Tafsir of Hud 11:89

"And O my people, let not [the] dissension [with] me..."—that is, let not [the] enmity toward me [earn you/bring upon you]. Its root is that one of two adversaries is on a hillside (shiq) and edge, and the other is on another. This has been narrated from al-Suddi, from al-Hasan, from [al-Darrari], and from some [as] "my separation," and all of these are close in meaning. It is the agent of yajrimannakum (let not [it] earn you), and the kaaf (you) is its first object. His saying—Subhanahu—an yusibakum (that there should befall you) is its second object. The verb jarama has come to transit to two objects, just as it has come to transit to one, and it is like kasaba (to earn) in that regard. From the first usage is his saying: "And I have struck Abu 'Uyaynah a strike that earned [jaramat] Fazara, after it, that they should be angered." The genitive attribution (idafa) of shiqaq (dissension) to the speaker ya (my) is from the category of attributing the verbal noun to its object; meaning: Let not your dissension with me cause you to earn that there should befall you [like what befell the people of Nuh]—from drowning—[or the people of Hud]—from the wind—[or the people of Salih]—from the tremor and the blast. Prohibiting the dissension is a metaphor or metonymy for prohibiting them [from acting as they do], and it is more eloquent than addressing the prohibition to them directly; for if he prohibited the dissension, which is inanimate, it is known that the prohibition of those who are contentious is implied all the more strongly.

Ibn Wathab and al-A'mash read yujrimannakum with a damma on the ya; it is also narrated from Ibn Kathir. It is then [derived] from ajramtuhu dhanban (I caused him to commit a sin), if you make him a doer of it, meaning an earner of it. The hamza is for the causative transition from the jarama that takes one object; its parallel in transition is likewise kasaba (to earn/gain), for it is said regarding it: aksabahu al-mal (he made him earn the wealth). Both readings are equal in meaning, except that the famous one follows what is most frequently used in the speech of the eloquent Arabs whose Arabic is trusted.

Mujahid, al-Jahdari, and Ibn Abi Ishaq read mithlu with a fatha. This is also narrated from Nafi', and a group interpreted it on the grounds that mithlu is also the agent, except that it is indeclinable (mabni) with fatha because it is attached to an indeclinable word (the implied object). This has been permitted in it, as well as in ghayru (other than), ma (what), anna (that) both lightened and emphasized, just like nouns of place/time attached to indeclinable words. On this basis came his saying: "And the drinking from it was not prevented, except that a dove sang in the branches of a tree with thorns." Some say it is an adjective for an omitted verbal noun, and the fatha is [a sign of] declension, meaning: "an affliction [like] the affliction of the people of Nuh." The agent of yusibakum is a hidden pronoun returning to "the punishment" understood from the context, though there is affectation in this.

"And the people of Lut are not far from you." [Neither in] time, as is narrated from Qatada, nor in place, as is narrated from others. His meaning—peace be upon him—is: If you do not take a lesson from those before you due to the remoteness of the era, then take a lesson from these, for they are within your sight and hearing. It is as if he changed the style of warning regarding them and contented himself with mentioning their closeness, signaling that this makes it unnecessary to mention what befell them, due to its fame—being strung on the same necklace as those mentioned among the incentives [for warning] of the listed nations.

It is permissible that "the distance" refers to metaphorical distance, meaning: They are not far from you in disbelief and evil-doing, so beware lest the same punishment that was brought upon them be brought upon you. Some of the later scholars adopted this meaning, saying: "If you are the people of Lut in essence, then the people of Lut are not far from you."

The singularization of ba'id (far) and its masculine form, despite the subject—which is qawm (people)—being a collective noun and grammatically feminine (as al-Zamakhshari stated), is argued by the fact that its diminutive is quwayma. This would necessitate that one should say ba'idah to match the word, or bu'ada' to match the meaning, because the intent is "And their destruction [is not far]" or "And they are not a far thing" or "And they are not in a far time or place." It is also permitted that this is because ba'id is common to both masculine and feminine, being on the scale of verbal nouns like nahiq (braying) and sahil (neighing).

In al-Kashf, it is stated from al-Jawhari that qawm is masculine and feminine, because collective nouns that have no singular from their own root, if they refer to humans, are masculine and feminine—like raht (band), nafar (group), and qawm (people). If they are put into the diminutive form, the ha (feminine marker) does not enter them; you say quwaym, ruhayt, and nufayr. The ha enters in those that refer to non-humans, like ibil (camels) and ghanam (sheep), because the feminine state is inherent [in them]. There is a great distance between this and what was reported from al-Zamakhshari; according to this [view of al-Jawhari], there is no need for the [previous] interpretation.