Tafsir of Yusuf 12:108

(Say, "This is my way" — meaning: this is the path which is the call to faith and monotheism. They interpreted it as such, and it is apparent that they derived the "call to faith" from His saying—the Exalted—"And most of the people, although you strive, are not believers," to convey that he calls them to faith with earnestness and diligence, even if it does not benefit them. And the "call to monotheism" is derived from His saying—glorified be He—"And most of them do not believe in Allah except while they associate others with Him," for it indicates that his being a reminder to them includes the monotheism [of Allah], yet they do not pay heed to it, just as they do not pay heed to the other signs in the horizons and within themselves that indicate His oneness—the Exalted—in Essence and Attributes.

He explained this by His saying—the Exalted—"I invite to Allah," meaning: I invite people to the knowledge of Him—glorified be He—through the attributes of His perfection and the qualities of His majesty, among which is monotheism. Thus, the sentence has no place in grammatical inflection. It is said that the sentence is in the position of a state (hal) of the [possessive] pronoun 'ya', and the governing agent therein is the meaning of the indication. This was countered by the claim that a state in such a case, derived from the genitive, contradicts the apparent rules of grammar, and it is not like the verse, "That I follow the religion of Abraham, inclining toward truth." It was also objected that this involves defining a thing by itself, which is not the case here.

"Upon insight," meaning: upon clarity and a clear proof, not blindly. The prepositional phrase is in the position of a state (hal) relative to the pronoun in "I invite." Abu Hayyan claimed that the apparent meaning is its attachment to "I invite."

His saying—the Exalted—"I," is an emphasis for that pronoun or for the pronoun implied in the state.

His saying—the Exalted—"and those who follow me," is a conjunction to the possessor of the state, and the attribution of "I invite" to them is a matter of dominance (taghlib), as established in His saying—the Exalted—"Dwell, you and your wife, in Paradise." Some have postulated a verb in similar constructions that acts upon the conjoined element, but the verifiers have not relied upon this. It is forbidden to conjoin it to "I" because it is an emphasis, and it is not correct for a conjoined element to be an emphasis like the one it is conjoined to. This was objected to on the grounds that this is not necessary, as the discourse of the verifiers requires.

It is permitted that "who" (man) is a subject whose predicate is omitted—meaning: "and those who follow me are likewise"—that is, they are also callers. Or that "upon insight" is a fronted predicate, "I" is the subject, and "who" is conjoined to it.

His saying—the Exalted—"and exalted is Allah," means: I declare Him—glorified and exalted be He—to be free from partners, and this is included under the [command to] "Say." Likewise is, "And I am not of those who associate others with Allah at any time." The speech confirms what preceded regarding the invitation to Allah—the Exalted. Abdullah [Ibn Mas'ud] read, "Say, 'This is my path'" in the masculine, although "path" (sabil) is feminine, but it may be treated as masculine.)