Tafsir of Ta-Ha 20:126

He (God Almighty) said in response to him: "Just as Our signs came to you"—the Kaf (in Kadhalika) is an interpolation, as it is in the phrase "like such a person, he is not miserly." This refers back to the source (masdar) of atatka (came to you), meaning: Just as that wondrous arrival occurred, the clear and luminous signs came to you. According to al-Zamakhshari, there is no interpolation; rather, it refers to the act of "the blind one" being gathered—meaning: "Just as you performed that deed [of blindness in the world], so have I done [to you]." His saying, "came to you," is a response to an implied question, as if it were said: "O Lord, what have I done?" Thus, it was said: "Our signs came to you."

"And you forgot them"—meaning you abandoned them, a deliberate abandonment like that of one who forgets, who does not remember at all. The intended meaning is that you were blind to them, except that He placed the consequence in the position of the cause, for whoever is blind to a thing forgets it and abandons it. The reference in His saying, "And thus," is to the forgetfulness understood from "you forgot them." The Kaf is according to its apparent meaning, i.e., "Just as you performed that act of forgetfulness in the world, today you are forgotten"—meaning you are left in blindness, a fitting recompense.

It is also said that the Kaf carries the meaning of the Lam (for the sake of), as is clear, just as was said regarding His saying: "And remember Him as He has guided you," meaning: "Because of that forgetfulness which originated from you, you are forgotten." This abandonment continues for as long as God Almighty wills; then, the blindness is removed from him, so he sees the terrors of the Resurrection and witnesses the Fire, as the Exalted says: "And the criminals saw the Fire and became certain that they were to fall into it." This will be an additional torment upon the torment for him. Similarly, [regarding] the speechlessness and the deafness, God Almighty removes them from them, as is indicated by His saying: "How clearly they will hear and see on the Day they come to Us."

In a narration from Ibn Abbas (may God be pleased with him), the disbeliever is gathered first as one who sees, then he becomes blind; thus, the report that he "was" one who sees is a report about his state at the beginning of the gathering. It is apparent that this blindness is also removed. From 'Ikrimah, it is reported that he [the disbeliever] does not see anything except the Fire; perhaps this is also in certain parts of that Day, for otherwise, how would he read his book?

It is reported from Mujahid, Muqatil, al-Dahhak, and Abu Salih—which is also a narration from Ibn Abbas—that the meaning is: "We shall gather him on the Day of Resurrection blind to the Argument," meaning he has no argument with which to be guided. This is the intended meaning of those who said: "Blind in heart and insight." Ibrahim ibn 'Arafah chose this view, saying: "Whenever God the Exalted mentions 'blindness' in His Book and condemns it, it only refers to the blindness of the heart." The Exalted says: "For indeed, it is not the eyes that are blind, but blind are the hearts which are within the breasts." According to this, the meaning of His saying, "And I was one who saw" is: "And I was knowledgeable of my argument, seeing it, defending myself with it in the world." From this, it is known that the objection to Ibn 'Atiyyah is repelled—who, in refuting those who interpreted 'blindness' as the blindness of insight, argued that if it were so, the disbeliever would not perceive it because he was already blind of insight in the world and died as such.

The gist of the answer is: "I gathered you blind in heart, unable to be guided to the argument that would save you, because you abandoned My signs and My arguments in the world. And just as you abandoned that, you shall be abandoned in this blindness forever." It is also said that the meaning of "blind" is "confused, not knowing what to do regarding the ruses to deflect the torment," like a blind man who is confused in avoiding that which he cannot see.

There is no evidence in the verse, as is imagined, that forgetting the Quran or a verse thereof is a major sin, as Imam al-Rafi'i has maintained. The words of Imam al-Nawawi in al-Rawdah suggest his preference for this, because the "forgetting of the verses"—after asserting that it includes the verses of the Quran—means abandoning them and failing to believe in them. Those who counted the forgetting of a portion of the Quran as a major sin intended the literal meaning of forgetting. Indeed, Abu Shamah, the teacher of al-Nawawi, extended the metaphor, interpreting "forgetting" in the hadiths that condemn forgetting a portion of the Quran as "abandoning the practice of it." The verification of this issue—and that forgetting in the first sense is a major sin according to those who hold it—is conditional, as Jalal al-Bulqini, al-Zarkashi, and others have said, upon it being due to laziness and negligence, while seeking it from its source; and the same applies to the verification of the hadiths concerning that matter.

Hamzah, al-Kisa’i, and Khalaf read "a'ma" (blind) with imalah (inclining the vowel) in both instances because it is of the ya category. Abu 'Amr performed imalah only in the first [instance] because it is worthy of change as it is the end of the verse and a place of pausing.