Tafsir of Ar-Ra'd 13:42

"And those before them had plotted" — meaning the disbelievers who passed away before the disbelievers of Makkah — "against their prophets and the believers, just as these [people of Makkah] have done." This serves as a consolation to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), indicating that their plotting is of no consequence, possesses no influence, and, in reality, has no existence at all. The Exalted did not explicitly state this [non-existence] directly, deeming the indication of exclusivity derived from His causal explanation sufficient, namely His saying: "Say, 'To Allah belongs the plot entirely.'" That is, the entire genus of plotting; their own plotting has no existence in essence. This is because plotting is defined as causing harm to another in a way they do not perceive. Since everything they perform or abstain from is by His knowledge and power—and they possess merely kasb (acquisition) without [true] agency or influence, as His saying "He knows what every soul earns" clarifies—and since it is a consequence of His nature to protect His allies and punish those who plot against them, fulfilling the recompense of what every soul has earned, it becomes manifest that their plot, in relation to those against whom they plotted, has neither entity nor effect.

The entirety of the plot belongs to Allah the Exalted, in that He takes them to account for what they earned of various sins—among which is their plotting—from where they do not expect. This is what the Sheikh al-Islam has said, and he—may his secret be sanctified—exerted himself in this regard by interpreting kasb (acquisition) according to the common view of the Ash‘arites. Yet, Allah the Exalted does not distinguish between it and the act itself, nor did His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), nor the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), nor the Successors, nor the linguists.

It is also said: The aspect of the exclusivity (hasr) is that the plot of any other than Him is not counted, because He is the One who is capable in His Essence of inflicting the intended harm, while others—if they are capable of such—are so only by His empowering and His permission; thus, everything returns to Him, Majestic and Exalted. In al-Kashshaf, it is mentioned that His saying: "He knows what every soul earns," etc., is an explanation of His saying: "To Allah belongs the plot entirely," because He who knows what every soul earns and has prepared its recompense for it, to Him belongs the plot; for He approaches them from where they do not know, while they are in heedlessness of what is intended for them.

It is also said: The speech contains an elliptical addition—i.e., "To Allah belongs the recompense of the plot." It has also been permitted that the al (definite article) in the plot refers to the covenant—meaning: to Him the Exalted belongs the plot which they carried out entirely, not to them; in the sense that it is not a plot by them against the prophets, but rather it is, in itself, a plot from Allah the Exalted against them while they do not perceive it, for "the evil plot does not encompass except its own people."

"And the disbeliever will know" — when the punishment comes to them — "for whom is the final home." That is, the praiseworthy outcome between the two parties, even if that was unknown before. The seen (in sa-ya‘lam) is for confirming that this will take place and that he will know it at that time. "The disbeliever" refers to the category, thus including all disbelievers. This is the recitation of the People of the Two Sanctuaries and Abu ‘Amr. The remaining seven recited: "And the disbelievers will know" (al-kuffar) in the broken plural form. Ibn Mas‘ud recited: "The disbelievers" (al-kafirun) in the sound plural form. Ubayy recited: "Those who disbelieved." Others recited: "The disbelief" (al-kufr)—meaning its people. Janah ibn Hubaysh recited: "And it will be known" (wa sa-yu‘lam) in the passive voice, derived from a‘lama (to inform), meaning: he will be informed. The lam (in li-man) is for the sake of benefit; it is also permitted that it be for possession, meaning: the disbelievers will know who possesses the world in the end.

‘Ata’ interpreted "the disbeliever" as the mockers, who were five in number, and the oath-takers, who were twenty-eight. Ibn ‘Abbas said: He intends by "the disbeliever" Abu Jahl. What has preceded is the apparent meaning, and perhaps what was mentioned is by way of illustration.