Thafseer Lafzi 7 — Sūrat al-Ghāshiyah (88) — the whole sūrah سُورَة الْغَاشِيَة

1 · Introduction — the name, and where the sūrah sits #

Its name is سُورَة الْغَاشِيَة — Sūrat al-Ghāshiyah.

In the muṣḥaf it stands between Sūrat al-Aʿlā (87) and Sūrat al-Fajr (89).

2 · Its merit — the Prophet ﷺ recited it in the Jumuʿah prayer #

Rasūlullāh ﷺ used to recite this sūrah in the Jumuʿah prayer: in one rakʿah

سَبِّحِ ٱسْمَ رَبِّكَ ٱلْأَعْلَىٰ

Sabbiḥi sma rabbika l-aʿlā — Sūrat al-Aʿlā (87) — and in the other rakʿah this sūrah, al-Ghāshiyah. There is a ḥadīth to this effect.

3 · The Makkan setting #

The sūrah belongs to the Makkan period, when the Quraysh were rejecting the Prophet ﷺ and harassing him. They denied the Hereafter. These āyāt came down to fix the reality of the ākhirah in their minds, over against the life of this world.

4 · How the sūrah is built — its four sections #

Look at the arrangement and the sūrah opens up. It begins with a question — the very first āyah comes in the form of one.

Al-Ghāshiyah means that which envelops, that which covers everything over — and it is a name of the Day of Judgement. That Day is called by many names: Yawm al-Ākhirah, Yawm al-Qiyāmah, as-Sāʿah, and others; al-ghāshiyah is one of them, given to it in respect of everything being overwhelmed on it.

5 · Āyah 1 — the question #

هَلْ أَتَىٰكَ حَدِيثُ ٱلْغَـٰشِيَةِ

Hal atāka ḥadīthu l-ghāshiyah

"Has there come to you the report of the Overwhelming Event?"

هَلْ is a ḥarf istifhām (حرف استفهام) — a particle that puts something as a question. You have already studied this in the grammar. There is another particle of the same kind: the hamzah (أ).

The class's comparison of hal and the hamzah was not recorded.

Whom is the question put to? Not to the ummah — it is put to the Prophet ﷺ directly: Allah asking him, "has it come to you?"

6 · Āyah 2 — the faces on that Day #

وُجُوهٌ يَوْمَئِذٍ خَـٰشِعَةٌ

Wujūhun yawmaʾidhin khāshiʿah

"Faces, on that Day, will be downcast."

On that Day some faces — indeed many faces — will be lowered in humiliation.

7 · Āyah 3 — labouring, and worn out by it #

عَامِلَةٌ نَّاصِبَةٌ

ʿĀmilatun nāṣibah

"Labouring, exhausted."

They toiled — but they were people who took what was wrong to be right and acted on it.

8 · Āyah 4 — the scorching Fire, and a grammar point #

تَصْلَىٰ نَارًا حَامِيَةً

Taṣlā nāran ḥāmiyah

"They will enter to burn in a scorching Fire."

Why is taṣlā feminine, and not yaṣlā? Because its subject is وُجُوه — "faces", a plural, and this kind of plural is treated as muʾannath (feminine) singular. That is what puts the tāʾ on the front of the verb. Its māḍī is صَلِيَ ṣaliya.

9 · Āyah 5 — the boiling spring, and the majhūl #

تُسْقَىٰ مِنْ عَيْنٍ ءَانِيَةٍ

Tusqā min ʿaynin āniyah

"They will be given to drink from a boiling spring."

تُسْقَىٰ is the muḍāriʿ majhūl — the passive present:

So: from a boiling spring, water will be given them to drink — they do not drink, they are made to drink.

10 · Āyah 6 — no food but ḍarīʿ #

لَّيْسَ لَهُمْ طَعَامٌ إِلَّا مِن ضَرِيعٍ

Laysa lahum ṭaʿāmun illā min ḍarīʿ

"They will have no food except from ḍarīʿ."

They have no food at all except that — nothing else.

11 · Āyah 7 — food that does neither thing food is for #

لَّا يُسْمِنُ وَلَا يُغْنِى مِن جُوعٍ

Lā yusminu wa-lā yughnī min jūʿ

"It neither nourishes nor avails against hunger."

12 · Recap — everything so far is the people of the Fire #

All the āyāt up to here describe the people of the Fire — their state, and their food. What was said was wujūhun yawmaʾidhin — "faces on that Day", meaning some faces. And on that same Day there are other faces…

The class's explanation of āyāt 8 and 9 was not recorded.

13 · Āyah 10 — a lofty Garden #

فِى جَنَّةٍ عَالِيَةٍ

Fī jannatin ʿāliyah

"In a lofty Garden."

They will be in lofty gardens — an elevated place in Paradise. From here to āyah 16 the sūrah is describing the other party, after the people of the Fire.

