The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 2) — Page 715
PT. 10 AT-TAUBAH CH. 9 وْمَ يُحْيِى عَلَيْهَا فِي نَارِ جَهَنَّمَ فَتُكُوى بِهَا On the day when it shall be. 35 ط made hot in the fire of Hell, and their foreheads and their sides هذا جِبَاهُهُمْ وَجُنُوبُهُمْ وَظُهُورُ رم و دور بود مَا كَنَزُتُمْ لِأَنْفُسِكُمْ فَذُوقُوا مَا and their backs shall be branded كُنتُمْ تَكْنِزُونَ therewith and it shall be said to them: 'This is what you treasured up for yourselves; so now taste what you used to treasure up. '1195 1195. Important Words: (branded) is formed from 55. They say 5 i. e. he cauterized him or it; he burnt his or its skin with a piece of iron or the like (Lane). means, I cauterized or branded the beast with a piece of hot ,means كوت العقرب فلانا (iron (Mufradat the scorpion stung such a one. which is the noun-infinitive from means, the act of cauterizing or branding with a piece of hot iron (whether for the purpose of putting a mark or for curing a disease). The Arabs say i. e. the last remedy (in certain diseases) is cauterizing (Aqrab). Commentary: The reward and punishment of the life to come will not be of a physical nature, but will be the spiritual representation of the actions of man in the present life. This is clear from the verse under comment, which states that only three parts of the body the forehead, the side and the back will be branded. When a rich man, out of miserliness or pride, refuses to help a beggar, the first sign that appears on his person is that his forehead contracts into a frown. Then he turns on his side, and finally he disdainfully shows his back to the man seeking his help. Fittingly, therefore, the forehead, the side and the back have been spoken of here as being branded, i. e. in the afterlife these parts will appear to be branded with a hot iron, as if bearing testimony against themselves. The verse also signifies that even in the present life the hoarded treasures of Jews and Christians will become a source of grievous punishment for them. In this case, the threatened punishment might be taken to refer to devastating wars such as the present one, in which hot metal in various forms is destroying the western peoples. They receive it on their foreheads, sides and backs, i. e. whether facing the enemy or making a flank movement or turning their backs; and, curiously enough, Jews are as much hit by these wars as are The expression is clearly figurative. | Christians. 1155