Surah al-Mu’minūn (The Believers)

Shaykh al-Islām—may Allah Most High have mercy on him—said:

Concerning His words, Most High:

“Does he promise you that, when you have died and become dust and bones, that you will be brought forth?”

A long interval separates the particle anna and its subject from its predicate, so He repeats (anna) before the predicate to emphasize it. A parallel occurs in His words, Most High:

“Do they not know that whoever opposes Allah and His Messenger will indeed have the Fire of Hell?”

Because the intervening passage is long, He repeats (anna). This is the explanation given by al-Zajjāj and a group of scholars.

A better explanation is that each of these two sentences is a conditional sentence consisting of two clauses expressing a condition and its consequence. The conditional sentence is emphasized with anna, just as it is emphasized in the poet’s words:

“Indeed, whoever enters the church one day
Will find young wild cattle and gazelles within.”

The clause expressing the consequence is then emphasized with anna, since it conveys the intended point, just as it is emphasized in His words, Most High:

“As for those who hold firmly to the Book and establish prayer—indeed, We do not let the reward of those who set things right go to waste.”

A parallel example of combining emphasis on the overall sentence, composed of the condition and its consequence,