14 · Āyah 11 — no vain talk, and the manfī muḍāriʿ #

لَّا تَسْمَعُ فِيهَا لَـٰغِيَةً

Lā tasmaʿu fīhā lāghiyah

"In it they will hear no vain talk."

The verb: تَسْمَعُ is the muḍāriʿ of the māḍī سَمِعَ samiʿa, "to hear". Before it stands لَا, so this is a manfī — a negated muḍāriʿ: "will not hear." Not a single such word will they hear there.

15 · Āyah 12 — a flowing spring #

فِيهَا عَيْنٌ جَارِيَةٌ

Fīhā ʿaynun jāriyah

"In it is a flowing spring."

A running spring — springs are there for them to drink from.

16 · Āyah 13 — couches raised high #

فِيهَا سُرُرٌ مَّرْفُوعَةٌ

Fīhā sururun marfūʿah

"In it are couches raised high."

17 · Āyah 14 — cups set ready #

وَأَكْوَابٌ مَّوْضُوعَةٌ

Wa akwābun mawḍūʿah

"And cups set ready."

Cups are set out ready for them to drink from.

18 · Āyah 15 — cushions in rows #

وَنَمَارِقُ مَصْفُوفَةٌ

Wa namāriqu maṣfūfah

"And cushions ranged in rows."

19 · Āyah 16 — carpets spread out #

وَزَرَابِىُّ مَبْثُوثَةٌ

Wa zarābiyyu mabthūthah

"And carpets spread out."

20 · Āyāt 17-19 — look at the camel, the sky, the mountains #

The fourth section of the sūrah: the camel, the sky, the mountains and the earth.

أَفَلَا يَنظُرُونَ إِلَى ٱلْإِبِلِ كَيْفَ خُلِقَتْ

A-fa-lā yanẓurūna ilā l-ibili kayfa khuliqat

"Do they not then look at the camel — how it was created?"

وَإِلَى ٱلسَّمَآءِ كَيْفَ رُفِعَتْ

Wa ilā s-samāʾi kayfa rufiʿat

"And at the sky — how it was raised?"

وَإِلَى ٱلْجِبَالِ كَيْفَ نُصِبَتْ

Wa ilā l-jibāli kayfa nuṣibat

"And at the mountains — how they were set firm?"

The class's explanation of āyah 20, the earth, was not recorded.

21 · Āyāt 21-23 — the Prophet's ﷺ duty, and its limit #

فَذَكِّرْ إِنَّمَآ أَنتَ مُذَكِّرٌ

Fa-dhakkir, innamā anta mudhakkir

"So remind — you are only a reminder."

فَذَكِّرْ is the amr — the imperative: "So remind! So admonish!" And إِنَّمَا أَنتَ مُذَكِّرٌ — "you are only a reminder-giver." You give them good counsel; that is all.

لَّسْتَ عَلَيْهِم بِمُصَيْطِرٍ

Lasta ʿalayhim bi-muṣayṭir

"You are not a controller over them."

إِلَّا مَن تَوَلَّىٰ وَكَفَرَ

Illā man tawallā wa kafara

"Except him who turns away and disbelieves."

The class's note on how لَيْسَ behaves, and the rest of its explanation of āyah 23, were not recorded.

22 · Āyah 24 — the greatest punishment, and the ṣifah rule again #

فَيُعَذِّبُهُ ٱللَّهُ ٱلْعَذَابَ ٱلْأَكْبَرَ

Fa-yuʿadhdhibuhu llāhu l-ʿadhāba l-akbar

"Then Allah will punish him with the greatest punishment."

23 · Āyāt 25-26 — the return, and the reckoning #

إِنَّ إِلَيْنَآ إِيَابَهُمْ

Inna ilaynā iyābahum

"Indeed, to Us is their return." — their coming back is to Us alone.

ثُمَّ إِنَّ عَلَيْنَا حِسَابَهُم

Thumma inna ʿalaynā ḥisābahum

"Then indeed, upon Us is their reckoning."

Their questioning, their reckoning, is Ours. That is the sūrah's close.

24 · The duʿāʾ for an easy reckoning #

Generally in the Qurʾān — when an āyah of mercy came, Rasūlullāh ﷺ would ask [Allah] for it; when the āyāt spoke of the Fire, he would seek refuge from it. So when there is a reckoning as exacting as this one, what do we do?

اللَّهُمَّ يَسِّرْ عَلَيْنَا حِسَابَنَا

Allāhumma yassir ʿalaynā ḥisābanā — "O Allah, make our reckoning easy for us."

اللَّهُمَّ حَاسِبْنِي حِسَابًا يَسِيرًا

Allāhumma ḥāsibnī ḥisāban yasīrā — "O Allah, call me to account with an easy reckoning."

25 · What the sūrah is for #