14-13 And those who disbelieved said to their messengers: We will certainly drive you out of our land, unless you come back into our religion. So their Lord revealed to them: We shall certainly destroy the wrongdoers,
وَقَالَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ لِرُسُلِهِمْ لَنُخْرِجَنَّكُم مِّنْ أَرْضِنَآ أَوْ لَتَعُودُنَّ فِى مِلَّتِنَا ۖ فَأَوْحَىٰٓ إِلَيْهِمْ رَبُّهُمْ لَنُهْلِكَنَّ ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ (۱۳)
14-14 And We shall certainly settle you in the land after them. This is for him who fears standing in My presence and fears My threat.a
وَلَنُسْكِنَنَّكُمُ ٱلْأَرْضَ مِنۢ بَعْدِهِمْ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ لِمَنْ خَافَ مَقَامِى وَخَافَ وَعِيدِ (۱۴)
14-4a: مَقَامِى – It can mean My Majesty, and مقامcan be a verbal noun meaning قیام or standing up, and also a noun of place or time, that is the place or time of standing (R). So, the meaning of مَقَامِى here can be standing before Me (Allah) the custodian and guardian of actions, or standing before My justice and fairness. It can also mean the place of gathering on the Day of Judgment.
The expulsion of messengers and their final success: Allah’s rule with all messengers is the same, namely that all messengers are ultimately successful, but all of them have to pass through a phase when the forces of evil dominate, and the messengers are promised that an attempt will be made to efface the truth, but they, the messengers, will be successful, and evil will be uprooted. The word أَرْضِنَآ in verse 14:13 particularly refers to those places where the prophet’s opponents are in dominance but ٱلْأَرْضَ in verse 14:14 indicates land in general indicating that the truth may be established at any location. However, the promise of bringing the messenger back to the place from which the expulsion occurred is specific to the Holy Prophet: لَرَآدُّكَ إِلَىٰ مَعَادٍۢ ۚ:…will surely bring thee back to the Place of Return (28:85). For the explanation of
لَتَعُودُنَّ فِى مِلَّتِنَا : you come back into our religion, see 7-88a. These words also show that the revelation of this surah took place during the period when the enemies planned to expel the Holy Prophet from Makkah.
14-15 And they sought judgment, and every insolent opposer was disappointed:a
وَٱسْتَفْتَحُوا۟ وَخَابَ كُلُّ جَبَّارٍ عَنِيدٍۢ (۱۴)
14-15a: ٱسْتَفْتَحُوا۟ – اِسۡتِفۡتاح is from فَتۡح which means the doing away of chains and fetters, that is opening them. It is used both in a physical sense, for what can be seen, and also for the branches of knowledge, which relate to insight.
The meaning of فتح الۡقَضِیَّةَ فتاحاً is to give a judgment in a court case, as if the restraints or difficulties are removed, as for example in: رَبَّنَا ٱفْتَحْ بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَ قَوْمِنَا بِٱلْحَقِّ وَأَنتَ خَيْرُ ٱلْفَـٰتِحِينَ : Our Lord, decide between us and our people with truth, and Thou art the Best of the Deciders (7:89). فَتۡح is also used in the sense of victory and assistance. The meaning of اِسۡتِفۡتاح can also be ط۔َلَبُ الفتح and ط۔َلَبُ الفتاح that is to desire victory or desire a judgment (R).
اِسۡتِفۡتاح or requiring a judgment is sought both by prophets as in رَبَّنَا ٱفْتَحْ بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَ قَوْمِنَا بِٱلْحَقِّ وَأَنتَ خَيْرُ ٱلْفَـٰتِحِينَ : Our Lord, decide between us and our people with truth, and Thou art the Best of the Deciders (7:89), and also by their opponents as in: رَبَّنَا عَجِّل لَّنَا قِطَّنَا : Our Lord, hasten on for us our portion… (38:16) and فَأْتِنَا بِمَا تَعِدُنَآ : Then bring to us what thou threatenest us with… (7:70). Before setting out for the Battle of Badr, Abu Jahal also supplicated for which see 8-18a.
14-16 Hell is before him and he is given to drink of boiling water;a
مِّن وَرَآئِهِۦ جَهَنَّمُ وَيُسْقَىٰ مِن مَّآءٍۢ صَدِيدٍۢ (۱۶)
14-16a: صَدِيدٍۢ – صَدّ or صُدُود is to restrain someone or to hold oneself back, and صَدِید means pus and other fluids that gather between the skin and muscle, and this has been mentioned as a metaphor for the food of the inmates of hell (R). صَدِید is also used for hot water that has been boiled until it becomes dense, and also for sediment, dreg and residue (LA).
14-17 He drinks it little by little and is not able to swallow it; and death comes to him from every quarter, yet he dies not. And before him is vehement chastisement.a
يَتَجَرَّعُهُۥ وَلَا يَكَادُ يُسِيغُهُۥ وَيَأْتِيهِ ٱلْمَوْتُ مِن كُلِّ مَكَانٍۢ وَمَا هُوَ بِمَيِّتٍۢ ۖ وَمِن وَرَآئِهِۦ عَذَابٌ غَلِيظٌۭ (۱۷)
14-17a: يَتَجَرَّعُ – جَرِعَ or تَجَرَّعَ means to swallow or gulp down water. جُرۡعَة and جَرۡعَة refers to one sip and drinking once (LA). In Al-Nihayah the meaning of تَجَرَّعُ is given as drinking the water quickly, and according to some it means drinking one sip at a time.
