Light, separation, mercy and torment
The Day the wall is raised.
يَوْمَ يَقُولُ الْمُنَافِقُونَ وَالْمُنَافِقَاتُ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا انظُرُونَا نَقْتَبِسْ مِن نُّورِكُمْ قِيلَ ارْجِعُوا وَرَاءَكُمْ فَالْتَمِسُوا نُورًا فَضُرِبَ بَيْنَهُم بِسُورٍ لَّهُ بَابٌ بَاطِنُهُ فِيهِ الرَّحْمَةُ وَظَاهِرُهُ مِن قِبَلِهِ الْعَذَابُ
“On the [same] Day the hypocrite men and hypocrite women will say to those who believed: “Wait for us that we may acquire some of your light”. It will be said: “Go back behind you and seek light”. But a wall will be placed between them with a door. Its inside (Baatinuhu i.e., the part hidden from them on the other side) is Rahmah (loving care), but its apparent side (Zhaahiruhu i.e., where they are) is torment”.
Rahmah
Loving care lies on the inside of the wall, on the believers’ side.
Al-‘Adhaab
Punishment and torment lie on the hypocrites’ side of the wall.
The sequence of separation
The request for light ends at the wall.
The ayah moves through four decisive moments: the appeal, the command, the search, and the final separation.
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The hypocrites call out
Hypocrite men and women ask the believers to wait so that they may catch up.
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They seek a portion of light
نَقْتَبِسْ مِن نُّورِكُمْ expresses their wish to acquire light from the believers’ light.
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They are sent back
They are told to go back behind them and seek light with effort and intent.
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The wall is erected
A high wall with a door separates the believers from the hypocrites.
Language and precision
Three verbs shape the movement of the ayah.
Waiting, drawing from a source, and searching with effort each carry a distinct image.
انظُرُونَا
Unzhuroonaa · Wait for us
انظُرُو (Unzhuroo) comes from the verb نَظَرَ (Nazhara), which means to look at or examine something. It is also used to mean “to wait,” like the verb اِنْتَظَرَ (Intazhara).
All major Mufassireeen interpret انظُرُونَا (Unzhuroonaa) here to mean “Wait for us” or “Give us some time” i.e., to catch up.
نَقْتَبِسْ
Naqtabis · Acquire from a light
نَقْتَبِسْ (Naqtabis) is from the verb اِقْتَبَسَ (Iqtabasa) and noun اِقْتِبَاس (Iqtibaas).
It describes drawing a flame, like lighting a torch from a fire by taking fire from its flames. It extends to obtaining light and taking a portion of something luminous or beneficial from a source that already possesses it.
In contemporary usage, اِقْتَبَسَ (Iqtabasa) commonly means to quote, cite, take an excerpt from a source, or borrow a passage or idea from a reference.
الْتَمِسُوا
Iltamisoo · Seek with effort
الْتَمِسُوا (Iltamisoo) is the plural command form of اِلْتَمَسَ (Iltamasa) and the noun اِلْتِمَاس (Iltimaas).
It conveys reaching out with intention to obtain something that is not immediately in hand, like someone groping in the dark and feeling around to find what he is seeking.
It carries the meaning of looking for something or seeking it with effort and intent.
The Siraat and the loss of light
The allotted light is stripped from the hypocrites.
At-Tabarani · Hadith related from Ibn ‘Abbas
At-Tabarani related a Hadith connected to these Ayaat and which provides context to them: It was related from Ibn ‘Abbas: He said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“Verily, Allah will call people on the Day of Resurrection by their names, as a form of covering and concealment for His servants. As for at the Siraat (Bridge), Allah will give every believer a light, and He will give every hypocrite a light as well. But when they are all standing upon the Siraat, Allah will strip the hypocrite men and women of their light. The hypocrites will then say: “Wait for us, so that we may borrow from your light!” and the believers will say: “Our Lord, complete for us our light” (At-Tahrim 8). At that moment, no one will remember anyone else”.
Ibn Abi Hatim · Athar from a speech of Abu Umamah
Ibn Abi Hatim relates an Athar (narration) from a speech of Abu Umamah and includes a continuation of the reality described in the above Hadith. He said:
“So, they will return to the place where the light had been allotted, but they will find nothing there. They will then go back to the believers, only to find that a high wall has been set up between them, with a door: “But a wall will be placed between them with a door, its inside (Baatinuhu i.e., the part hidden from them on the other side) is Rahmah (loving care), but its apparent side (Zhaahiruhu i.e., where they are) is torment””.
Tadmeen · التضمين
The construction conveys a wall being placed and erected.
فَضُرِبَ بَيْنَهُم بِسُورٍ
Fa-Duriba Bainahum Bi-s-Soor
The verb ضَرَبَ (Daraba) is attached to the preposition بِ (Bi). The verb normally means “to strike,” “to hit,” “to set forth,” or “to impose,” but this construction does not follow its default pattern.
This is Tadmeen (التضمين): one verb carries the meaning and therefore the preposition of another verb.
Here, ضُرِبَ (Duriba) implies verbs that naturally take بِ (Bi). The full construction means that a wall was placed, erected, or set up between them.
The inward and the outward
The final condition corresponds to the hidden reality.
The ayah places Baatin and Zhaahir in a precise moral contrast between inward belief and outward appearance.
The believers
The believers were concerned with the بَاطِنُ (Baatin), the hidden aspect.
The hidden side of the high wall contains Rahmah (loving care) and belongs to the believers.
The hypocrites
The مُنَافِقُونَ (Munaafiqoon) were concerned only with the ظَاهِرُ (Zhaahir), the apparent, in the life of this world.
The apparent side of the high wall contains الْعَذَابُ (Al-‘Adhaab), punishment and torment, and belongs to the hypocrites.