Summary of the Tafsir of “Blessed is the one in the fire” (بورك من في النار)

The scholars differed about the meaning of the phrase “Blessed is the one in the fire” which appears in the story of Musa, peace be upon him. Some scholars said that the one meant in the fire is Allah Himself (meaning he is the one speaking through the fire), and that the fire was in fact the light of Allah. This view is supported by narrations from Ibn Abbas, Muhammad ibn Kaʿb (d. 118 AH), and Saʿid ibn Jubayr (d. 95 AH),who explained that Musa saw a great light and thought it was fire. It was from this light that Allah spoke to him. Allah was not physically in the fire or located in any direction, but He manifested His signs and speech from that place to Musa.

The View That the Fire Means Light

Many scholars explained that the word “fire” here actually refers to “light” because Musa thought it was fire. According to this interpretation, there were angels in the light, glorifying Allah, and they were the ones “in the fire.” Some said the blessing refers to Allah’s light or His power and authority. Others said it refers to Allah’s command that appeared as a sign in the fire. At-Tabari (d. 310 AH), Al-Baghawi (d. 516 AH) and others supported this view. It is also said in the hadith that Allah’s veil is light or fire, and if it were uncovered, the brilliance of His Face would burn everything His sight reaches. From this, it is understood that the fire Musa saw was a veiled form of divine presence.

The View That It Refers to Musa and the Angels

Another opinion is that the blessing was upon Musa and the angels. This view says that the one “in the fire” is Musa, or the angels around it, and that Allah was blessing them. This was seen as a form of greeting and honour from Allah to Musa, just as He sent greetings to Ibrahim through the angels. The phrase would then mean: “Blessed are you, O Musa, and the angels around the fire.”

The View That the Fire Itself Was Blessed

A third interpretation is that the blessing was upon the fire itself. This view is supported by narrations from Mujahid (d. 104 AH) and Ibn Abbas (d. 68 AH), and even a reading from Ubayy ibn Kaʿb (d. 22 AH) which reads: “Blessed is the fire and those around it.” According to this interpretation, Allah made the fire itself a blessed sign, just like the land around the tree was called blessed. Some scholars pointed out that in Arabic, the word man (who) can sometimes mean ma (what), which would allow the phrase to refer to the fire as a thing rather than a person.

Language of the Phrase in Arabic

The scholars noted that the Arabic language allows multiple expressions for blessing, such as “May Allah bless you,” “bless in you,” “bless upon you,” and so on, all of which mean the same thing. The form used in the verse is consistent with Arabic style and does not mean that Musa was physically inside the fire.

The Fire as One of the Veils

Ibn Jurayj (d. 150 AH), said that the fire is one of seven veils through which Allah conceals Himself from creation: the veil of might, kingship, authority, fire, light, cloud, and water. In reality, the fire Musa saw was light, but it was described as fire because that is how Musa perceived it. The Arabs often use such expressions where one word stands in for another.

“Blessed is the one in the fire and those around it.”

As Ali narrated to us, he said: Abdullah told us, he said: Muawiyah narrated to us, from Ali, from Ibn Abbas regarding the verse: “He was called, ‘Blessed is the one in the fire’,” he said: It means He was sanctified.

Imam At Tabari said: The scholars of interpretation differed on the meaning of His saying: “the one in the fire.” Some said: What is meant by that, may His majesty be exalted, is Himself, that He was in the fire, and that the fire was His light, according to a group of scholars of interpretation.

Those who said this include: Muhammad ibn Saʿd told me, he said: My father narrated to me, he said: My uncle narrated to me, he said: My father narrated to me, from his father, from Ibn Abbas regarding His saying: “Then when he came to it, he was called: ‘Blessed is the one in the fire’,” he said: It means Himself. He said: The light of the Lord of the worlds was in the tree (this was also reported by Ibn Abi Hatim in his Tafsir 9/2845 and attributed by al-Suyuti in ad-Durr al-Manthur 5/102 to Ibn Marduyah).

Saʿid ibn Jubayr regarding Allah’s saying: “Blessed is the one in the fire,” he said: He called him while He was in the fire (this was also reported by Ibn Abi Hatim in his Tafsir 9/2846 through Warqa, and he has: “He called him while He was in the light,” and al-Suyuti attributed it in ad-Durr al-Manthur 5/102 to Ibn al-Mundhir).

Al-Qasim narrated to us, he said: al-Husayn told us, he said: Abu Sufyan narrated to us, from Maʿmar, from Al-Hasan regarding His saying: “He was called, ‘Blessed is the one in the fire and those around it’.” He said: It is the light (reported by Ibn Abi Hatim in his Tafsir 9/2845 through Abu Salih).

Maʿmar said: Qatadah said: “Blessed is the one in the fire,” he said: It is the light of Allah that was blessed.

