Tafsir of An-Nahl 16:54

"Then when He removes the harm from you" — meaning, when He lifts what has touched you of harm— "behold, a party of you associate others with their Lord."

Meaning, their polytheism is renewed toward Him, the Exalted, by worshiping other than Him, may He be glorified. If the address in the verse is general, then "from" (min) is for partition (tab'id), and the "party" refers to the disbelievers. If it is specific to the polytheists—as argued in al-Kashf—then "from" is for clarification (bayan) by way of abstraction (tajrid) to improve the phrasing; otherwise, it would not be in its proper place, as has been said. The meaning would be: "When a party, who are you, associate partners."

Under the possibility that the address is general, it is also permitted for "from" to be for partition, as there are some polytheists who turn away from their polytheism when they witness severe harm, as indicated by the saying of the Exalted: "But when He saves them to the land, some of them are moderate," assuming that "moderation" is interpreted as monotheism, not as a lack of extremism in disbelief.

The first "when" (idha) is conditional, and the second is for suddenness (fujaiyah), with the sentence following it being the response to the condition. Abu Hayyan argued, based on its association with the "sudden" idha, that the conditional idha is not governed by the response (the answer), because what follows the "sudden" idha does not act upon what precedes it.

"With their Lord" (bi-rabbihim) is linked to "associate" (yushrikun). The fronting of the object is to observe the rhyme of the verses. Bringing in the description of Lordship (Rububiyah) is to signal the intensity of the ugliness of the polytheism they committed, which is the ultimate in ingratitude.

Regarding "then" (thumma): It is stated in Irshad al-'Aql al-Salim that it is not for the duration of the time that the harm was felt and the occurrence of its removal after a long interval, but rather to indicate the remoteness in rank of the surprise of polytheism that follows it. For its sequence after that (the removal of harm) is in the furthest extreme of misguidance.

In al-Kashf, refuting the author of al-Kashshaf, it is mentioned that he did not state the aspect of the discourse in the saying of the Exalted: "Then when it touches you... Then when He removes..." This is on two counts, and Allah the Exalted knows best:

First, that His saying, "And whatever you have of blessings is from Allah," is a completion of what preceded it, meaning a denial of seeking protection from other than Allah, the Exalted. For they know that all the blessings they move within are from His grace, and that He, the Exalted, is the One capable of stripping them away. Then He denied their act of focusing their crying out [in prayer] upon Him at the time of harm, while they concurrently reserve the seeking of protection for others, and then their associating partners with Him, the Exalted, in ingratitude for those blessings. "Then" (thumma) was brought to show the disparity between the two denials, for seeking protection from other than the Bestower of blessings is closer [to the truth] than turning away from Him while basking in His blessings, and then taking refuge only in this [deity] whom they previously denied when in need; and even further from the truth is the turning away when the foot has not yet dried from the dew of deliverance.

Second, that it is an independent sentence brought for rebuke. "Then" in the first instance is for the duration of time, signifying that they disregarded those blessings and persisted in that state until the time of being forced [to call upon Him]. It also contains, by way of allusion, the indication of the remoteness of rank. In the second, it is for the remoteness of rank alone. This is precious discourse. al-Tibi has a lengthy discussion on this matter, so if you desire it, return to it.

Al-Zuhri read it as "Then when He kashafa (reveals/exposes)" instead of "removes."

There is in this verse that which indicates that the practice of most commoners today—moving to others besides Allah the Exalted, who possess neither benefit nor harm for them, nor even for themselves, when harm befalls them, and their complete turning away from supplicating to Him, the Exalted, at that time—is a great foolishness and a new misguidance. Yet, it is more severe than the ancient misguidance. It is something that makes the skin crawl and cheeks turn away—not just for the believers in the Promised Day, but even for the disbelievers of the People of the Trench.

Verily, some pseudo-shaykhs said to me when I was young: "Beware, then beware of crying out for help to Allah the Exalted when a calamity of time befalls you, for Allah the Exalted does not concern Himself with your rescue, nor does your bad state matter to Him. It is upon you to seek help from the saints of the past, for they concern themselves with the relief of your distress, and the evil that has befallen you matters to them." My hearing rejected this, my eyes wept, and I asked Allah the Exalted to protect me and the Muslims from such manifest misguidance. Many of the pseudo-shaykhs today have words similar to that.