Tafsir of Maryam 19:65

This is a statement clarifying the impossibility of forgetfulness for Him, the Exalted. How could forgetfulness, negligence, or the abandonment of one whom He has chosen and selected to convey His message, possibly hover around the threshold of His greatness and majesty, when the kingdom of the heavens, the earth, and whatever is between them is in His hand?

"Lord" (Rabb) is the predicate of an omitted subject—meaning, "He is the Lord of the heavens, etc."—or it is a substitute for "your Lord" in His saying, {And your Lord is never forgetful}.

The particle fa (so) in His saying, {So worship Him and be constant in His worship}, serves to establish what follows it—the necessity of these two commands—based on what precedes it—the fact that He, the Exalted, is the Lord of the heavens, the earth, and whatever is between them. It has also been said that it is based on the fact that He, the Exalted, is not one who abandons His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), nor is He forgetful of the deeds of those who act.

The meaning is: Since you have known Him, the Exalted, through the aforementioned perfect Lordship, {so worship Him...}, for the necessity of knowing Him in this manner inevitably leads to worshipping Him. Or, since you have known that He, the Mighty and Majestic, does not forget you—nor does He forget the deeds of those who act—then turn to His worship and be constant in enduring its hardships. Do not grieve over the delay of the revelation or the speech of the disbelievers, for He, the Exalted, watches over you, protects you, and treats you with kindness in this world and the Hereafter.

Abu al-Baqa’ permitted that "Lord of the heavens" be a subject and "so worship Him" be the predicate, with the fa being extra, according to the opinion of al-Akhfash; this is as you can see [a weak position].

Al-Zamakhshari permitted that the saying, {And your Lord is never forgetful}, be a continuation of the speech of the righteous, on the assumption that "Lord" is the predicate of an omitted subject. He did not permit this on the assumption of it being a substitute [for the previous "Lord"], because then the sequence of His saying, {So worship Him...}, would not appear as a logical consequence, as it is undoubtedly the speech of Allah to His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in this world.

To consider it the response to an omitted conditional—as if to say: "When you have known the states of the people of Paradise and their sayings, then turn to action"—does not conform to the eloquence of the Revelation, as noted in al-Kashshaf, due to turning away from the apparent cause toward a hidden one.

The verb istabir (be constant) is linked with the preposition lam (for), even though it is well-known to be linked with ‘ala (upon), as in His saying, {and be constant upon it}, because it contains the meaning of steadfastness in worship against the adversities and hardships brought upon one. It is like saying to a combatant: "Be constant for your adversary," meaning: "Stand firm against him in the severity and violence he directs at you." There is in this an indication of the struggles one undergoes, and that the upright person is one who stands firm for this and does not waver. It is a hint of the meaning behind: "We have returned from the minor jihad to the major jihad."

This means a peer or equivalent, as has come in the narrations of a group from Ibn Abbas, Mujahid, Ibn Jubayr, and Qatadah. Its origin is sharing a name, and it is applied to such because sharing a name necessitates resemblance.

Ibn ‘Atiyyah said: "Namesake" (samiyy) here means one who stands parallel or equal. Some kept it to its original meaning, and it is considered most likely that what is intended here is a partner in a specific attribute, which He, the Exalted, has expressed by saying: {Lord of the heavens and the earth}. It is also said that it means a partner in the Majestic Name, for the polytheists, despite their excess in stubbornness, did not name an idol with the Name of Majesty at all. It is also said that it means a partner in the attributes exclusive to Him regarding the Majestic Name and "the Most Merciful" (al-Rahman), and this has also been narrated from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both). It is also said that it is a partner in the name "God" (al-Ilah), and that naming by right is what is intended; as for naming by falsehood, it is as if there is no naming at all.

Al-Tabari recorded from Ibn Abbas that Nafi' ibn al-Azraq asked him about this, and he said: "The namesake is the son," and he recited the poet's line: As for the namesake, you are abundant in him, And wealth is wealth that goes and returns. This was also narrated from al-Dahhak.

Regardless, the intention behind the negation and denial of knowledge is the negation and denial of the object of knowledge itself, in the most eloquent and emphatic way. The sentence is a confirmation of the necessity of worshipping Him, the Mighty and Majestic, even if the considerations vary according to the difference of opinions. So contemplate.

The two Brothers [Hamza and al-Kisa'i], Hisham, Ali ibn Nasr, Harun—both from Abu ‘Amr—al-Hasan, al-A'mash, ‘Isa, and Ibn Muhaysin read: hata‘lam (hata’lam), by assimilating the lam into the ta’. According to Abu ‘Ubaydah, this is a dialect, just like clear enunciation (izhar). They cited for this the line of Muzahim al-‘Uqayli: “Do not abandon me, but you will find [hata’in] a lover... upon the light of a lightning flash at the end of the night, struggling.”