32ثُمَّ في سِلسِلَةٍ ذَرعُها سَبعونَ ذِراعًا فَاسلُكوهُMuhammad Asadand then thrust him into a chain [of other sinners like him1 - a chain] the length whereof is seventy cubits:2See 14:49 - "on that Day thou wilt see all who were lost in sin (al-mujrimin) linked together in fetters" - and the corresponding note 64, which explains my above interpolation of the phrase, "of other sinners like him".I.e., a chain exceedingly long - the number "seventy" being used here metonymically, as often done in classical Arabic, in the sense of "very many" (Zamakhshari); hence "of a measure the length whereof is known only to God" (Tabari; also Al-Hasan, as quoted by Razi).