يُسِيغ – سَاغَ – It is used for food or water that can be swallowed easily, as in سَآئِغًۭا لِّلشَّـٰرِبِينَ : agreeable to the drinkers (16:66).
After judgment was demanded by the opponents of truth, they are told that those who try to destroy the truth will fail. After the punishment of facing failure in this world, the chastisement of the next world is mentioned. For the meaning of مَوْتُ see 2-56a. The meaning here is the suffering that takes one to the verge of death but since there is no death in the Hereafter, the sufferer does not die. This is made clear in: لَا يَمُوتُ فِيهَا وَلَا يَحْيَىٰ : He will neither die therein, nor live (20:74).
مِن وَرَآئِهِۦ – The meaning can be both before them and behind them. Hence the reference in مِن وَرَآئِهِۦ عَذَابٌ غَلِيظٌۭ can be to the chastisement of this world.
14-18 The parable of those who disbelieve in their Lord: Their works are as ashes on which the wind blows hard on a stormy day. They have no power over aught they have earned. That is straying far away.a
مَّثَلُ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ بِرَبِّهِمْ ۖ أَعْمَـٰلُهُمْ كَرَمَادٍ ٱشْتَدَّتْ بِهِ ٱلرِّيحُ فِى يَوْمٍ عَاصِفٍۢ ۖ لَّا يَقْدِرُونَ مِمَّا كَسَبُوا۟ عَلَىٰ شَىْءٍۢ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ هُوَ ٱلضَّلَـٰلُ ٱلْبَعِيدُ (۱۸)
14-18a: يَوْمٍ عَاصِفٍۢ – عَاصِفٍۢ is a quality of the wind. See 10-22a. Its attribution to يَوْمٍ or day is metaphorical and not to a real day.
The actions of the disbelievers are likened to ashes that get blown away by a gust of wind. Their entire efforts were directed at fulfilling their animal desires so with the end of their lives, their actions are fruitless and do not benefit them in the hereafter.
14-19 Seest thou not that Allah created the heavens and the earth with truth? If He please, He will take you away and bring a new creation,a
أَلَمْ تَرَ أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ خَلَقَ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ بِٱلْحَقِّ ۚ إِن يَشَأْ يُذْهِبْكُمْ وَيَأْتِ بِخَلْقٍۢ جَدِيدٍۢ (۱۹)
14-19a: What is the relationship between the two parts of this verse? The meaning of creating the heavens and the earth with truth is that to every action there is a consequence, and hence human actions cannot be without consequence either, and it is a nation’s actions and deeds that are responsible for its decline.
14-20 And that is not difficult for Allah.
وَمَا ذَٰلِكَ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ بِعَزِيزٍۢ (۲۰)
14-21 And they will all come forth to Allah, then the weak will say to those who were proud: We were your followers, can you then avert from us aught of the chastisement of Allah? They will say: If Allah had guided us, we would have guided you. It is the same to us whether we cry or bear patiently; there is no escape for us.a
وَبَرَزُوا۟ لِلَّهِ جَمِيعًۭا فَقَالَ ٱلضُّعَفَـٰٓؤُا۟ لِلَّذِينَ ٱسْتَكْبَرُوٓا۟ إِنَّا كُنَّا لَكُمْ تَبَعًۭا فَهَلْ أَنتُم مُّغْنُونَ عَنَّا مِنْ عَذَابِ ٱللَّهِ مِن شَىْءٍۢ ۚ قَالُوا۟ لَوْ هَدَىٰنَا ٱللَّهُ لَهَدَيْنَـٰكُمْ ۖ سَوَآءٌ عَلَيْنَآ أَجَزِعْنَآ أَمْ صَبَرْنَا مَا لَنَا مِن مَّحِيصٍۢ (۲۱)
14-21a: تَبَعًۭا – It is the plural of تابع or follower.
لَوْ هَدَىٰنَا ٱللَّهُ لَهَدَيْنَـٰكُمْ – :If Allah had guided us, we would have guided you. The aim of guiding in this verse can be guiding to the path of truth, but based on the context, the interpretation is guidance to the way that would have saved them from chastisement. The latter seems logical because the question asked is, can you avert some of the chastisement from us?
جَزِعْنَا – The literal meaning of جَزۡع is to cut the rope from the middle, and جَزۡع is spoken of such sorrow or grief that turns a person away from the thing that is in front and cuts him from it (R). This is the opposite of patience. The emotions of grief and patience can coexist together but not so of جَزۡع and صبر or patience.
مَّحِيصٍۢ – The meaning of حَیص is to separate from a thing. مَحِیص مَھۡرَبۡ means a place of escape (LA). The meaning of حَیۡصَ بَیۡصَ is severity and intensity.
Bayan-ul-Quran 