Tafsir of An-Nahl 16:37

(If you desire their guidance [O Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace]). Al-Hirṣ (desire) is extreme yearning. Al-Nakha'i, al-Hasan, and Abu Haywah read it as wa-in with an added waw. They, along with al-Hasan and Abu Haywah, read taḥraḍ with a fatḥah on the ra', the imperfect of ḥariḍa with a kasrah, which is a dialect. The majority read taḥriṣ with a kasrah on the ra', the imperfect of ḥaraṣa with a fatḥah, which is the dialect of the Hijaz.

(For Allah does not guide those whom He lets go astray). This is the response to the conditional clause, implying "know this," or it is a justification for a deleted response—meaning: if you desire their guidance, your desire will not avail anything, for Allah the Exalted does not guide those whom He lets go astray. The intent behind the relative pronoun [the object] is the Quraysh, referred to previously as "those who associate partners [with Allah]." The relative pronoun was used in place of their pronoun to explicitly state that they are among those upon whom misguidance is binding, and to signal the cause of the ruling. It is also possible that it is meant to encompass them and others who enter into this category fundamentally.

The meaning of the verse, as has been said, is: He, Glorified be He, does not create guidance through force and compulsion in those for whom He has created misguidance due to their own evil choice. An interpretation of this nature is necessary; otherwise, the ruling would be something nearly beyond ignorance [i.e., too obvious]. According to this, man (those) is the object of yahdi (guides), as is apparent. It has been said that yahdi is the imperfect of hadā, meaning ihtadā (to be guided), making it intransitive, and man is its subject; the pronominal reference to the subject in yuḍillu (lets go astray) belongs to Allah, and the referent is deleted—meaning: man yuḍilluhu (those whom He lets go astray). Al-Farra has narrated the usage of hadā in the sense of ihtadā.

Many among the seven [canonical reciters], as well as al-Hasan, al-A'raj, Mujahid, Ibn Sirin, al-'Utaridi, Muzahim al-Khurasani, and others, read lā yuhdā (passive voice), making man the deputy subject, and the referent and pronominal subject are as previously mentioned. This reading is more eloquent than the first because it indicates that whoever Allah has led astray, no one at all can guide him; unlike the first reading, which only indicates that Allah does not guide him—though if Allah does not guide someone, there is no guide for him. This is true if we do not posit that hadā is intransitive. But if we do, both are the same in meaning, except that this [passive] reading is explicit regarding the generality of the agent, whereas the other is not, even though the transitive form is more common.

A group, including 'Abdullah, read lā yahtadī with a fatḥah on the ya', a kasrah on the ha' and dal, and a shaddah on the latter. Its root is yahtadī, and it was assimilated just as one says yakhaṣṣamu as yakhaṣṣu. Another group read lā yuhdī with a ḍammah on the ya' and a kasrah on the dal. Ibn 'Atiyyah said it is weak, but he was countered in al-Baḥr by the argument that if hadā is established as intransitive in the sense of ihtadā, it is not weak, because the causative hamzah was prefixed to an intransitive verb; thus, the meaning is: "He does not make someone whom He has led astray guided." The response provided to this is that the potential weakness lies in the lack of familiarity with the augmented ahdā. It was also read as yuḍallu with a fatḥah on the ya'. In the codex of Ubayy, it is written: "For Allah has no guide for those whom He leads astray."

(And they have no helpers).

(Who might help them) in receiving guidance or averting punishment from them. This is a completion [of the verse] by refuting the belief that their deities will avail them anything. The pronoun in lahum (for them) refers to the meaning of man (those). The plural form in nāṣirīn (helpers) is used in consideration of the plurality of the pronoun, as matching a plural with a plural indicates the distribution of individuals upon individuals; the intention is to negate any group of helpers for any one of them.

Furthermore, the beginning of these verses might suggest support for the Mu'tazilite school of thought, but the end of it contains many facets—as the Imam [Fakhr al-Din al-Razi] stated—which point to the support of the school of the People of Truth. Perhaps the matter is self-evident and requires no further clarification. To Allah the Exalted is all praise for that.