Al-Husayn said: Hajjaj narrated to us, from Ibn Jurayj, who said: al-Hasan al-Basri said: “Blessed is the one in the fire.”

Others said: The meaning is that the fire itself was blessed.

Those who said this include: Al-Harith told me, he said: al-Ashyab narrated to us, he said: Warqa narrated to us, from Ibn Abi Najih, from Mujahid regarding: “He was called: ‘Blessed is the one in the fire’,” he said: The fire was blessed. He said: Ibn Abbas said the same (see Tafsir Mujahid p. 516, and through him Ibn Abi Hatim in his Tafsir 9/2845, and al-Suyuti in ad-Durr al-Manthur 5/102 from al-Firyabi, ʿAbd ibn Humayd, and Ibn al-Mundhir).

Muhammad ibn Amr told me, he said: Abu Asim narrated to us, he said: Isa narrated to us, and al-Harith told me, he said: al-Hasan narrated to us, he said: Warqa narrated to us, all from Ibn Abi Najih, from Mujahid regarding His saying: “Blessed is the one in the fire.” He said: The fire was blessed.

Muhammad ibn Kaʿb said regarding His saying: “Blessed is the one in the fire,” he said: It is the light of the Most Merciful (reported by Ibn Abi Hatim in his Tafsir 9/2846 through Makki ibn Ibrahim, and al-Suyuti in ad-Durr al-Manthur 5/102 from Ibn al-Mundhir). He said: And the light is Allah, glory be to Allah the Lord of the worlds.

The scholars of interpretation also differed on the meaning of “the fire” in this verse. Some said: It means the light, as was mentioned from those who held that view. Others said: It means the fire, not the light.

Those who said this include: Saʿid ibn Jubayr who said: It is the veil of might, the veil of kingship, the veil of sovereignty, and the veil of fire. That is the fire from which He called out. He said: And there is also the veil of light, the veil of clouds, and the veil of water (reported by Abu Shaykh in al-ʿAzamah 1/116 through Hajjaj, from Ibn Jurayj, from Mujbir, from Saʿid).

It was said: “Blessed is the one in the fire,” and not “Blessed in the one in the fire,” according to the language of those who say: “May Allah bless you.” The Arabs say: “May Allah bless you,” and “May Allah bless in you.”

Tafsir At Tabari (18/10-13)

“So when he came to it, he was called: ‘Blessed is the one in the fire and those around it.’” That is, blessing came upon the one in the fire or in the one who is in the fire. The Arabs say: “May Allah bless him,” “bless in him,” and “bless upon him” — all with the same meaning.

Some said: The blessing returns to Musa and the angels. Its meaning is: Blessed is the one who came seeking the fire, who is Musa, peace be upon him, and those around it, meaning the angels who were around the fire. The meaning is: Blessed are you, O Musa, and the angels who are around the fire. This is a greeting from Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, to Musa with blessing, just as He greeted Ibrahim through the tongues of the angels when they entered upon him and said: “The mercy of Allah and His blessings be upon you, O people of the house.”

The view of most of the scholars of tafsir is that what is meant by “the fire” is the light. It was mentioned using the word “fire” because Musa thought it was fire. As for those in the fire, they are the angels. That is because the light that Musa saw had angels in it who raised their voices with glorification and praise.

And “those around it” refers to Musa, because he was near it, not inside it. It was also said: “Those in the fire and those around it” are all angels. And it was said: The one in the fire is Musa, and those around it are the angels. And even if Musa was not inside the fire, he was close to it, just as it is said: “So-and-so reached the place” even if he had only come near it and not yet entered.

Some went to the view that the blessing returns to the fire itself. Mujahid narrated from Ibn Abbas that he said: Its meaning is that the fire was blessed. Saʿid ibn Jubayr narrated from Ibn Abbas that he said: I heard Ubayy recite: “That the fire and those around it were blessed.”

The word man can sometimes mean ma, as in His saying: “Among them is one who crawls on his belly” (al-Nur 24:45). And ma can be an added particle in speech, as in His saying: “a host ma over there” (Sad 38:11). So its meaning is: Blessing came to the fire and those around it, and they are the angels and Musa, peace be upon them. The fire was called blessed, just as the land was called blessed, as He said: “in the blessed spot.”

It was narrated from Ibn Abbas, Saʿid ibn Jubayr, and al-Hasan regarding His saying: “Blessed is the one in the fire” — that it means: Sanctified is the one in the fire, meaning Allah, may He be glorified. He meant Himself, meaning that He called Musa from it and made him hear His speech from that direction (as it is also narrated that it is written in the Torah: “God came from Sinai, and shone forth from Seir, and rose high from the mountains of Paran,” so His coming from Sinai refers to the sending of Musa from there, His shining from Seir refers to the sending of the Messiah from there, and His rising from Paran refers to the sending of the Chosen One from there, and Paran is Makkah).

