Tafsir of Hud 11:53

They said, "O Hud, you have not brought us a clear sign" (that is, a manifest proof indicating the truth of your claim). They only said this due to the excess of their stubbornness, or the intensity of their blindness to the truth and their failure to reflect upon the signs. Thus, they believed that what was indeed a sign was not a sign. Otherwise, he and the other prophets, peace be upon them, did bring clear signs and dazzling miracles, even if some were not specified for us. It is reported in the tradition: "There is no prophet except that he was given signs similar to those which human beings would believe in."

"And we are not those who will abandon our gods" (that is, abandon their worship) "because of your word" (that is, on account of your statement, which is devoid of proof). The ‘an (from/because of) is for causation, as was said regarding the saying of the Almighty: "except for a promise he had made to him." Ibn Atiyyah and others point to this, and the prepositional phrase is linked to "abandoning" (tariki).

Some researchers have argued that it is linked to an implicit term acting as a state (hal) for the hidden pronoun within it, meaning "departing" (sadirin). This is derived from al-sadr (departing), which is the opposite of al-wird (approaching), meaning turning away from the water source. It has become common in their speech to use al-sadr and al-wird as a metonymy for action and management. From this is the saying: "How desperate the time is for someone who manages the wird (bringing to water) and the sadr (leading from water)," meaning someone who manages affairs with sound judgment. Sometimes al-sadr is sufficient in this regard, due to its implication of al-wird, so they say, "He does not act (yasduru) except by his opinion." The meaning here, then, is: "We are not abandoning our gods, acting upon your word." The negation here refers to both the constraint and the constrained, because they neither abandon their gods nor act upon his word, peace be upon him.

It has also been said that "departing" (sadirin) means "turning away," and it is a constraint on the negation. The meaning is: Our abandonment of the worship of our gods is negated while turning away "from your word." This would be an answer to his saying: "Do not turn away." Some have considered this an instance of inclusion (tadmun) rather than the estimation of a linked term, by the evidence of ‘an, considering it a metonymy as you have learned. The discourse of Al-Zamakhshari is evident in this, as revealed by the words of Al-Kashf.

"And we are not believers in you" (that is, we are not those who attest to what you have brought, or to anything you bring or leave; this includes it). They exaggerated in their refusal to answer, so they denied the evidence for his prophethood, peace be upon him. Then they said, emphasizing that, "And we are not those who will abandon..." and so on. They repeated what the previous speech indicated regarding their lack of faith through the nominal sentence, with the addition of the ba and the advancement of the predicate, which provides strength, indicating that there is no hope for them in any way. In this, there is an indication of [their] hopelessness [of being guided].