إِنّا جَعَلنا في أَعناقِهِم أَغلالًا فَهِيَ إِلَى الأَذقانِ فَهُم مُقمَحونَ

Indeed We have put iron collars around their necks, which are up to the chins, so their heads are upturned.

EXEGESIS

Muqmaḥūn (upturned heads) is a passive participle derived from the verb aqmaḥa, which means raising the head and lowering the gaze out of humiliation.^{‎[1]Meaning of mqmḥ in the Quran, Almaany the online dictionary, <https://www.almaany.com/ar/dict/ar-ar/%D9%85%D9%82%D9%85%D8%AD/>.}

Aghlāl (collar irons) is the plural of ghull, which means a chain, fetter, or shackle that is used to tie the hands with the neck to torture or restrain someone. The verb ghallala means to fasten something, hold back, restrict and restrain, and tie and bind. The Jews say: ‘Allah’s hand is tied up (maghlūlah).’ Tied up (ghullat) be their hands, and cursed be they for what they say! Rather, His hands are wide open (5:64). The inmates of hell are tied and fettered: Seize him, and fetter him (ghullūhu)! (69:30).

EXPOSITION

This verse and the next offer a more dramatic description of the previous verse, The word has certainly become due against most of them. They explain what happens to someone when the word is realised and becomes due against them.

Occasionally, during the pre-Islamic era, a prisoner’s hands were tied with bracelets and were fastened with chains to a wooden or iron collar on their neck. Either the collar would be so broad, or the chains would roll around the neck up to the chin in a way that it would upturn the head, preventing him from seeing around him.^{‎[2]Sayyid Kamal Faqih Imani, An Enlightening Commentary into the Light of the Holy Qur'an, (London: Imam Ali Foundation, vol. 15.}

This is a strong metaphor for the unawareness, ignorance, and confusion of those who do not believe. Their heads are upturned and they cannot see the path and what they are stepping on. No matter how hard they try, they cannot see what is around them and they cannot choose the right path. They are also denied seeing what their eyes can glance at because they are covered from before and behind. They cannot see the signs of God, which so manifestly indicate His existence and His presence. They cannot see the truth in the words of the Prophet, nor in the world in which they live, nor in the reality of their soul and body.

Another interpretation of the shackles and chains around their neck is that it presents their state on the Day of Judgement when they are chained and shackled: [The angels will be told:] ‘Seize him and fetter him! Then put him into hell’ (69:30-31), When iron collars are around their necks and chains, they are dragged into scalding waters and then set aflame in the fire (40:71-72).

One more probability can be added here. The shackles and chains may be a reference to the laws by which God has restricted the evildoers and has limited their freedom. That is, as if God, by His commands and prohibitions, has put shackles on them, preventing them from their freedom of committing evil acts and wickedness. And because the message of God is not in their favour and personal desires, they become more and more stubborn. These laws include prohibiting oppression, corruption, immorality, looting, and the like. All such obligations and prohibitions act like chains and barriers that prevent them from embracing Islam. Therefore, God prevented them, which would mean His message prevented them.

INSIGHTS FROM HADITH

1. Imam Ali (a) showed the people what iqmāḥ means by placing both hands under his two jawbones, connecting his hands and raising his head.^{‎[3]Muhit, 9/51.}
2. Ibn Abbas narrates: ‘The Prophet (s) used to recite the Quran vocally in the Masjid [al-Ḥarām] until some people from Quraysh got annoyed by it, so they stood up to arrest him. However, their hands got jammed to their necks, and they lost their sight. So, they came to the Prophet (s) and told him: “We beg you in the name of Allah and the blood relation [between us], O Muhammad [help us]!” And there was no tribe from the tribes of Quraysh unless they were related to the Prophet (s). Consequently, the Prophet (s) prayed until they were relieved from such a state; nevertheless, no one [of them] believed in the Prophet (s).’^{‎[4]Mizan, 17/69.}

Note: This is a weak hadith reported in al-Durr al-Manthūr of Suyūṭī.

3. Imam Ali (a) said: ‘And, as for the ones who sin, [when] He would settle them in the worst place with hands tied to the necks, the forelocks joined with feet, and [when He] would clothe them in shirts of tar and dresses cut out of flames, [and place them] in a punishment in which the heat had reached its severity and which would be enclosed on its inmates – that fire which would be filled with shouts and cries with rising flames and fearful voices – [at that time] its inmate would not be able to move out of it, neither its prisoner would be released by ransom, nor its shackles would be cut. There would be no [end] time for this abode so that it might end, or any period that it might pass away.’^{‎[5]Nahj, sermon 108.}

REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE

One of the probabilities of this metaphor is that these people cannot bow their heads in obedience, so their heads are upturned indicates disobedience.^{‎[6]Razi, 26/255.} The meaning is completed in the next verse.

The term muqmaḥ (upturned head) is used for the camel when it gets satisfied from drinking water, raises its head, and does not look down. This could be a metaphor used to indicate that these people are so satisfied with their evil acts that they do not want to look down, observing the restrictions that God has mandated in order to restrain people from doing evil. Yet if God wants to compel them to believe, He can do so: If We wish We will send down to them a sign from the sky before which their heads will remain bowed in humility (26:4). However, He gives free will and sends reminders and warnings so that people may be guided before it is too late.^{‎[7]Ibn al-Tamjīd, Ḥāshiyat al-Qūnawī ʿalā Tafsīr al-Imām al-Bayḍāwī wa maʿahu Ḥāshiyat Ibn al-Tamjīd, (DKI Beirut, 2001), 16/97.}

The fāʾ in fa-hum muqmaḥūn denotes causality. It means since the fetters are up to their chins, consequently their heads are upturned and they cannot see the way before them.^{‎[8]Ibn al-Tamjīd, Ḥāshiyat al-Qūnawī ʿalā Tafsīr al-Imām al-Bayḍāwī wa maʿahu Ḥāshiyat Ibn al-Tamjīd, (DKI Beirut, 2001), 16/97.} It is a beautiful metaphor signifying why they cannot see the clear signs of God and why they cannot find their way to salvation.

[1] Meaning of mqmḥ in the Quran, Almaany the online dictionary, <https://www.almaany.com/ar/dict/ar-ar/%D9%85%D9%82%D9%85%D8%AD/>.
[2] Sayyid Kamal Faqih Imani, An Enlightening Commentary into the Light of the Holy Qur'an, (London: Imam Ali Foundation, vol. 15.
[3] Muhit, 9/51.
[4] Mizan, 17/69.
[5] Nahj, sermon 108.
[6] Razi, 26/255.
[7] Ibn al-Tamjīd, Ḥāshiyat al-Qūnawī ʿalā Tafsīr al-Imām al-Bayḍāwī wa maʿahu Ḥāshiyat Ibn al-Tamjīd, (DKI Beirut, 2001), 16/97.
[8] Ibn al-Tamjīd, Ḥāshiyat al-Qūnawī ʿalā Tafsīr al-Imām al-Bayḍāwī wa maʿahu Ḥāshiyat Ibn al-Tamjīd, (DKI Beirut, 2001), 16/97.