Tafsir of Al-Anbiya' 21:95

That is, to the people of a city. The expression implies a deleted noun, or the "city" is a metonymy for its inhabitants. "Forbidden" (haram) is used metaphorically to mean "impossible to exist," based on the commonality that neither is expected to occur. Al-Raghib stated: "Forbidden" means that which is prevented—whether by divine compulsion, by forceful prohibition, by intellectual necessity, by religious law, or by the dictate of one whose command is followed. He mentioned that this verse has been interpreted as a prohibition by divine compulsion, as in the Almighty’s saying: "And We forbade him the wet nurses."

Abu Hanifa, Hamza, Al-Kisa'i, Abu Bakr, Talha, Al-A'mash, and Abu 'Amr (in one narration) read it as wa-hurima (with a kasra on the ha and a sukūn on the ra). Qatada, Matar al-Warraq, and Mahbub ibn Abi 'Amr read it as wa-haruma (with a fatha on the ha and a sukūn on the ra). 'Ikrimah read it as wa-haramun (with a fatha on the ha, a kasra on the ra, and tanwin). Ibn Abbas, 'Ikrimah, Ibn al-Musayyib, and Qatada also read it as wa-harama (with a fatha on the ha, a kasra on the ra, and a fatha on the mim, in the past tense). Ibn Abbas and 'Ikrimah (in another differing report), along with Abu al-'Aliyah and Zayd ibn 'Ali, read it as wa-hurima (with a damma on the ha and a fatha on the ra and mim, also in the past tense). In another narration from Ibn Abbas, he read it as wa-harama (with a fatha on the ha, ra, and mim, also in the past tense). Al-Yamani read it as wa-hurrima (with a damma on the ha, a kasra on the ra—doubled—and a fatha on the mim), as a passive past-tense verb.

"...we have destroyed it..." That is, we have ordained its destruction or decreed it in eternity because of their ultimate tyranny and rebellion. Al-Sulami and Qatada read it as ahlaktuhā (with a ta signifying the first-person singular).

"...that they will not return." Regarding the grammatical status of the phrase starting with an: It is in the position of a nominative noun acting as the subject of an initial sentence, whose predicate is haram. Ibn al-Hajib said in his Amali: "In this case, the predicate must be placed first, according to the established rule in grammar that if the predicate is a noun clause starting with an, it must precede the subject."

It is also permitted that haram be the subject, and the clause annahum acts as its predicate that fills the place of the missing predicate, even without relying on negation or interrogation. This is based on the position of Al-Akhfash, who did not deem this reliance necessary, contrary to the majority view as is well-known. Ibn Malik held that for a descriptive noun acting as a subject to dispense with a predicate without such reliance is permitted without dispute; the dispute is merely over whether it is stylistically preferred. Sibawayh says it is not good, while Al-Akhfash and the Kufans say it is good, as stated in Sharh al-Tashil.

The clause serves to confirm what preceded it in the Almighty’s saying: "All of them are returning to Us." The sense of verification inherent in the negation derived from haram applies to the act itself—that is, their failure to return to Us for judgment is absolutely impossible—not that their confirmed lack of return is what is impossible. Specifying the impossibility of their failure to return, despite the general impossibility of everyone failing to return as stated in the verse, is because they are the ones who deny the Resurrection and the Return, unlike others. This meaning is attributed to Abu Muslim ibn Bahr, and Abu Hayyan reported it from him, though he added: "The purpose of the clause, according to this, is to invalidate the claim of those who deny the Resurrection and to verify the previous statement that no effort will go unrewarded and that one will be recompensed for it on the Day of Judgment." The significance of this is evident.

Abu 'Utbah said: "The meaning is: 'It is impossible for a city whose destruction We have decreed or ordained that they should return to Us'—that is, that they should repent." This assumes that the la (not) is redundant, similar to the Almighty’s saying: "What prevented you from not prostrating?" according to one interpretation. It is also said that haram means "obligatory," as in the saying of Al-Khansa: "Indeed, it is mandatory [haram] that I do not see a weeping person throughout time over a grief, except that I weep for Sakhr." From this is the Almighty’s saying: "Say, 'Come, I will recite what your Lord has forbidden [harrama] to you: that you do not associate anything with Him'..." for the abandonment of shirk is an obligation. Based on this, Mujahid and Al-Hasan said: "They will not return" means they will not repent from shirk.

Qatada and Muqatil said: "They will not return to the world." The apparent meaning, according to this, is that "We have destroyed it" means We have brought about their destruction in reality, and the "destruction" refers to physical destruction. If the "lack of return" is interpreted as "lack of repentance," it is possible that "destruction" refers to moral destruction through disbelief and sin.

It has been read as innahum (with a kasra on the hamza), meaning the clause is an explanatory commencement for what precedes it. Thus, haram is the predicate of a deleted subject—that is, "it is forbidden for them." This refers to what was mentioned in the previous verse regarding righteous deeds accompanied by faith and striving. Then, He clarified this with: "Indeed, they will not return" from the state of disbelief they are in; how could that not be forbidden?

It is permissible to interpret the speech according to the majority reading (annahum, with a fatha) as having this meaning by deleting the particle of explanation—that is, "because they will not return." Al-Zajjaj estimated the subject in this instance to be the acceptance of their deeds, stating: "The meaning is: 'It is forbidden for a city whose destruction We have decreed that their deeds be accepted, because they do not repent.'" Evidence for this is the Almighty’s previous statement: "There is no denial of his effort," as the intent there is that his work will be accepted. And the hatta (until) in the Almighty's saying...