As-Saaffaat

وَٱلصَّـٰٓفَّـٰتِ صَفًّا 1

{ والصفت صفا } الملائكة تصف نفوسها في العبادة أو أجنحتها في الهواء تنتظر ما تؤمر به.

By those who are ranged in ranks — [by] the angels who range their souls in worship or their wings in the air awaiting their orders;

فَٱلزَّٰجِرَٰتِ زَجْرًا 2

{ فالزجرت زجرا } الملائكة تزجر السحاب أي تسوقه.

and the drivers who drive [away], the angels who drive the clouds;

فَٱلتَّـٰلِيَـٰتِ ذِكْرًا 3 إِنَّ إِلَـٰهَكُمْ لَوَٰحِدٌ 4

{ فالتليت } أي جماعة قراء القرآن تتلوه { ذكرا } مصدر من معنى التاليات. { إن إلهكم } يا أهل مكة { لوحد }.

3and those who recite, that is to say, the readers of the Qur’ān, they recite it, by way remembrance (dhikran is a verbal noun referring to [the action of] al-tāliyāt, ‘those who recite’).

4Indeed your God, O people of Mecca, is certainly One,

رَّبُّ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا وَرَبُّ ٱلْمَشَـٰرِقِ 5

{ رب السموت والأرض وما بينهما ورب المشرق } أي والمغارب للشمس، لها كل يوم مشرق ومغرب.

Lord of the heavens and the earth and all that is between them, and Lord of the sun’s risings, that is, as well as the sun’s settings — each day it [the sun] has a rising and a setting.

إِنَّا زَيَّنَّا ٱلسَّمَآءَ ٱلدُّنْيَا بِزِينَةٍ ٱلْكَوَاكِبِ 6

{ إنا زينا السمآء الدنيا بزينة الكوكب } أي بضوئها أو بها، والإضافة للبيان. كقراءة تنوين زينة المبينة بالكواكب.

We have indeed adorned the lowest heaven with an adornment, the stars, that is to say, [adorned] with their light or with them [the stars] (the genitive annexation [bi-zīnati’l-kawākib] is for explication; similarly [explicative] is the reading of bi-zīnatin, ‘with an adornment’, with nunation, [the adornment] explained as being ‘the stars’);

وَحِفْظًا مِّن كُلِّ شَيْطَـٰنٍ مَّارِدٍ 7

{ وحفظا } منصوب بفعل مقدر: أي حفظناها بالشهب { من كل } متعلق بالمقدر { شيطن مارد } عات، خارج عن الطاعة.

and to guard (wa-hifzan is in the accusative because of an implied verb) that is to say, ‘We have guarded it with meteors’, from every (min kulli is semantically connected to the implied verb) any rebellious devil, who is a transgressor, in rebellion against obedience.

لَّا يَسَّمَّعُونَ إِلَى ٱلْمَلَإِ ٱلْأَعْلَىٰ وَيُقْذَفُونَ مِن كُلِّ جَانِبٍ 8

{ لا يسمعون } أي الشياطين وسماعهم مستأنف، في المعنى المحفوظ عنه { إلى الملإ الأعلى } الملائكة في السماء، وعدي السماع بإلى لتضمنه معنى الإصغاء. وفي قراءة بتشديد الميم والسين: أصله يتسمعون، وأدغمت التاء في السين { ويقذفون } أي الشياطين بالشهب { من كل جانب } من آفاق السماء.

They, namely, the devils (lā yasma‘ūna, this is [the beginning of] a new sentence) cannot listen in — this ‘listening’ of theirs represents that faculty with which they memorise [what they hear] — on the High Council, the angels in the heavens (the [normally transitive verb] al-samā‘ is complemented with the preposition ilā, ‘to’ [here ‘in on’] because it includes the additional sense of ‘paying attention’ [while listening]; a variant reading has yassamma‘una, which is actually yatasamma‘ūna, the tā’ have been assimilated with the sīn), for they, the devils, are pelted, with flames, from every side, from the remotest regions of the heavens,

دُحُورًا ۖ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ وَاصِبٌ 9

{ دحورا } مصدر دحره: أي طرده وأبعده، وهو مفعول له { ولهم } في الآخرة { عذاب واصب } دائم.

to repel [them] (duhūran is a verbal noun from daharahu, meaning, ‘he repelled him, driving him away’; it is an object denoting reason) and theirs, in the Hereafter, is an everlasting chastisement;

إِلَّا مَنْ خَطِفَ ٱلْخَطْفَةَ فَأَتْبَعَهُۥ شِهَابٌ ثَاقِبٌ 10

{ إلا من خطف الخطفة } مصدر أي: المرة والاستثناء من ضمير يسمعون: أي لا يسمع إلا الشيطان الذي سمع الكلمة من الملائكة فأخذها بسرعة { فأتبعه شهاب } كوكب مضيء { ثاقب } يثقبه أو يحرقه أو يخبله.

except him who snatches a fragment (al-khatfa is the verbal noun, that is to say, ‘[that] one time’; the exceptive clause refers to the subject [of the verb] yasma‘ūna, in other words, ‘the only devil that is able to listen is the one that hears a word from the angels and snatches it away quickly’) and who is then pursued by a piercing flame (shihāb is a meteor) that pierces him, or burns him or robs him of his senses.

فَٱسْتَفْتِهِمْ أَهُمْ أَشَدُّ خَلْقًا أَم مَّنْ خَلَقْنَآ ۚ إِنَّا خَلَقْنَـٰهُم مِّن طِينٍ لَّازِبٍۭ 11

{ فاستفتهم } استخبر كفار مكة. تقريرا أو توبيخا { أهم أشد خلقا أم من خلقنآ } من الملائكة والسموات والأرضين وما فيهما؟ وفي الإتيان بمن تغليب العقلاء { إنا خلقنهم } أي أصلهم آدم { من طين لازب } لازم يلصق باليد، المعنى: أن خلقهم ضعيف فلا يتكبروا بإنكار النبي والقرآن المؤدي إلى إهلاكهم اليسير.

So ask them, in other words, inquire of the people of Mecca for affirmation or by way of rebuke: Are they stronger as a creation, or those [others] whom We created?, of angels, heavens, the two earths and all that is in them (the use of man, ‘those whom’ [in man khalaqnā] indicates that the reference is predominantly to [other] rational creatures). Indeed We created them, that is, their origin, Adam, from a viscous clay, that sticks to the hand. The [intended] meaning is that their physical make-up is fragile so let them not behave arrogantly by rejecting the Prophet and the Qur’ān, a fact which will result in their — easily accomplished — destruction.

بَلْ عَجِبْتَ وَيَسْخَرُونَ 12

{ بل } للانتقال من غرض إلى آخر، وهو الإخبار بحاله وبحالهم { عجبت } بفتح التاء خطابا للنبي صلى الله عليه وسلم أي من تكذيبهم إياك { و } هم { يسخرون } من تعجبك.

Nay, but (bal is for effecting a transition from one object to another, which in this case is to inform of his state and theirs) you marvel, (‘ajibta) addressing the Prophet (s), that is, [you marvel] that they deny you, while they engage in ridicule, at your marvelling,

وَإِذَا ذُكِّرُوا۟ لَا يَذْكُرُونَ 13

{ وإذا ذكروا } وعظوا بالقرآن { لا يذكرون } لا يتعظون.

and [even] when they are reminded, [when] they are admonished with the Qur’ān, they are not mindful, they do not heed the admonition,