Hadith 4819

وَقَالَ مُجَاهِدٌ : عَلَى أُمَّةٍ : عَلَى إِمَامٍ ، وَقِيلَهُ يَا رَبِّ : تَفْسِيرُهُ أَيَحْسِبُونَ أَنَّا لَا نَسْمَعُ سِرَّهُمْ وَنَجْوَاهُمْ وَلَا نَسْمَعُ قِيلَهُمْ ، وَقَالَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ : وَلَوْلَا أَنْ يَكُونَ النَّاسُ أُمَّةً وَاحِدَةً : لَوْلَا أَنْ جَعَلَ النَّاسَ كُلَّهُمْ كُفَّارًا لَجَعَلْتُ لِبُيُوتِ الْكُفَّارِ سَقْفًا مِنْ فِضَّةٍ وَمَعَارِجَ مِنْ فِضَّةٍ وَهِيَ دَرَجٌ وَسُرُرَ فِضَّةٍ ، مُقْرِنِينَ : مُطِيقِينَ ، آسَفُونَا : أَسْخَطُونَا ، يَعْشُ : يَعْمَى ، وَقَالَ مُجَاهِدٌ : أَفَنَضْرِبُ عَنْكُمُ الذِّكْرَ : أَيْ تُكَذِّبُونَ بِالْقُرْآنِ ، ثُمَّ لَا تُعَاقَبُونَ عَلَيْهِ ، وَمَضَى مَثَلُ الْأَوَّلِينَ : سُنَّةُ الْأَوَّلِينَ وَمَا كُنَّا لَهُ ، مُقْرِنِينَ : يَعْنِي الْإِبِلَ وَالْخَيْلَ وَالْبِغَالَ وَالْحَمِيرَ ، يَنْشَأُ فِي الْحِلْيَةِ : الْجَوَارِي جَعَلْتُمُوهُنَّ لِلرَّحْمَنِ وَلَدًا فَكَيْفَ تَحْكُمُونَ ، لَوْ شَاءَ الرَّحْمَنُ مَا عَبَدْنَاهُمْ : يَعْنُونَ الْأَوْثَانَ ، يَقُولُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى : مَا لَهُمْ بِذَلِكَ مِنْ عِلْمٍ : أَيِ الْأَوْثَانُ إِنَّهُمْ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ ، فِي عَقِبِهِ : وَلَدِهِ ، مُقْتَرِنِينَ : يَمْشُونَ مَعًا ، سَلَفًا : قَوْمُ فِرْعَوْنَ ، سَلَفًا : لِكُفَّارِ أُمَّةِ مُحَمَّدٍ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ، وَمَثَلًا : عِبْرَةً ، يَصِدُّونَ : يَضِجُّونَ ، مُبْرِمُونَ : مُجْمِعُونَ أَوَّلُ الْعَابِدِينَ أَوَّلُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ ، وَقَالَ غَيْرُهُ : إِنَّنِي بَرَاءٌ مِمَّا تَعْبُدُونَ : الْعَرَبُ تَقُولُ نَحْنُ مِنْكَ الْبَرَاءُ وَالْخَلَاءُ وَالْوَاحِدُ وَالِاثْنَانِ وَالْجَمِيعُ مِنَ الْمُذَكَّرِ وَالْمُؤَنَّثِ يُقَالُ فِيهِ بَرَاءٌ لِأَنَّهُ مَصْدَرٌ ، وَلَوْ قَالَ بَرِيءٌ لَقِيلَ : فِي الِاثْنَيْنِ بَرِيئَانِ وَفِي الْجَمِيعِ بَرِيئُونَ ، وَقَرَأَ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ إِنَّنِي بَرِيءٌ بِالْيَاءِ وَالزُّخْرُفُ الذَّهَبُ مَلَائِكَةً يَخْلُفُونَ يَخْلُفُ بَعْضُهُمْ بَعْضًا.
Mujahid said that the meaning of «على أمة‏» is: upon one Imam, or one community, or one religion. The meaning of «وقيله يا رب‏» is: Do the disbelievers think that We do not hear their secret talk, their whisperings, and their conversations? (This is the interpretation according to the recitation in which «وقیله» is read with a nasb on the laam. In this case, it will be connected to «وسرهم ونجواهم». The well-known recitation is with «وقیله» with a kasr on the laam. In this case, it will be connected to «الساعة», meaning Allah knows and hears their conversation as well.) And Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: The meaning of «ولولا أن يكون الناس أمة واحدة‏» is: If it were not that all people would become disbelievers, I would have made the roofs and stairs of the disbelievers' houses of silver. The meaning of «معارج» is: stairs, thrones, etc. «مقرنين‏» means strong ones. «آسفونا‏» means: they angered us. «يعش‏» means: to become blind. Mujahid