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mā lahū min dāfiʿin
There is none who can avert it.
— Ali Quli Qarai
52Aṭ-ṬūrالطورVerse 8 of 49
The Mount52. Aṭ-Ṭūrالطور
al-Ṭūr
The Mount
MeccanVerse 8 of 49
52Aṭ-ṬūrالطورVerse 8 of 49
The Mount
There is none who can avert it.
— Ali Quli Qarai
Surah al-Tur - Verses 1-8
1. By the Tur [Mount].
2. And by an Inscribed Book.
3. By a parchment unrolled.
4. And by the Prosperous House.
5. And by the roof [of the heaven] raised high.
6. And by the blazing sea.
7. Indeed, the torment of your Lord will surely come to pass.
8. There is no impediment for it.
The word tur denotes "mountain," but it ad hoc connotes a mount in the Sinai region which served as the appointed place where Prophet Moses (as) met with Divine Manifestation. The mount is a sacred place and the Holy Qur’an depicts it as al-Tur ("the Mount"). The Arabic phrase kitab mastur designates Scriptures like the Torah and the Holy Qur’an inscribed on thin pieces of paper which were unrolled rather than rolled. The word raqq in the phrase fi raqq-in manshur deriving from raqqa denoting thin and delicate parchment prepared for writing. Manshur denotes "unrolled" and masjur signifies "ablaze" which also denotes "brimming, abounding, filled." The compound bayt al-Ma‘mur ad hoc refers to the House of God Almighty which has always been prosperous through the presence of pilgrims.
The holy Ka‘ba is designated twice as bayt;
("house");
the other instance is bayt al-‘atiq;
("ancient house").
According to traditions, there is place above Ka‘ba in the heavens where angels circumambulate it and it is also termed as bayt al-ma‘mur.1 The phrase al-bahr al-masjur denoting blazing and agitated sea or those which shall be set ablaze on the Day of Resurrection, as it is attested elsewhere in the Holy Qur’an2:
"And when the seas become as blazing fire or overflows"
or it may connote magma erupting at times through volcanoes. It is also worthy of note that as mentioned above under 51:60:
"Therefore, woe unto those who disbelieve from their Day which they have been promised"
where it treats of the promise of the inevitable occurrence of Resurrection. The Chapter in question, following five oaths, reads:
"Indeed the torment of your Lord shall certainly come to pass. There is no impediment for it."
In short, the blessed Verses in question make a reference to the torment in store for disbelievers saying that in the same manner that the constituent elements of the world of being follow a certain order unimpeded by any impediment, the torment in store for disbelievers and contenders and their abode in Hell is certain against which no impediment may arise.
Footnotes