Surah Hud 11:35
ﲴ ﲵ ﲶ ﲷ ﲸ ﲹ ﲺ ﲻ ﲼ ﲽ ﲾ ﲿ ﳀ
Or do they say [about Prophet Muhammad], "He invented it"? Say, "If I have invented it, then upon me is [the consequence of] my crime; but I am innocent of what [crimes] you commit."
Tafsir of Hud 11:35
Tafsir
Ruh al-Ma'ani
Verse range: 11:35
{ أم يقولون افتراه }
Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, said: That is, Nuh, peace be upon him. That is, do the people of Nuh say that Nuh fabricated what he brought as being attributed to Allah, the Mighty and Majestic?
{ قل } O Nuh,
{ إن افتريته } by pure supposition,
{ فعلى إجرامي } that is, its consequence is upon me. This is based on the estimation of an omitted word, or through the usage of the cause to represent the effect. *Al-Igram* (the committing of a crime) is interpreted as the acquisition of sin; it is the verbal noun of *ajrama*. Rarely, it comes as *jarama*, as in the saying: "Driven away from my tribe, hostage to a sin because of what my hands *jaramat* and my tongue committed." It has also been recited as *ajrami* with a fatha on the *hamza*, being—as Al-Nahhas said—the plural of *jurm*.
Izz al-Din ibn Abd al-Salam raised an issue regarding the conditional nature here, noting that the fabrication supposed here is in the past, while the condition (the conditional particle in) focuses on the future by the consensus of the scholars of Arabic. Al-Siraj replied that the meaning—as has been said regarding the Almighty’s saying: {If I had said it, then You would have known it}—is: If it is proven that I have fabricated it, then upon me is my crime.
{ وأنا بريء مما تجرمون } That is, I am innocent of your *tujrimun*, meaning your committing the crime of attributing fabrication to me. It has been said: The original meaning is, "If I have fabricated it, then upon me is the punishment for my fabrication," but since this is an impossible supposition, it is followed by, "And I am innocent of your fabrication," meaning your attribution of fabrication to me. The text shifted from that to incorporate the fact that they are the criminals and that the matter is the reverse.
I have treated ma (in mimma) as a verbal noun (masdariyyah), because the relative noun (ma al-mawsulah) would require the awkward ellipsis of a referent pronoun, and because the verbal noun is more appropriate to his saying {my crime} previously.
What is implied by the words of Ibn Abbas is that the verse is a continuation of the story of Nuh, peace be upon him, and concerns him specifically; this is the apparent meaning and the position of the majority. It is narrated from Muqatil that it concerns the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, in relation to the polytheists of Mecca. That is: Do the polytheists of Mecca say that the Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, fabricated the story of Nuh? It is said that this was introduced in the midst of the story, during the narration of its episodes, to verify its truth, confirm its occurrence, and stir the desire of the listeners to hear it—especially since a portion of it had been narrated concerning the argumentation between him, peace be upon him, and his people, while another independent portion remained regarding their torment.
It is not hidden that holding such a view is distant, even if it has been justified as it has been. It is stated in al-Kashf: "That it is in reference to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, is more apparent and appropriate than it being a continuation of the story of Nuh, peace be upon him, because {Or do they say, 'He fabricated it'} acts as a repetition of His, the Exalted’s, saying: {Or do they say, 'He fabricated it'}, indicating the perfection of their obstinacy. Such [a story], after being presented in this miraculous style, should not be attributed to fabrication. Thus, it came as an additional denial upon a denial, as if it were said: 'Nay, even with this explanation, do they still say, "He fabricated it?"' This is similar to the interpolation of His, the Exalted’s, saying in Surah al-Ankabut: {And if you deny, already nations before you have denied}, between the story of Ibrahim, peace be upon him, in one of the two interpretations."
I do not consider this to be a reliable position.