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ʾinnā jaʿalnā fī ʾaʿnāqihim ʾaghlālan fa-hiya ʾilā l-ʾadhqāni fa-hum muqmaḥūna
Indeed We have put iron collars around their necks, which are up to the chins, so their heads are upturned.
— Ali Quli Qarai
36Yā-SīnيسVerse 8 of 83
Ya-Sin36. Yā-Sīnيس
Yā Sīn
Ya Sin
MeccanVerse 8 of 83
Surah Ya-Sin - Verses 7-8
7. “The word (of punishment) has been realized against most of them, yet they do not believe.”
8. “Verily, we have put chains on their necks, and these reach up to their chins, so their heads are raised.”
Allah puts chains on the pagans’ necks, but they themselves have provided its preparation. As a prophecy about the chiefs of pagans and leaders of polytheists, this verse says:
Concerning the purpose of the Qur’anic word /qaul/ (the word) mentioned here, the commentators have delivered some probable meanings, but apparently the objective meaning is the promise of the Hell punishment for the followers of Satans, as Surah As-Sajdah, No. 32, verse 13 says:
And again Surah Az-Zumar, No. 39, verse 71 says:
However this state is for those who had ceased all their communication lines with Allah and had broken all the means of relation. They had closed the entire doors of guidance to them and had committed the utmost degree of enmity, obstinacy, and stubbornness. Yes, such people will never believe and have no way to return, because they have ruined all the bridges behind them. The fact is in this that man will be corrigible and worthy of being guided if he has not totally ruined his monotheistic nature with his ugly and polluted deeds, otherwise, an absolute darkness will dominate over his heart and all of the doors of hope will be closed for him.
By the way, it was made clear by this statement that the purpose of the majority of the persons who never believe is the chiefs of polytheists and pagans, and that was why that some of them were killed in the battles of Muslims in the state of polytheism and idolatry, and those who remained did not have any faith in their hearts until the end, while after the conquest of Mecca, the majority of the Arab polytheists embraced Islam groups and groups, as the Qur’an says:
The verses which are recited after it and refer to the barriers in front of them and behind them and count their eyes blind, and clearly says that they are alike whether they are warned or not, all attest to this very meaning. However, the next holy verse continues explaining this unchangeable group, when it says:
The Arabic word /’aqlal/ is the plural form of /qul/ and the word /qalala/ originally means: something which is in the middle of some things. For example, the flowing water, which passes through some trees, is called /qalal/ and the Arabic word /qul/ was a ring which was put on the necks or the heads of persons and then it was fastened with some chains. So, since the hand was put in the middle of it, this word has been used for it. Sometimes the rings which were put on the necks were separately fastened by a chain, and the rings on the heads were different from them.
But, sometimes the hands were put in a ring and this ring was fastened to the ring which was on the neck, and, thus, the prisoner or the captive was intensively put in pressure, limitation, and torture. If this word is used for the state of thirst or intense of grief and anger, it is called /qullih/ which is also for the sake of penetrating this state into the man’s heart and soul. Principally, the Arabic word /qall/ has been applied in both the senses of: ‘to bring in’ and ‘to enter’, therefore the income of the house, or agriculture, and the like is called /qallih/.5
In any case, sometimes when the ring, which was put on the neck, came up to the chin and set the head upward, and the captive or prisoner, being extraordinarily tortured by it, could not see around him. How interesting is the resemblance which has been made from the state of obstinate idolaters to such persons. Those have put the ring of imitation and the chain of superstitious customs on their necks, hands, and feet and their rings are so wide and vast that they have kept their heads upward and they are deprived from seeing the facts around them. They are some captives who have neither the power of activity and motion, nor the ability of watching.
Some commentators have mentioned a few occasions of revelation for the above mentioned verse and the verse next to it, saying that they have been revealed about Abujahl, or a man from ‘Bani Makhzun’ tribe, or the tribe of Quraysh. They frequently decided to kill the Prophet (S), but Allah, by the way of miracle, hindered them to commit this action, and at that sensitive moment when they reached the holy Prophet (S) and wanted to attack him, their eyes could not see, or the power of motion was taken from them.6
But these occasions of revelation do not hinder the generality of the concept of the verse and the vastness of its meaning about all chiefs of pagans and those who are obstinate and zealous. In the meantime it is a confirmation over what was said on the commentary of the Qur’anic phrase:
that its purpose is not the majority of polytheists, but the purpose of it is the majority of the chiefs of polytheists, pagans, and hypocrites.
Footnotes