said: The meaning of «أفنضرب عنكم الذكر‏» is: Do you think that you will continue to deny the Qur'an and We will not send punishment upon you? (You will surely be punished.) «ومضى مثل الأولين‏» means: the stories of the former people spread. «وما کنا له مقرنين‏» means: over camels, horses, mules, and donkeys, we would not have had power and control. By «ينشأ في الحلية‏», daughters are meant, i.e., you have attributed daughters as Allah's offspring—what a strange judgment you make! In «لو شاء الرحمن ما عبدناهم‏», the pronoun in «هم‏» refers to idols, because it is said ahead: «ما لهم بذلك من علم‏», meaning the idols which they worship have no knowledge at all; they are completely lifeless. «في عقبه‏» means: among his offspring. «مقترنين‏» means: walking alongside. «سلفا‏» refers to the people of Pharaoh. Those who are disbelievers in the Ummah of Muhammad (peace be upon him), their leaders were the former people. «ومثلا‏ للاخرین» means: a lesson and example for the later ones. «يصدون‏» means: they began to shout, make noise. «مبرمون‏» means: those who resolve, those who decide. «أول العابدين» means: the first to believe. «إنني براء مما تعبدون‏»: The Arabs say: We are «براء» from you, we are «خلاء» from you, meaning we are disassociated, separate, we have nothing to do with you. In singular, dual, plural, masculine and feminine, the word «براء» is used, because «براء» is a verbal noun. And if «بريء» is read, as in the recitation of Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him), then in the dual it should be «بريئان» and in the plural «بريئون‏». The meaning of «الزخرف» is: gold. «ملائكة يخلفون» means: angels who come one after another.
حَدَّثَنَا حَجَّاجُ بْنُ مِنْهَالٍ ، حَدَّثَنَا سُفْيَانُ بْنُ عُيَيْنَةَ ، عَنْ عَمْرٍو ، عَنْ عَطَاءٍ ، عَنْ صَفْوَانَ بْنِ يَعْلَى ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ ، قَالَ : سَمِعْتُ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَقْرَأُ عَلَى الْمِنْبَرِ : وَنَادَوْا يَا مَالِكُ لِيَقْضِ عَلَيْنَا رَبُّكَ سورة الزخرف آية 77 ، وَقَالَ قَتَادَةُ : مَثَلًا لِلْآخِرِينَ عِظَةً لِمَنْ بَعْدَهُمْ ، وَقَالَ غَيْرُهُ : مُقْرِنِينَ : ضَابِطِينَ ، يُقَالُ فُلَانٌ مُقْرِنٌ لِفُلَانٍ ضَابِطٌ لَهُ وَالْأَكْوَابُ الْأَبَارِيقُ الَّتِي لَا خَرَاطِيمَ لَهَا ، أَوَّلُ الْعَابِدِينَ : أَيْ مَا كَانَ فَأَنَا أَوَّلُ الْآنِفِينَ وَهُمَا لُغَتَانِ رَجُلٌ عَابِدٌ وَعَبِدٌ وَقَرَأَ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ : وَقَالَ الرَّسُولُ يَا رَبِّ ، وَيُقَالُ أَوَّلُ الْعَابِدِينَ الْجَاحِدِينَ مِنْ عَبِدَ يَعْبَدُ ، وَقَالَ قَتَادَةُ : فِي أُمِّ الْكِتَابِ جُمْلَةِ الْكِتَابِ أَصْلِ الْكِتَابِ .
Narrated Ya`la: I heard the Prophet reciting when on the pulpit: 'They will cry, "O Malik (Keeper of Hell) Let your Lord make an end of us.' (43.77)
Hadith Reference صحيح البخاري / كتاب تفسير القرآن / 4819
Hadith Grading محدثین: أحاديث صحيح البخاريّ كلّها صحيحة
Explanation & Benefits
Shaykh Abdul Sattar al-Hammad
Hadith Commentary:

