concerning Allah's statement,
ثُمَّ أَمَاتَهُ فَأَقْبَرَهُ
Then He causes him to die and puts him in his grave.
After creating man, Allah causes him to die and makes him the inhabitant of a grave.
Allah said;
ثُمَّ إِذَا شَاء أَنشَرَهُ
Then when it is His will, He will resurrect him.
meaning, He resurrects him after his death and this is called Al-Ba`th (resurrection) and An-Nushur (resuscitation).
وَمِنْ ءَايَـتِهِ أَنْ خَلَقَكُمْ مِّن تُرَابٍ ثُمَّ إِذَا أَنتُمْ بَشَرٌ تَنتَشِرُونَ
And among His signs is this that He created you from dust, and then behold, you are human beings scattered. (30:20)
وَانظُرْ إِلَى العِظَامِ كَيْفَ نُنشِزُهَا ثُمَّ نَكْسُوهَا لَحْمًا
And look at the bones, how We bring them together and clothe them with flesh. (2:259)
In the Two Sahihs it is narrated by way of Al-A`mash from Abu Salih, from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet said,
كُلُّ ابْنِ ادَمَ يَبْلَى إِلاَّ عَجْبَ الذَّنَبِ مِنْهُ خُلِقَ وَفِيهِ يُرَكَّب
All of the Sons of Adam (men) will decay except for the bone of coccyx (tailbone). From it he (man) was created and by it he will be reconstructed.
Concerning Allah's statement,
كَلَّ لَمَّا يَقْضِ مَا أَمَرَهُ
Nay, but has not done what He commanded him.
Ibn Jarir said,
Allah is saying, `Nay, the matter is not as this disbelieving man says. He claims that he has fulfilled Allah's right upon him regarding himself and his wealth.
لَمَّا يَقْضِ مَأ أَمَرَهُ
But he has not done what He commanded him.
Allah is saying that man has not fulfilled for his Lord the obligations that were imposed upon him.
What seems apparent to me of its actual meaning -- and Allah knows best -- is that the Ayah
ثُمَّ إِذَا شَأءَ أَنشَرَهُ
Then when it is His will, He will resurrect him.
means, He will resurrect him.
كَلَّ لَمَّا يَقْضِ مَأ أَمَرَهُ
Nay! But he has not done what He commanded him.
means, He has not done it (resurrected them) as of yet, until the time period has expired and the extent of the earthly life of humanity is complete, according to the lives of all whom Allah has written it to exist from the time they are brought into existence into the world. Verily, Allah has decreed the existence of mankind, and its duration, therefore, when that is finished with Allah, He resurrects the creatures and repeats their creation just as He initially created them.
The Growth of the Seed and Other Things is a Proof of Life after Death
Then Allah says;
فَلْيَنظُرِ الاِنسَانُ إِلَى طَعَامِهِ
Then let man look at his food?
This is a call to reflect upon Allah's favor.
It also contains an evidence in the vegetation's coming to life from the lifeless earth, that the bodies can be brought to life after being decayed bones and scattered dust.
أَنَّا صَبَبْنَا الْمَاء صَبًّا
We pour forth water in abundance.
meaning, `We sent it down from the sky to the earth.'
ثُمَّ شَقَقْنَا الاَْرْضَ شَقًّا
And We split the earth in clefts.
meaning, `We cause it (the water) to settle in it (the earth), and it enters into its boundaries, and mingles with the parts of the seeds that are left in the earth. From this the seeds grow, rise up and appear on the surface of the earth (in the form of vegetation).'
فَأَنبَتْنَا فِيهَا حَبًّا
وَعِنَبًا وَقَضْبًا
And We cause therein Habb to grow. And grapes and Qadb,
- Al-Habb refers to all types of seeds (or grains).
- Grapes are well-known.
- Al-Qadb are the moist (green) herbal plants that animals graze on. It is also called Al-Qat.
Ibn `Abbas, Qatadah, Ad-Dahhak and As-Suddi, all said this.
Al-Hasan Al-Basri said, Al-Qadb is fodder.
وَزَيْتُونًا
And olives,
It is well-known, and it is a food just as its juice is a food. It is eaten for breakfast and used as an oil.
وَنَخْلً
And date palms,
It (i.e., its fruit) is eaten as Balah, Busr, Rutab and Tamr, Niya' and Matbukh, all of which are varieties of dates that range from unripe, ripe and dried in their textures.
Its juice is also extracted to make pulpy fruit drinks and vinegar.
وَحَدَايِقَ غُلْبًا
And Ghulb Hada'iq,
meaning, gardens.
Al-Hasan and Qatadah both said,
Ghulb are gardens of date palms that are thick and handsome.
Ibn Abbas and Mujahid both said,
It means everything that is gathered and collected.
Allah said,
وَفَاكِهَةً وَأَبًّا
And fruits (Fakihah) and herbage (Abb).
Fakihah includes every type of fruit.
Ibn Abbas said,
- Al-Fakihah is everything that is eaten ripe, and
- Al-Abb is what the earth grows that is eaten by grazing animals and not people.
In one narration reported from him he said,
It is the grass for the livestock animals.
Abu `Ubayd Al-Qasim bin Sallam reported from Ibrahim At-Taymi that he said,
Abu Bakr As-Siddiq was asked about Allah's statement,
وَفَـكِهَةً وَأَبّاً
(And fruits (Fakihah) and herbage (Abb). and he said,
`What sky would shade me and what earth would carry me if I said about the Book of Allah that which I did not have knowledge of.'
In reference to what Ibn Jarir recorded from Anas, that he said,
Umar bin Al-Khattab recited
عَبَسَ وَتَوَلَّى
then when he reached this Ayah
وَفَـكِهَةً وَأَبّاً
(And fruits (Fakihah) and herbage (Abb).) he said,
`We already know what Al-Fakihah is, but what is Al-Abb?'
Then he said,
`By your life, O Ibn Al-Khattab, this is something over burdensome (i.e., unnecessary to ask about).'
This report has an authentic chain of narration. More than one person has narrated it from Anas.
The meaning of the narration is that
Umar wanted to know how it looks, its type and its exact description, because he (Umar) and everyone who reads this Ayah knows that it is one of the plants that grows from the earth.
This is clear due to the Allah's saying,
فَأَنبَتْنَا فِيهَا حَبّاً
وَعِنَباً وَقَضْباً
وَزَيْتُوناً وَنَخْلً
وَحَدَايِقَ غُلْباً
وَفَـكِهَةً وَأَبّاً
And We cause therein the Habb to grow. And grapes and Qadb, and olives and date palms. And Ghulb Hada'iq. And fruits (Fakihah) and herbage (Abb).
And then He says,
مَّتَاعًا لَّكُمْ وَلاَنْعَامِكُمْ
A provision and benefit for you and your cattle.
meaning, a means of livelihood for you all and your cattle in this life until the (coming of) the Day of Judgement.
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