“No!” serves as a strong divine disapproval of this act of theirs, and also as a call to desist from their actions.
The word ‘fujjār’ has been explained in the previous surah.
“Writings” refers to the writing of the deeds of the person written by the angels that are stationed above him to record his actions, and watch all his actions as described in the previous surah. Allah describes the angels as kātibīn - writing - and uses the word Kitāb here which are both of the same root. People normally translate Kitāb as ‘book’, Kitāb can also be in the meaning of writing (maktūb) as if to say that whatever the angels write of the deeds of these people, is stored inside sijjīn. I prefer this opinion.
Secondly, the word sijjīn is the crux of this small passage. It comes from the root sīn jīm nūn which was used for a prison, for soft iron that can be molded to form different objects, as well as for trenches dug around the roots of palm trees when water is not naturally drawn towards them. Interestingly, these trenches were called sijjīn itself, the same word used in the verse. The core meaning is to confine or contain something inside a tight space.68 This meaning is apparent in the prison, the soft iron described is used to make objects that restrain people such as chains, shackles and clamps, and the trenches force water into a tight space (the roots). So sijjīn literally means a pit or a trench to restrain something inside it. Much has been said about what sijjīn means in this verse which in my opinion, is unnecessary since Allah Himself answers what sijjīn is and we will tie it together at that point. Ṭabarī and Qurṭubī quote a number of scholars who said sijjīn means the lowest part of the earth and I think they are all coming to this conclusion because of the root meaning itself. It is clear to me that sijjīn refers to something lowly, and physically below not only because of the root meaning, but also because later on in the surah, Allah will say that the writings of the righteous, as opposed to the fujjār are in ʿIlliyīn, and ʿIlliyīn comes from the root ʿayn lām alif which means height and elevation. So if the book of deeds of righteous is lofty and on high, it naturally follows that the book of the unrighteous is lowly and below. This does not mean it refers to the lowest earth as Ṭabarī and Qurṭubī mention, but to a point that is physically and otherwise lowly and despised.
But instead of delving into opinions regarding what sijjīn is, we need only look at the next two verses:
وَمَآ أَدْرَىٰكَ مَا سِجِّينٌۭ
What can make you understand what Sijjīn is?
كِتَٰبٌۭ مَّرْقُومٌۭ
A marqūm book Firstly, the question is asked to draw attention and to highlight the grand nature of what is about to be told.
Allah calls sijjīn a marqūm book or writing. Marqūm is generally taken to mean something inscribed or written which is largely correct, but if we look at its root usages, we see something really interesting. It comes from the root rāʾ qāf mīm which was used for a meadow, a place in a valley where water gathers, as well as for a land with scattered patches of vegetation. The core meaning is of a distinct, limited patch standing out from its surroundings like a meadow within the surrounding dry land, patches of vegetation within otherwise barren land and a spot where water gathers in a valley.69 Sijjīn is a book, confined inside a tight space. It stands out from its surroundings but not in a way we would normally expect. Since it was literally used for a pit dug inside the earth, it stands out as a deep pit in a vast area. Imagine a wide, expansive and homogenous area with a pit in the centre that stands out. Inside that canyon is the book in which the writings of the angels of the actions of the fujjār go. This is a closed off and confined pit. So there is one massive book inside which the actions of all Fujjār are recorded. It is as if each individual has a chapter of this book reserved for him. Secondly, marqūm can also mean something that is marked distinctly so that it stands out. Sijjīn could be a book that is distinctly marked by a mark or symbol of wretchedness and misery on the day of resurrection.
What can make you understand what Sijjīn is?
Commentary covering verses 7–9
“No!” serves as a strong divine disapproval of this act of theirs, and also as a call to desist from their actions.
The word ‘fujjār’ has been explained in the previous surah.
“Writings” refers to the writing of the deeds of the person written by the angels that are stationed above him to record his actions, and watch all his actions as described in the previous surah. Allah describes the angels as kātibīn - writing - and uses the word Kitāb here which are both of the same root. People normally translate Kitāb as ‘book’, Kitāb can also be in the meaning of writing (maktūb) as if to say that whatever the angels write of the deeds of these people, is stored inside sijjīn. I prefer this opinion.
Secondly, the word sijjīn is the crux of this small passage. It comes from the root sīn jīm nūn which was used for a prison, for soft iron that can be molded to form different objects, as well as for trenches dug around the roots of palm trees when water is not naturally drawn towards them. Interestingly, these trenches were called sijjīn itself, the same word used in the verse. The core meaning is to confine or contain something inside a tight space.68 This meaning is apparent in the prison, the soft iron described is used to make objects that restrain people such as chains, shackles and clamps, and the trenches force water into a tight space (the roots). So sijjīn literally means a pit or a trench to restrain something inside it. Much has been said about what sijjīn means in this verse which in my opinion, is unnecessary since Allah Himself answers what sijjīn is and we will tie it together at that point. Ṭabarī and Qurṭubī quote a number of scholars who said sijjīn means the lowest part of the earth and I think they are all coming to this conclusion because of the root meaning itself. It is clear to me that sijjīn refers to something lowly, and physically below not only because of the root meaning, but also because later on in the surah, Allah will say that the writings of the righteous, as opposed to the fujjār are in ʿIlliyīn, and ʿIlliyīn comes from the root ʿayn lām alif which means height and elevation. So if the book of deeds of righteous is lofty and on high, it naturally follows that the book of the unrighteous is lowly and below. This does not mean it refers to the lowest earth as Ṭabarī and Qurṭubī mention, but to a point that is physically and otherwise lowly and despised.
But instead of delving into opinions regarding what sijjīn is, we need only look at the next two verses:
وَمَآ أَدْرَىٰكَ مَا سِجِّينٌۭ
What can make you understand what Sijjīn is?
كِتَٰبٌۭ مَّرْقُومٌۭ
A marqūm book Firstly, the question is asked to draw attention and to highlight the grand nature of what is about to be told.
Allah calls sijjīn a marqūm book or writing. Marqūm is generally taken to mean something inscribed or written which is largely correct, but if we look at its root usages, we see something really interesting. It comes from the root rāʾ qāf mīm which was used for a meadow, a place in a valley where water gathers, as well as for a land with scattered patches of vegetation. The core meaning is of a distinct, limited patch standing out from its surroundings like a meadow within the surrounding dry land, patches of vegetation within otherwise barren land and a spot where water gathers in a valley.69 Sijjīn is a book, confined inside a tight space. It stands out from its surroundings but not in a way we would normally expect. Since it was literally used for a pit dug inside the earth, it stands out as a deep pit in a vast area. Imagine a wide, expansive and homogenous area with a pit in the centre that stands out. Inside that canyon is the book in which the writings of the angels of the actions of the fujjār go. This is a closed off and confined pit. So there is one massive book inside which the actions of all Fujjār are recorded. It is as if each individual has a chapter of this book reserved for him. Secondly, marqūm can also mean something that is marked distinctly so that it stands out. Sijjīn could be a book that is distinctly marked by a mark or symbol of wretchedness and misery on the day of resurrection.
68 Al-Muʿjam al-Ishtiqāqī al-Muʾaṣṣal li-Alfāẓ al-Qurʾān al-Karīm, vol. 2, p. 962
69 Al-Muʿjam al-Ishtiqāqī al-Muʾaṣṣal li-Alfāẓ al-Qurʾān al-Karīm, vol. 2, p. 841