“Then He covered them layer upon layer with what He covered them (with)”.
Key nuances embedded in the wording of the ayah.
The Shaddah in the verb غَشَّى is an intensification of غَشِيَ (“to cover”) and implies a greater or more intense covering.
The word مَا (“What(ever)”) in مَا غَشَّىٰ is general, capturing the varieties of what covers.
Examples implied in the explanation include:
Two complementary readings contained in the wording.
The phrase can refer to the thing that buried them:
“Whatever buried them, buried them”.
It could be the thing that they are buried with, referring to Allah doing the covering:
“Then, He (Allah) buried them with whatever buries”.
The same root appears with opposite experiential outcomes.
إِذْ يَغْشَى السِّدْرَةَ مَا يَغْشَىٰ
The context of that Aayah is very different. It was in the context of a great blessing where the Messenger ﷺ was acknowledged by being allowed to see something nobody else has ever been able to see.
Here it is in the context of great nations of the past who, instead of being honoured and acknowledged, are being completely forgotten and buried away.
A concise statement capturing the principle at work.
تُعِزُّ مَن تَشَاءُ وَتُذِلُّ مَن تَشَاءُ
You give honour to whom You will and You bring low (or humiliate) whom You will (Aali ‘Imran: 26).
Both are “coverings”, yet their fruits differ.
In this Surah Allah honoured the Messenger ﷺ with a covering (غِشَاوَة).
He also humiliated and brought low nations with a covering (تَغْشِيَة).
Gradual accumulation that buries and erases traces.