Ar-Ra‘d: (27) "And those who disbelieved say..."

"And those who disbelieved say" — meaning the people of Mecca, such as ‘Abdullah ibn Abi Umayyah and his companions.

The preference for this method [of explicit naming] over using a pronoun, despite it being clear that they were intended following the mention of their rejoicing, is based on the fact that the pronoun in "they rejoiced" belongs to them for the purpose of condemning them and recording their disbelief regarding what was narrated of their saying: "Why has no sign been sent down to him from his Lord?" For that is in the utmost degree of obstinacy and stubbornness, as if the immense, brilliant signs brought down upon him—upon whom be peace and prayer—were not signs in their view, such that they proposed signs which wisdom does not demand, like the falling of the sky upon them in fragments, the moving of the mountains, the turning of the valley of Mecca into ploughed fields and gardens like those of Jordan, or the bringing to life of their ancestors, and so forth.

"Say: 'Indeed, Allah lets go astray whom He wills'"—His letting go astray is a volition subordinate to the wisdom that calls for it. This speech follows the pattern of astonishment at their statement; for the abundant, brilliant signs that were given to him—may the Most High pray upon him—were not given to any prophet before him, and the Qur’an alone suffices as a sign. Thus, when they rejected these and paid them no heed, that became a place for astonishment and denunciation. The apparent approach would have been to say in response: "How great is your obstinacy, and how intense is your persistence in disbelief," or similar; however, this [expression] was placed in that position to indicate that the one expressing astonishment is saying: "Indeed, Allah lets go astray..."—meaning, He, the Exalted, creates the state of straying in whomever He wills by diverting their choice toward acquiring it, and leaves them immersed in it due to His knowledge that kindness will not succeed with them nor will guidance benefit them, because of their poor aptitude; like those who possessed your qualities of obstinacy, stubbornness, severity of disposition, and extremism in corruption. There is no path for such a person toward guidance, even if every sign were to come to him.

"And guides to Him"—that is, to His Exalted and Majestic presence. Abu Hayyan said: "It means to His religion and His law, a guidance that brings one to Him, not an absolute indication of what leads to Him, for that [the latter] is not exclusive to the guided." In this, there is an indescribable honoring of them. It has been said: the pronoun refers to the Qur’an or to the Messenger—upon whom be peace and prayer—though this is very contrary to the apparent meaning.

"Whoever turns back [in repentance]"—meaning, whoever turns toward the truth and contemplates the folds of the clear proofs that have been revealed. The essence of inabah (turning back) is returning to the turn of good and preferring it. The [use of] the relative pronoun in the connection [“whoever turns back”] is for the purpose of alerting one to the caller toward guidance, or rather, toward the will for guidance, and to signal what prompted the first "will" [to let go astray], which was obstinacy. This serves as an encouragement for the disbelievers to desist from the insolence and stubbornness they are upon. The preference for the past tense form [in "turns back"] is to hint at the invocation of previous guidance, just as the preference for the imperfect tense form in the first connection [“whom He wills”] is to signify the continuity of the will [of Allah] in accordance with the continuity of their obstinacy.

The verse is explicit according to the school of the People of Sunnah in attributing both good and evil to Him, the Almighty and Exalted. The Mu'tazilah interpreted it otherwise; Abu ‘Ali al-Jubba’i said: "The meaning is: He leads astray whom He wills from His reward and His mercy as a punishment for their disbelief. So desist from what Allah answers for you, for you deserve punishment and straying from reward. And He guides to His Paradise whoever repents and believes." Then he said: "By this, it becomes clear that 'guidance' is the reward, since it is linked to His saying: 'Whoever turns back.' The guidance that He, the Exalted, performs with the believer is the reward, because he deserves it for his faith. This indicates that He, the Exalted, leads astray from the reward, not from the religion via disbelief, contrary to what those who differ with us have gone toward." And what is in that [interpretation] is not hidden.