سُوْرَةُ الرَّعْدِ
Surah Ar-Ra'd (13) — Ayah 5
۞ وَإِن تَعْجَبْ فَعَجَبٌ قَوْلُهُمْ أَءِذَا كُنَّا تُرَٰبًا أَءِنَّا لَفِى خَلْقٍ جَدِيدٍ ۗ أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ بِرَبِّهِمْ ۖ وَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ ٱلْأَغْلَـٰلُ فِىٓ أَعْنَاقِهِمْ ۖ وَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ أَصْحَـٰبُ ٱلنَّارِ ۖ هُمْ فِيهَا خَـٰلِدُونَ ﴿5﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
And if you (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم) wonder (at these polytheists who deny your message of Islâmic Monotheism and have taken besides Allâh others for worship who can neither harm nor benefit), then wondrous is their saying: "When we are dust, shall we indeed then be (raised) in a new creation?" They are those who disbelieved in their Lord! They are those who will have iron chains tying their hands to their necks. They will be the dwellers of the Fire to abide therein.
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
۞ وَإِن
wa-in
And if
تَعْجَبْ
taʿjab
you (are) astonished
فَعَجَبٌۭ
faʿajabun
then astonishing
قَوْلُهُمْ
qawluhum
(is) their saying
أَءِذَا
a-idhā
When
كُنَّا
kunnā
we are
تُرَٰبًا
turāban
dust
أَءِنَّا
a-innā
will we
لَفِى
lafī
(be) indeed, in
خَلْقٍۢ
khalqin
a creation
جَدِيدٍ ۗ
jadīdin
new
أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ
ulāika
Those
ٱلَّذِينَ
alladhīna
(are) the ones who
كَفَرُوا۟
kafarū
disbelieved
بِرَبِّهِمْ ۖ
birabbihim
in their Lord
وَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ
wa-ulāika
and those
ٱلْأَغْلَـٰلُ
l-aghlālu
the iron chains
فِىٓ
fī
(will be) in
أَعْنَاقِهِمْ ۖ
aʿnāqihim
their necks
وَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ
wa-ulāika
those
أَصْحَـٰبُ
aṣḥābu
(are the) companions
ٱلنَّارِ ۖ
l-nāri
(of) the Fire
هُمْ
hum
they
فِيهَا
fīhā
in it
خَـٰلِدُونَ
khālidūna
(will) abide forever
Tafsir al-Quran al-Karim — Hafiz Abdus Salam Bin Muhammad Bhutvi
Tafsir al-Quran al-Karim is a 4-volume Quran commentary by Hafiz Abdus Salam bin Muhammad Bhutvi, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar and Sheikh ul-Hadith from Pakistan. Based on over 45 years of teaching and research, this tafsir follows the methodology of Tafsir bil-Ma'thur — interpreting the Quran through authentic Hadith, statements of the Companions, and the understanding of the early generations (Salaf). It is distinguished by its complete avoidance of Israeliyyat (Judeo-Christian narratives) and unverified reports. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
(Ayah5) ➊ The tanween in { وَ اِنْ تَعْجَبْ فَعَجَبٌ قَوْلُهُمْ …: ’’ فَعَجَبٌ ‘‘} is for magnification and intensification, that is why the scholars have considered it permissible in syntax to make it the subject even though it is indefinite, as if this indefinite noun is described. The meaning is that if, after seeing so many signs, you are still surprised at their not believing, then it is even more astonishing that they declare their being created anew as impossible, whereas anyone with a little knowledge and a little intellect can easily understand that for the One who possesses such powers and who created them the first time, why would it be difficult to create them anew.
➋ { اُولٰٓىِٕكَ الَّذِيْنَ كَفَرُوْا بِرَبِّهِمْ:} means that when they denied the Hereafter, it is as if they denied Allah’s power and said that Allah is so weak and helpless that He cannot create them again. [ اَلْعِیَاذُ بِاللّٰہِ ]
➌ {وَ اُولٰٓىِٕكَ الْاَغْلٰلُ …: ’’ الْاَغْلٰلُ ‘‘ ’’غُلٌّ‘‘} is the plural, an iron collar or chain that is put around the neck of a criminal to bind him. Sometimes, along with this, the hands are also tied to the neck; this is the most severe form of imprisonment. That is, the same ancestral shackles of disbelief and polytheism are around their necks, which do not let them move away from disbelief, and their end is that they are the people of the Fire, always to remain in it. Some commentators have also included {’’ اُولٰٓىِٕكَ الْاَغْلٰلُ ‘‘} in the outcome of the Hereafter, that in Hell there will be collars (rings) around their necks, bound with chains attached to them. From the words of the verse, this apparent meaning seems more evident, as stated elsewhere: «{ اِذِ الْاَغْلٰلُ فِيْۤ اَعْنَاقِهِمْ وَ السَّلٰسِلُ يُسْحَبُوْنَ (71) فِي الْحَمِيْمِ ثُمَّ فِي النَّارِ يُسْجَرُوْنَ }» [ المؤمن : ۷۱، ۷۲ ] “When the collars will be around their necks and the chains, they will be dragged. In boiling water, then they will be thrown into the Fire.”
➋ { اُولٰٓىِٕكَ الَّذِيْنَ كَفَرُوْا بِرَبِّهِمْ:} means that when they denied the Hereafter, it is as if they denied Allah’s power and said that Allah is so weak and helpless that He cannot create them again. [ اَلْعِیَاذُ بِاللّٰہِ ]
➌ {وَ اُولٰٓىِٕكَ الْاَغْلٰلُ …: ’’ الْاَغْلٰلُ ‘‘ ’’غُلٌّ‘‘} is the plural, an iron collar or chain that is put around the neck of a criminal to bind him. Sometimes, along with this, the hands are also tied to the neck; this is the most severe form of imprisonment. That is, the same ancestral shackles of disbelief and polytheism are around their necks, which do not let them move away from disbelief, and their end is that they are the people of the Fire, always to remain in it. Some commentators have also included {’’ اُولٰٓىِٕكَ الْاَغْلٰلُ ‘‘} in the outcome of the Hereafter, that in Hell there will be collars (rings) around their necks, bound with chains attached to them. From the words of the verse, this apparent meaning seems more evident, as stated elsewhere: «{ اِذِ الْاَغْلٰلُ فِيْۤ اَعْنَاقِهِمْ وَ السَّلٰسِلُ يُسْحَبُوْنَ (71) فِي الْحَمِيْمِ ثُمَّ فِي النَّارِ يُسْجَرُوْنَ }» [ المؤمن : ۷۱، ۷۲ ] “When the collars will be around their necks and the chains, they will be dragged. In boiling water, then they will be thrown into the Fire.”
