Tafsir of Maryam 19:78

This is a rebuttal to his heinous statement and an exposure of its falsehood, following what was alluded to by way of astonishment at it. Thus, the sentence is an incipit (musta'nafa) and has no place in grammatical inflection (i'rab). It has also been said that it is in the position of the accusative as a second object for "did you see," assuming it carries the meaning of "inform me," but this is as you see it [i.e., weak]. The hamza is for interrogation, and the original was a-iṭṭala'a; the connective hamza was deleted for the sake of lightness. It has also been recited as iṭṭala'a (with a kasra on the hamza) with the interrogative hamza deleted, as indicated by am (or), as in the saying:

Did they throw the pebbles with seven, or with eight?

The verb is transitive by itself, though it may take the preposition 'ala. It is not intransitive such that the verse would be a case of "omission and arrival" (al-hadhf wa al-iṣal). The intent behind al-iṭṭila' (looking into) is appearance from a position of elevation and possession, which is why it was chosen over expressions like "knowing" and its like. That is to say: Has he reached such a level of magnitude that he has ascended to the knowledge of the Unseen, which the All-Knowing, the All-Aware—majestic is His majesty—has reserved for Himself? So much so that he has claimed to know that he will be given wealth and children in the Hereafter, and has sworn to it?

It is narrated from Ibn Abbas that the meaning is: "Has he looked into the Preserved Tablet?"

He said: "It is the declaration that there is no god but Allah, by which he hopes for that." Qatada said: "The covenant is the righteous deed for which Allah the Exalted has promised reward." The meaning is: "Does he know the Unseen, or has he performed a deed and hopes for that in exchange for it?"

Others said: "The covenant is taken at its apparent meaning. The significance is: Does he know the Unseen, or has Allah the Exalted given him a covenant and a binding promise, saying to him that this will inevitably come to pass?" This was transmitted by Al-Kalbi. This is an engagement with the arguments of the accursed one according to the literal wording of his speech, just as his own speech is as such. Mentioning the title of "The Most Merciful" (ar-Rahman) is to signify that mercy is the cause for granting what he claims.