Tafsir of Al-Hijr 15:3

(Leave them) meaning, forsake them. Its past tense is rarely used, as it has mostly been dispensed with by the past tense of wada‘a (to leave), though dhara (he left) does appear occasionally. In the Hadith, it is said: "Leave the Abyssinians alone as long as they leave you alone." The intent of this command is to disconnect them from their desires, since neither advice nor warning has benefited them; it is as if it were said: "Leave them to their own devices."

(To eat and enjoy) with their worldly life. Placing "eating" first signifies that their enjoyment is merely of the order of beasts, who find pleasure in food and drink. This verb and what follows it are jussive as the response to the command. Al-Kashshaf points out that the intent is an intensification of the command to forsake them, to the point that it is as if the Prophet (peace be upon him) was ordered to command them to do what would only increase their regret. The meticulous author of Al-Kashf elaborated on this, saying: "The command is intended in terms of meaning because their eating and enjoying were made the goal requested by the command to forsake them. Goals that are requested—if it is valid to command them—are commanded by the very command itself, and this is more eloquent than stating it explicitly." If you say, "Stick to the threshold of the scholar, you will learn what saves you in the Hereafter," it is more eloquent than saying, "Stick to him and learn," because you made the command a means to the second, making it more highly sought after. Even if it is not valid to command the goal, it is treated as a command metaphorically, like saying, "Accept Islam, you will enter Paradise." Thus, when the goal of the command in the verse is made [a command] metaphorically, it becomes something commanded, as I have directed you toward—a point of great subtlety. Some have mistakenly thought that the imperative is understood from the estimation of an lam (of consequence) before the verb, rather than the command itself.

As for what is in Al-Bahr, that if "Leave them" is taken as an order to stop advising them and to occupy the Prophet (peace be upon him) with them, the result (response) does not follow logically—since they will eat and enjoy regardless of whether he stops advising them or not—this is standing at the shore of investigation. As is clear to anyone who has dived into the deep sea of meanings and extracted the pearls of secrets, he [the author of Al-Bahr] maintained that it is a command to cease fighting them, to leave their path clear, and to hold a truce with them. Then he said: "For this reason, it is valid for the mentioned [consequence] to be the response, for if the Prophet (peace be upon him) had occupied them with fighting, the clashing of swords, and the waging of wars, they would not have had the appetite to eat or enjoy." Evidence for this is that the Surah is Meccan, and this is as you can see.

Furthermore, the intent, as it has been said, is their continuation in what they are already doing—not the initiation of what was mentioned—or their enjoyment without the enjoyment of what disturbs their lives. Enjoyment in that state is a secondary occurrence that can be made dependent on leaving them alone, so reflect upon this.

(And let hope distract them) and let the expectation of long lives, the attainment of desires, the stability of circumstances, and the assumption that they will encounter nothing but good in the end and outcome, occupy them away from faith and obedience, or from reflecting on what they will become.

(For they shall come to know) the evil of their deeds when they witness its recompense and the severity of its outcome, or the reality of the situation that forced them to have such wishes.

Most scholars hold that the meaning is their knowledge of this in the Hereafter. Others said: The meaning is that they will come to know the consequence of their state in this world—through humiliation, killing, and captivity—and in the Hereafter through the agonizing torment. This, as it has been said, along with being a threat—and what a threat and warning it is—is an explanation for the command to leave them. It contains the establishment of proof and an exaggeration in the warning, for the command to do the opposite of good does not occur, as you have known, except after repeated warnings and the persistence of denial and rejection. Whoever has been warned has been given an excuse. Likewise is the eating and what follows it that resulted from that.

In the verse is an indication that indulgence and luxury, and the lack of preparation for the Hereafter, are not the characteristics of those who seek salvation. It is related from Al-Hasan: "No servant has ever lengthened his hope except that he has worsened his deeds."

Ahmad in Al-Zuhd, Al-Tabarani in Al-Awsat, and Al-Bayhaqi in Shu'ab al-Iman recorded from 'Amr ibn Shu'ayb, from his father, from his grandfather—and I do not know it but as marfu' (attributed to the Prophet)—that he said: "The righteousness of the first of this nation lies in asceticism and certainty, and the last of it will perish through greed and hope."

In some traditions from Ali (may God honor his countenance) it is said: "I only fear for you two things: long hope and following desire. For long hope causes the forgetfulness of the Hereafter, and following desire blocks one from the Truth."