إِذ هُم عَلَيها قُعودٌ
وَهُم عَلىٰ ما يَفعَلونَ بِالمُؤمِنينَ شُهودٌ
Above which they sat,
as they were themselves witnesses to what they did to the faithful.
EXEGESIS
Idh carries the meaning of specifying the time of the action, so the verse would more literally translate as ‘while they sat’.
ʿAlayhā (above it) carries the nuance of ‘around’, that is they were sitting around the edges of the ditch.
Quʿūd (sat) is the irregular plural of the active participle qāʿid from the verb qaʿada, which means to sit.
EXPOSITION
Committing acts of torture and genocide requires an unfathomably pervasive corruption of the soul, but even worse than that is when one takes joy in the act. The Men of the Ditch like someone the evil of whose conduct is presented as decorous to him (35:8), not only carried out their vile act, they seemingly carried it out with glee, sitting at the edge of the ditch to watch the screaming and burning people that they flung in there. Such evil always begins with dehumanising the other and desensitising a nation to violence. It is not uncommon to see nations carrying out genocide celebrating and taking pride in their inhumane acts.
The mention of them being witnesses to the act recalls the third verse of the surah, which foretells how witnesses will be brought against those who committed such vile and reprehensible deeds. Even their own bodies will testify against them, despite being cast into the hellfire alongside them. The wording of the verse is particularly significant. If people were merely witnesses to their own actions, the Arabic phrasing should have been limā yafʿalūna shuhūd. Instead, the verse states ʿalā mā yafʿalūna shuhūd indicating that they are witnesses against themselves and their evil deeds. This subtle yet profound linguistic choice underscores the gravity of their condemnation. Not only did these people gather around the ditch to revel in their gruesome handiwork, but their sheer delight in it revealed their utter lack of remorse, sealing their complicity in their own damnation. Thus, they will stand as witnesses against themselves on the Day of Judgement, Read your book! Today your soul suffices as your own reckoner (17:14). This inexorably ties back to verse 3, where they are both the witness and the witnessed, trapped by their own actions in a divine justice that leaves no room for denial.
It is also said that there were two groups of the oppressors, the ones who carried out the acts of genocide and another group that sat by watching. Both groups are cursed by God; one for their actions, and one for being pleased with the actions of the oppressors. As it is reported from Imam Ali (a): ‘He who is pleased with the action of a people is as though he joins them in that action. And everyone who joins in wrong commits two sins; one sin for committing the wrong and the other for agreeing with it.’ The same principle is also touched upon in Sūrat al-Nūr, Indeed those who want indecency to spread among the faithful – there is a painful punishment for them in the world and the hereafter (24:19). See also the discussion on verse 9 of this surah.
Excuses such as ‘we were just carrying out orders’ will not acquit anyone of guilt either. Every soul is burdened with its own actions and blame for them cannot be shifted on to others, And they will say: ‘Our Lord! We obeyed our leaders and elders, and they led us astray from the way’ (33:67).
[1] Tibyan, 10/317.
[2] Tabari, 30/87.
[3] See also Razi, 31/111-112.
[4] Tabrisi, 10/709.
[5] Nahj, saying 154.
[6] See also 2:166-167.