Surah Al Hajj Tafseer

ثَانِيَ عِطْفِهِ

Bending his neck in pride,

Ibn Abbas and others said,

"Too proud to follow the truth when he is called to it."

Mujahid, Qatadah and Malik said, narrating from Zayd bin Aslam:

ثَانِيَ عِطْفِهِ

(Bending his neck in pride),

means, twisting his neck, i.e., turning away from the truth to which he is called, bending his neck out of pride and arrogance.

This is like the Ayat:

وَفِى مُوسَى إِذْ أَرْسَلْنَـهُ إِلَى فِرْعَوْنَ بِسُلْطَـنٍ مُّبِينٍ فَتَوَلَّى بِرُكْنِهِ

And in Musa, when We sent him to Fir`awn with a manifest authority. But (Fir`awn) turned away along with his hosts. (51:38-39)

وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمْ تَعَالَوْاْ إِلَى مَأ أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ وَإِلَى الرَّسُولِ رَأَيْتَ الْمُنَـفِقِينَ يَصُدُّونَ عَنكَ صُدُوداً

And when it is said to them:"Come to what Allah has sent down and to the Messenger," you see the hypocrites turn away from you with aversion. (4:61)

وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمْ تَعَالَوْاْ يَسْتَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ لَوَّوْاْ رُءُوسَهُمْ وَرَأَيْتَهُمْ يَصُدُّونَ وَهُم مُّسْتَكْبِرُونَ

And when it is said to them:"Come, so that the Messenger of Allah may ask forgiveness from Allah for you," they twist their heads, and you would see them turning away their faces in pride. (63:5)

And Luqman said to his son:

وَلَا تُصَعِّرْ خَدَّكَ لِلنَّاسِ

And turn not your face away from men with pride. (31:18)

meaning, do not turn away from them in an arrogant manner.

And Allah says:

وَإِذَا تُتْلَى عَلَيْهِ ءَايَـتُنَا وَلَّى مُسْتَكْبِراً

And when Our verses are recited to him, he turns away in pride. (31:7)

لِيُضِلَّ عَن سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ

and leading (others) too (far) astray from the path of Allah.

This either refers to those who are stubborn, or it means that the person who does this has been created like this so that he will be one of those who lead others astray from the path of Allah.

Then Allah says:

لَهُ فِي الدُّنْيَا خِزْيٌ

For him there is disgrace in this worldly life,

meaning, humiliation and shame, such as when he is too arrogant to heed the signs of Allah, so Allah will send humiliation upon him in this world and will punish him in this world, before he reaches the Hereafter, because this world is all he cares about and all he knows.

وَنُذِيقُهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ عَذَابَ الْحَرِيقِ