إِنَّ جَهَنَّمَ كانَت مِرصادًا
Indeed hell is an ambush.
EXEGESIS
Mirṣād is the means or place of taking ambush. Here it means that hell is waiting to catch the rebels and transgressors. This could be a reference to the Quranic idea that God has ‘prepared’ hell and punishment for the disbelievers and wrongdoers (2:24, 3:131, 4:93, 4:102, 33:8, 33:57, 33:64, 48:6, 58:15, 65:10, 76:31). Some exegetes have suggested that mirṣād could be an exaggerated form, which would serve to emphasise the threat of hell and its eagerness to catch the wrongdoers. It has also been suggested that mirṣād here means where they shall be imprisoned and locked up.
EXPOSITION
After setting the scene of the hereafter in the previous verses, when the trumpet will be blown and people will come in groups, the next few verses describe one group of people whose abode will be hell.
A few points can be deduced from the idea that hell is an ambush for the rebels: 1. Hell is eagerly waiting for the advent of its inhabitants, which indicates there is a congruity between the inhabitants of hell and the punishment they will receive. It is this congruence and conformity that makes hell eager for them. The day when We shall say to hell: ‘Are you full?’ It will say: ‘Is there any more?’ (50:30). 2. Hell will capture its people suddenly and unexpectedly, like a hunter or predator that sits in ambush waiting for its prey. 3. Hell currently exists, except that it is hidden and under cover, much like one who sits covered in ambush. Likewise, hell is just waiting for the veils to be lifted from the eyes of the heedless (9:49, 29:54, 50:22). The day the curtains will be lifted, hell will be brought forth (26:91, 79:36, 89:23), and it will rage and roar as it sees its inhabitants (25:12). 4. It suggests that hell will come at the rebels and transgressors. This is in line with the Quranic expression of ‘diverting the punishment from the people’ when talking about those who will be saved (6:16, 11:8, 25:65).
REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE
Some early exegetes have interpreted mirṣād as a passage: a place where people will pass by. Hell will be a passage for everyone (19:71), but the believers and good-doers will pass beyond it, while the wrongdoers will stay therein (19:72). Likewise, it could be an ambush for the believers, because the angels will wait there in ambush to greet the believers who will pass over it.
Apparently the next verse is an interpretation or elaboration of this verse, where maʾāb (resort) replaces and interprets mirṣād (ambush). If so, this suggested meaning cannot be accepted. But if the next verse is an additional point to what is being said here, then this meaning can be accepted.
[1] Raghib, under r-ṣ-d; Tahqiq, under r-ṣ-d.
[2] Alusi, 15/214.
[3] Bihar, 8/275.
[4] Raghib, under r-ṣ-d; Tabari, 30/7; Tabrisi.J, 4/429; Suyuti, 6/307. This is narrated from Hasan al-Baṣrī, Qatādah, and Sufyān al-Thawrī.
[5] Zamakhshari, 4/688.
[6] Razi, 31/15.