Tafsir of Surah Al-Ghashiyah - Verse 1

Which was revealed in Makkah

Reciting Surat Al-A`la and Al-Ghashiyah in the Friday Prayer

It has already been mentioned on the authority of An-Nu`man bin Bashir that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to recite Surat Al-A`la (87) and Al-Ghashiyah in the `Id and Friday prayers. Imam Malik recorded that Ad-Dahhak bin Qays asked An-Nu`man bin Bashir, "What else did the Messenger of Allah ﷺ recite on Friday along with Surat Al-Jumu`ah" An-Nu`man replied, "Al-Ghashiyah (88)." This narration has been recorded by Abu Dawud, An-Nasa'i, Muslim and Ibn Majah.

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

The Day of Judgement and what will happen to the People of the Fire during it Al-Ghashiyah is one of

This was said by Ibn `Abbas, Qatadah and Ibn Zayd. It has been called this because it will overwhelm the people and overcome them. Allah then says,

وُجُوهٌ يَوْمَئِذٍ خَـشِعَةٌ

(Some faces that Day will be Khashi`ah.) meaning, humiliated. This was said by Qatadah. Ibn `Abbas said, "They will be humble but this action will be of no benefit to them." Then Allah says,

عَامِلَةٌ نَّاصِبَةٌ

(Laboring, weary.) meaning, they did many deeds and became weary in their performance, yet they will be cast into a blazing Fire on the Day of Judgement. Al-Hafiz Abu Bakr Al-Burqani narrated from Abu `Imran Al-Jawni that he said, " `Umar bin Al-Khattab passed by the monastery of a monk and he said: `O monk!' Then the monk came out, and `Umar looked at him and began to weep. Then it was said to him: `O Commander of the faithful! Why are you weeping' He replied: `I remembered the statement of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, in His Book,

عَامِلَةٌ نَّاصِبَةٌ - تَصْلَى نَاراً حَامِيَةً

(Laboring, weary. They will enter into Fire, Hamiyah.) So that is what has made me cry. "' Al-Bukhari recorded that Ibn `Abbas said,

عَامِلَةٌ نَّاصِبَةٌ

(Laboring, weary.) "The Christians." It is narrated that `Ikrimah and As-Suddi both said, "Laboring in the worldly life with disobedience, and weariness in the Fire from torment and perdition." Ibn `Abbas, Al-Hasan, and Qatadah all said,

تَصْلَى نَاراً حَامِيَةً

(They will enter into Fire, Hamiyah) meaning, hot with intense heat.

تُسْقَى مِنْ عَيْنٍ ءَانِيَةٍ

(They will be given to drink from a boiling (Aniyah) spring.) meaning, its heat has reached its maximum limit and boiling point. This was said by Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid, Al-Hasan and As-Suddi. Concerning Allah's statement,

لَّيْسَ لَهُمْ طَعَامٌ إِلاَّ مِن ضَرِيعٍ

(No food will there be for them but from Dari`,) `Ali bin Abi Talhah reported from Ibn `Abbas that he said, "A tree from the Hellfire." Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid, `Ikrimah, Abu Al-Jawza' and Qatadah, all said, "It is Ash-Shibriq (a type of plant)." Qatadah said, "The Quraysh called it Ash-Shabraq in the spring and Ad-Dari` in the summer." `Ikrimah said, "It is a thorny tree which reaches down to the ground." Al-Bukhari related that Mujahid said, "Ad-Dari` is a plant that is called Ash-Shibriq. The people of the Hijaz call it Ad-Dari` when it dries, and it is poisonous." Ma`mar narrated that Qatadah said,

لَّيْسَ لَهُمْ طَعَامٌ إِلاَّ مِن ضَرِيعٍ

(No food will there be for them but from Dari`,) "This is Ash-Shibriq. When it dries it is called Ad-Dari`." Sa`id narrated from Qatadah that he said,

لَّيْسَ لَهُمْ طَعَامٌ إِلاَّ مِن ضَرِيعٍ

(No food will there be for them but Dari`,) "This is of the worst, most disgusting and loathsome of foods." Concerning Allah's statement,

لاَّ يُسْمِنُ وَلاَ يُغْنِى مِن جُوعٍ

(Which will neither nourish nor avail against hunger.) This means that the intent in eating it will not be achieved, and nothing harmful will be repelled by it.

إِنَّ هَـٰذَا لَفِي الصُّحُفِ الْأُولَىٰ صُحُفِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَمُوسَىٰ (Indeed this is [ written ] in the earlier divine scripts, the scripts of Ibrahim and Musa....87:18, 19] In other words, either all the themes of this Surah or its last theme, that the Hereafter is much better and much more durable than this life, was written in the earlier Divine scriptures. It is further explicated that this theme was written in the scriptures of Prophets Ibrahim and Musa (علیہما السلام) . Probably, it refers to other scriptures that were given to Prophet Musa (علیہ السلام) before Torah. It is also possible that it refers to Torah itself.

Themes of the Scripts of Prophet Ibrahim (علیہ السلام)

Ajurri transmits a narration from Sayyidna Abu Dharr Al-Ghifari ؓ that he inquired from the Prophet ﷺ as to the contents of the scripts of Prophet Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) and the Holy Prophet ﷺ replied that they contained educating parables . A story is told in it about a tyrant king where he is addressed and told: You haughty, arrogant and oppressive ruler! I did not give you kingdom so that you may amass wealth, but I had given you power so that you may let the supplication of the oppressed against the oppressor reach me, because my law does not reject the supplication of an oppressed, even though it may be uttered by an unbeliever.

Another parable addresses the general public thus: A wise person should divide his time into three parts. One part should be reserved for the worship of his Lord and supplication to Him. The second part should be reserved for self-assessment of his deeds, and reflection on the Omnipotence and creation of Allah. The third part should be allocated for acquisition of livelihood and fulfilling the natural needs. It further imparts that a wise person should keep himself abreast of the circumstances of his time, and keep himself busy in performing his intended work. He should take care of his tongue. He who takes speech as one of his works, his speech will be confined only to the things of real need.

Themes of the Scripts of Prophet Musa (علیہ السلام)

Sayyidna Abu Dharr Al-Ghifari ؓ says that he then inquired from the Holy Prophet ﷺ as to the contents of the scripts of Prophet Musa (علیہ السلام) and the Holy Prophet ﷺ replied

that they contained lessons of wisdom. Some of them are as follows:

§ I am surprised at the person who believes that he will certainly die, and yet he lives happily.

• I am surprised at the person who believes in Divine destiny, and yet he is despondent and aggrieved.

• I am surprised at the person who experiences the vicissitudes of life and rise and fall of nations, and yet he is content with the world.

• I am surprised at the person who believes in the Reckoning of the Hereafter, and yet he abandons [ good ] deeds.

Sayyidna Abu Dharr Al-Ghifari ؓ says that he asked the Holy Prophet ﷺ whether anything from these scriptures was revealed to him, he replied in the affirmative and asked Sayyidna Abu Dharr Ghifari ؓ to recite verses 14-19 of this Surah. [ Qurtubi ]

Alhamdulillah

The Commentary on

Surah Al-A` la

Ends here

Man observes that a serviceable animal like the camel is obedient to him. The sky in all its majesty is well disposed towards him. The earth, without any effort on our part, is subservient to our interests. All these phenomena remind a thoughtful man of God and the Hereafter. Those who derive the nourishment of remembrance from these arrangements of the world have established their entitlement to God’s eternal bounties, while those who have remained lost in forgetfulness and neglect, have proved that they deserve to be deprived of every kind of bounty—forever.