وَإِذَا الوُحوشُ حُشِرَت

When the wild beasts are mustered.

EXEGESIS

The word wuḥūsh is the plural of waḥsh meaning lonely, deserted, desolate, and destitute of human beings. It also means a wild, untamed animal or beast,^{‎[1]Arabic-English Dictionary of Qur’ānic Usage, p. 1015.} and everything that is afraid of human beings, thereby denoting unsociability, unfriendliness, and wildness.^{‎[2]An Arabic-English Lexicon, 7/2930.} It can also mean wild fruits.^{‎[3]Arabic-English Dictionary of Qur’ānic Usage, p. 1015.}

EXPOSITION

The fifth phenomenon this surah describes as taking place before the Day of Judgement and directly as a result of the horrendous natural phenomena taking place at that time, will be the pouring out of the animals from forests and jungles.^{‎[4]Mizan, 20/214.} Wild animals, which generally tend to avoid each other due to the possibility of being hunted or being attacked, will gather together at one place, forgetting or ignoring what is around them due to the fear and dread of that day, as if wishing to assuage the impending doom which they sensed, in animal fraternity.^{‎[5]Amthal, 15/447.}

It is also suggested and perhaps obviously so, that the wild animals will mix and mingle with humans, oblivious to their surroundings and in contrast to their previous norm of fleeing and keeping a distance from humans.^{‎[6]Nahj al-Bayān ʿan Kashf Maʿānī al-Qurʾān, 5/322.} All this will be due to the fear and horror of that day. If such will be the state of the ferocious animals due to the fear and dread of that day then what will be the state of the humans?!^{‎[7]Amthal, 15/447.}

REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE

The passive perfect tense verb ḥushirat means to be gathered together, to be made to congregate, to be assembled, and to be rounded up.^{‎[8]Arabic-English Dictionary of Qur’ānic Usage, p. 211.} This meaning is the most common, well-known, and widely used for this word, even in the Quran, where forty-three derivations of the root ḥ-sh-r occur.^{‎[9]Arabic-English Dictionary of Qur’ānic Usage, p. 211. See also 79:23, 6:111, 18:47, 19:85, 20:102, 27:83, 19:67, 6:22, 10:28, 17:97, 4:172, 6:128, 10:45, 15:25, 25:17, 34:40, 37:22, 27:17, 46:6, 81:5, 2:203, 3:12, 3:158, 5:96, 6:72, 8:24, 23:79, 58:90, 67:24, 20:59, 41:19, 6:51, 6:38, 8:36, 25:34, 50:44, 59:2, 7:111, 26:36, 26:53, and 38:19.} In the majority of these cases the meanings of the derived words concur with the meanings we have mentioned. However, another variant meaning has also been suggested which may have some relevance to this verse. This second but less common meaning suggested for the verb ḥushirat is that it means the death of the wild beasts. Therefore, in light of this meaning, the verse would be understood to imply that one of the impending events of the Day of Judgement is that wild animals will perish. This meaning is attributed to Ibn Abbas,^{‎[10]Tabrisi.J, 4/448.} ʿIkramah, al-Ḍaḥḥāk, and al-Farrāʾ.^{‎[11]Nahj al-Bayān ʿan Kashf Maʿānī al-Qurʾān, 5/322.}

Ibn Abbas is also described as proffering evidence for such an understanding by drawing on the norms of the Arabic language. He is reported to have argued that the Arabs say: idhā ajḥafat al-sanatu bil-nās, ḥasharathum, ay: amātathum, which means: if the year became one of drought for mankind then it would kill them, i.e. cause their death.^{‎[12]Zubdah, 7/345.} Another example of such a usage for this term is when the Arabs say: ḥasharat al-sanatu māla fulānin, meaning: the year of dearth destroyed the possessions of such-and-such.^{‎[13]An Arabic-English Lexicon, 2/211.}

However, it may be possible to consider these two meanings of the verb ḥushirat not as contradictories, but as complimenting one another in succession in the sense that during the chaotic events prior to the Day of Judgement, the wild animals will get startled, distressed, and disturbed, leaving their wild habitat and gathering out into the open in fright and bewilderment, and then they will be caused to die.

Nevertheless, Ṭabarī writes in his exegesis regarding this verse, that the most appropriate meaning of the verb ḥushirat is ‘to gather’ as this is the most well-known meaning of this word among the Arabs, as well as attested to in 38:19 and 79:23.^{‎[14]Tabari, 30/43.}

[1] Arabic-English Dictionary of Qur’ānic Usage, p. 1015.
[2] An Arabic-English Lexicon, 7/2930.
[3] Arabic-English Dictionary of Qur’ānic Usage, p. 1015.
[4] Mizan, 20/214.
[5] Amthal, 15/447.
[6] Nahj al-Bayān ʿan Kashf Maʿānī al-Qurʾān, 5/322.
[7] Amthal, 15/447.
[8] Arabic-English Dictionary of Qur’ānic Usage, p. 211.
[9] Arabic-English Dictionary of Qur’ānic Usage, p. 211. See also 79:23, 6:111, 18:47, 19:85, 20:102, 27:83, 19:67, 6:22, 10:28, 17:97, 4:172, 6:128, 10:45, 15:25, 25:17, 34:40, 37:22, 27:17, 46:6, 81:5, 2:203, 3:12, 3:158, 5:96, 6:72, 8:24, 23:79, 58:90, 67:24, 20:59, 41:19, 6:51, 6:38, 8:36, 25:34, 50:44, 59:2, 7:111, 26:36, 26:53, and 38:19.
[10] Tabrisi.J, 4/448.
[11] Nahj al-Bayān ʿan Kashf Maʿānī al-Qurʾān, 5/322.
[12] Zubdah, 7/345.
[13] An Arabic-English Lexicon, 2/211.
[14] Tabari, 30/43.