The inhabitants of Hell, utterly despondent due to the severity of the punishment and the absence of any reduction or respite, will call out to Malik, the angel appointed over Hell. They will say:
“O Malik! Neither has there been any decrease in our punishment, nor has there ever been any increase in its interval. So, ask your Lord to finish us off in one go and bring an end to this entire matter of punishment.”
Malik will reply:
“For the recompense of your crimes, a very long period is required; therefore, remove the thought of death from your minds.
You can be punished while remaining alive.
Thus, you will have to stay here, and you will have to endure the punishment while remaining alive.”


In Jami‘ at-Tirmidhi, the statement of Imam A‘mash is transmitted that between the supplication and plea of the inhabitants of Hell and Malik’s response, there will be an interval of one thousand years.
(Jami‘ at-Tirmidhi, Description of Hell, Hadith: 2586)
Source: Hidayat al-Qari: Commentary on Sahih Bukhari, Urdu, Page: 4819
Shaykh Abdul Sattar al-Hammad
Hadith Commentary:
Malik is the guardian of Hell who is appointed over the Fire.
The inhabitants of Hell will repeatedly request him to ask his Lord to cause them to die.
He will reply to them that you will remain in it forever.
()
That is, the angel Malik will say to them:
The list of your crimes is very long and extensive, therefore a long period is required to punish you, so remove the thought of death from your minds.
You can only be punished by being kept alive, so you will have to remain here and you will indeed be kept alive.
Ibn Abbas (radi Allahu anhu) said:
The angel Malik, after hearing the cries and wailing of the inhabitants of Hell, will remain silent for a thousand years.
Then he will reply to them with just two words: you are to remain here.
(Tafsir Ibn Kathir: 4/160)
Source: Hidayat al-Qari: Commentary on Sahih Bukhari, Urdu, Page: 3266
Maulana Dawood Raz
Hadith Commentary:
The complete verse is as follows: ﴿وَنَادَوْا يَا مَالِكُ لِيَقْضِ عَلَيْنَا رَبُّكَ قَالَ إِنَّكُمْ مَاكِثُونَ﴾ (Az-Zukhruf: 77)
That is, "The inhabitants of Hell will call out to the keeper of Hell, Malik, saying: 'Ask your Lord to put an end to us.' He will reply: 'Indeed, you are to remain (in this punishment).'”
From this, the existence of angels and their being assigned to various duties is also established.
In the recitation of Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (radi Allahu anhu), the word is "wa nadaaw ya Maal"—a shortened form of "ya Malik."
The meaning of both is the same: that the inhabitants of Hell will call out to the keeper of Hell, Malik.
From this as well, the existence of angels is established.
Source: Sahih Bukhari: Commentary by Maulana Dawood Raz, Page: 3230
Shaykh Abdul Sattar al-Hammad
Hadith Commentary:
1.
The one who is called upon is referred to as the "munada."
Omitting the last letter of the munada is called "tarkheem."
After tarkheem, there are two possible grammatical cases for the munada:
Either its original vowel is made permanent, or the last letter is considered permanent and is read with the nominative case (raf‘).
Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud (radi Allahu anhu) recited the word "Malik" with tarkheem.
Now, there are three ways to recite this word:

Ya Malik (with nominative case/raf‘)
Ya Mal (with genitive case/jarr)

Ya Mal (with accusative case/nasb)
This difference is only in grammatical inflection; there is no change in meaning.
2.
It should be noted that Malik is the angel who is appointed as the general supervisor of Hell (Jahannam).
3.
Imam Bukhari (rahimahullah) has also established the existence of angels from this hadith.
Source: Hidayat al-Qari: Commentary on Sahih Bukhari, Urdu, Page: 3230
Shaykh Dr. Abdur Rahman Freywai
English Commentary:
1:
Al-Zukhruf: 77 (“Malik” is the name of the keeper of Hell, whom the inhabitants of Hell will call upon and say: Ask your Lord to let us die so that we may be saved from the torment of Hell. The answer will be: Here you will remain forever.)
2:
It is narrated in Sahih Muslim that the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) used to recite the entire Surah Qaf during the Friday sermon (khutbah). This hadith proves that, as an admonition and reminder, one should recite some verse of the Qur’an.
Source: Sunan al-Tirmidhi – Majlis ‘Ilmi Dar al-Da‘wah, New Delhi Edition, Page: 508
Shaykh Umar Farooq Saeedi
Benefits and Issues:
In Tafsir Ruh al-Ma‘ani (14/158), it is mentioned that in the recitation of Ali (radi Allahu anhu), Ibn Mas‘ud (radi Allahu anhu), Ibn Wathab, and A‘mash, this word was recited with truncation (tarakhīm) as "Ya Mālu".
Source: Sunan Abu Dawood – Commentary by Shaykh Umar Farooq Saeedi, Page: 3992
Shaykh Muhammad Ibrahim bin Basheer
Benefit:
Malik is the keeper of Hell; the inhabitants of Hell will repeatedly request him to ask your Lord to cause us to die. He will reply to them that you will remain therein forever. ()
Source: Musnad al-Humaydi: Commentary by Muhammad Ibrahim bin Bashir, Page: 805