It was said: That was His light, may He be glorified. Saʿid ibn Jubayr said: It was actual fire, and fire is one of the veils of Allah, as came in the hadith: “His veil is fire, if He were to remove it, the brilliance of His Face would burn whatever His sight reaches of His creation” (this is a hadith from the Prophet, peace be upon him).

Then Allah declared Himself free from imperfection, and He is the one far removed from every defect and shortcoming, so He said, may His mention be exalted: “And exalted is Allah, Lord of the worlds.” Then He made Himself known to Musa by His attributes.

Tafseer Al Baghawi Pg 144-145

At-Tabari said: He said, “Blessed is the one in the fire,” and did not say, “Blessed in the one in the fire,” following the usage of those who say, “May Allah bless you.” And it is said: “Allah blessed him,” “blessed for him,” “blessed upon him,” and “blessed in him,” all with the same meaning. That is: blessed upon the one in the fire, meaning Musa, or upon the one near the fire, not that he was in its centre.

Al-Suddi said: There were angels in the fire, so the blessing returned to Musa and the angels. That is: “Blessed are you, O Musa, and the angels who are around it.” This is a greeting from Allah to Musa and an honour for him, just as He greeted Ibrahim through the tongues of the angels when they entered upon him and said: “The mercy of Allah and His blessings be upon you, people of the house” (Hud: 73).

A third opinion was stated by Ibn Abbas, al-Hasan, and Saʿid ibn Jubayr: “Sanctified is the one in the fire,” meaning Allah, the Exalted. He meant Himself, may He be sanctified and exalted. Ibn Abbas and Muhammad ibn Kaʿb said: The fire is the light of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic. Allah called Musa while He was in the light. The interpretation of this is that Musa, peace be upon him, saw a great light and thought it was fire, because Allah appeared to Musa with His signs and speech from the fire, not that He is located in a direction. He is the One who is God in the heaven and God on the earth (al-Zukhruf: 84), not that He is confined to either of them, but He is manifest in every act, so His existence is known through it.

It was said in this interpretation: “Blessed is the one in the fire,” meaning His power and authority are blessed. It was also said: “Blessed is what is in the fire from the command of Allah that He made as a sign.”

Al Qurtubi said: Among the things that support the view of Ibn Abbas is what was reported by Muslim in his Sahih and by Ibn Majah in his Sunan, and the wording is from Ibn Majah, from Abu Musa who said: The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said: “Indeed Allah does not sleep, and it is not befitting for Him to sleep. He lowers the scale and raises it. His veil is light. If He were to uncover it, the radiance of His Face would burn everything His sight reaches.” Then Abu Ubaydah recited: “That blessed is the one in the fire and those around it, and exalted is Allah, Lord of the worlds” (also reported by al-Bayhaqi).

And the wording in Muslim from Abu Musa is: The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, stood among us with five statements and said: “Indeed Allah, the Exalted, does not sleep, and it is not befitting for Him to sleep. He lowers the scale and raises it. The deeds of the night are raised to Him before the deeds of the day, and the deeds of the day before the deeds of the night. His veil is light,” and in the narration of Abu Bakr: “fire,” “if He were to uncover it, the radiance of His Face would burn everything His sight reaches of His creation” (Sahih Muslim 293, Sunan Ibn Majah 196, al-Asma wa al-Sifat by al-Bayhaqi 391–392, also reported by Ahmad 19632 with the wording of Muslim and 19587 with the wording of Ibn Majah).

Abu Ubayd said: The word subuhat means the majesty of His Face. From it comes the phrase Subhan Allah, which is glorification and exaltation of Him.

And His saying, “If He were to uncover it,” means: if He were to remove the veil from their eyes and not grant them firmness to bear His vision, they would burn and be unable to withstand it.

Ibn Jurayj said: The fire is one of the veils, and they are seven veils: the veil of might, the veil of kingship, the veil of sovereignty, the veil of fire, the veil of light, the veil of clouds, and the veil of water. In reality, the creation is veiled, but nothing veils Allah. So the fire was light, but it was described using the word “fire” because Musa thought it was fire, and the Arabs often use one in place of the other.

Saʿid ibn Jubayr said: It was indeed actual fire, and Allah made Musa hear His speech from its direction and manifested His Lordship to him from that side. Just as it is narrated that it is written in the Torah: “God came from Sinai, and shone from Seir, and rose high from the mountains of Paran.” His coming from Sinai refers to His sending of Musa from there. His shining from Seir refers to the sending of the Messiah from there. His rising from the mountains of Paran refers to the sending of Muhammad, peace be upon him. Paran is Makkah.

Tafsir Al Qurtubi (16/104-106)