Tafsir of Al-Isra 17:22

"Do not set up with Allah another god." The address is to the Messenger (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), though the intent is his Ummah, according to the principle of "I mean you, so listen, O neighbor." Alternatively, it is addressed to every individual capable of being addressed, according to the principle of "If you could only see when they are made to stand..."

"So that you sit..." (is in the accusative case as a consequence of the prohibition). Regarding "sitting" (al-qu'ud): It has been said that it means remaining, as one says, "He is sitting in the worst state," meaning remaining and dwelling, whether standing or sitting. It has also been said that it means incapacity; the Arabs say, "What has made you sit (aq'adaka) from noble deeds?" meaning what has rendered you incapable of them. It has also been said that it means "to become," derived from the saying, "He sharpened the blade until it sat (qa'adat) as if it were a spear," meaning it became so. Abu Hayyan critiqued this, noting that "sitting" (qa'ada) in the sense of "to become" is restricted among the scholars to this specific proverb and is not consistent. Others have argued that if it were consistent, it would only be so in a context similar to the one the Arabs used it in, or not at all. Thus, one does not say "He sat (qa'ada) a writer" to mean "he became," but rather "He sat (qa'ada) as if he were a sultan," because it resembles "it sat as if it were a spear." Perhaps those who interpreted "sitting" here as "becoming" followed the school of Al-Farra, for he—as Abu Hayyan and others have stated—argued for its consistency, citing the verse of the rajaz poet mentioned in Al-Bahr and the Shahabiyyah annotations, though there is no definitive proof in it.

Al-Kisa'i narrated: "He did not sit (qa'ada) to ask for a need except that it was fulfilled for him," and the usage of the Baghdadis follows this. Furthermore, they differed regarding "sitting" in the sense of incapacity; it is said to be a metaphor derived from "sitting" as the opposite of "standing," just as al-muq'ad (paralytic) means one incapable of standing, which was then extended to mean absolute incapacity. It is also said to be a metonymy for incapacity, for whoever desires to seize something stands for it, and whoever is incapable sits. As for "sitting" in the sense of remaining, it is the literal meaning, while "rendering to sit" (iq'ad) is the metaphor, as if one's illness "made one sit." This was considered the literal meaning of "sitting" as remaining, though it was countered that this view is questionable, unless one intends a conventional reality rather than a linguistic one, as it is the opposite of standing. If "sitting" here is taken to mean incapacity, the verb is intransitive, and its object is omitted, meaning: "so that you become incapable of attaining the intended goal, for example."

"Blamed and forsaken" (22): This is either a predicate of the lam (the particle of consequence) for "so that you sit," based on the latter interpretation, or they are two synonymous states. This means you will sit, having brought upon yourself forsakenness from Allah the Exalted, and blame from the angels and the believers, or from people of reason, because you have taken one who is needy and destitute like yourself—who possesses no power to benefit or harm himself—as a god, and attributed to him what is not befitting him, and made him a partner to the One who possesses essential perfection, the One who created you, provided for you, and bestowed His blessings upon you above all others.

Abu Hayyan permitted that "sitting" be interpreted by its literal meaning, because it is the state of the blamed and forsaken to sit, bewildered and pondering. This belongs to the category of expressing a state by its prevailing condition. The verse intimates that the monotheist possesses both praise and divine support.