Tafsir of Al-Hajj 22:4

(It was decreed upon him that whoever follows him, he will lead him astray and guide him to the punishment of the Blaze.)

The pronoun in "upon him" (‘alayhi) refers to the Shaytan. Likewise, the pronominal object in "follows him" (tawallahu), the pronoun in "indeed he" (fa-innahu), and the two hidden pronouns in "leads him astray" (yudilluhu) and "guides him" (yahdihi). The pronoun in "that it" (annahu) is the pronoun of state (dhamir al-sha’n), and the remaining pronouns refer to "whoever" (man).

There is disagreement regarding the syntactical parsing of the verse:

It is said that "that whoever follows him, he will lead him astray..." serves as a surrogate subject (na’ib fa’il) for "it was decreed" (kutiba), and the clause is in the position of a second adjective for "Shaytan." "Whoever" (man) is conditional, its consequent being omitted, and "for he will lead him astray" is a conjunction connected to "that" (annahu) along with its constituent parts and what is attached to them. That is, it was decreed upon the Shaytan that the state of affairs is: whoever takes him as a guardian and follows him, he will destroy him, for he leads him astray from the path to Paradise and its reward, and guides him to the path of the Blaze and its punishment. The fa is for detailing the destruction, as in the Almighty’s saying: "Then repent to your Creator and slay yourselves." Al-Tibi carried the statement of al-Kashshaf upon this, and it is a sound approach, though there is obscurity in whether it was the intended meaning of al-Zamakhshari.

It is also said that "whoever" (man) is a relative pronoun acting as the subject, the clause "follows him" is its connection (silah), with the hidden pronoun referring back to it, and "that he leads him astray" is interpreted as a verbal noun acting as the predicate of an omitted subject, or as a subject whose predicate is omitted, with the whole clause being the predicate of the relative pronoun. The entry of the fa into its predicate is based on analogy with the conditional, meaning: "It was decreed upon him that the state is: whoever follows him, then his state—or it is rightfully so—is that he leads him astray." It is also possible that "whoever" (man) is conditional, the fa is for the response, and what follows it, along with the estimated components, acts as the response to the condition.

It is also said that the pronoun in "that it" (annahu) is for the Shaytan, acting as the subject of inna, and "whoever" (man) is a relative or qualifying noun—the former being more apparent. Its predicate is "for he leads him astray," and the hidden pronoun in "follows him" refers to some people, while the explicit pronoun refers to "whoever." The clause is the connection or the adjective. The Almighty’s saying, "for he will lead him astray," is a conjunction linked to "that whoever follows him." The meaning is: "And follow every Shaytan who had it decreed upon him that he is the one who took some people as guardians, and that he leads astray whoever takes him as a guardian." The first part acts as a precursor to the second—meaning he follows a Shaytan specific to him, upon whom it is written that he is his guardian and his misleader; he spares no effort in leading him astray. This meaning is more eloquent than the previous one (under the assumption that "whoever" is conditional) because it indicates that for every one of the disputers, there is one of the rebellious devils. Al-Kashf approved of this and attributed it as the intent of the author of al-Kashshaf.

From some scholars: the pronoun in "that it" refers to the disputer, meaning: "It was decreed upon the Shaytan that the disputer is whoever follows him." The objection raised against this is that the Shaytan being the one who takes the disputer as a guardian is not what the context requires; rather, the opposite is true. Furthermore, if "whoever" in "whoever follows him" is treated as a relative pronoun, as is apparent, it would necessitate that no one follows him except the disputer, and this exclusivity causes the loss of the hyperbolic effect.

In al-Bahr, the apparent meaning is that the pronoun in "upon him" refers to "whoever" (man), as he is the one being spoken about; likewise for "that it," "follows him," and "for he leads him astray." The agent of the following is the pronoun of "whoever," as is the ha in "leads him astray." It is permissible that the ha in "that it" be the pronoun of state, meaning: "This disputer, because of his excessive disputation in falsehood and his following of the Shaytan, has become an imam of misguidance for whoever follows him; thus, his state is that he leads astray whoever follows him." On this view, the clause "it was decreed" is a new initiation (musta’nafah), not an adjective for Shaytan.

The most apparent interpretation is making the pronoun in "upon him" refer back to the Shaytan, which is what is reported from Qatada. In any case, kutiba (it was decreed) means it has passed and been destined. It is also permissible for it to be interpreted literally. Al-Kashshaf states that the "decreeing upon him" is proverbial, as if it were written upon him due to the manifest nature of his state. It is not hidden that "guides him" contains a sarcastic, representational metaphor.

It has been recited as kataba (active voice), meaning God has decreed. It has been recited as fa-innahu with the hamza below (kasr), in which case the clause is the predicate of "whoever" or its response. Al-A’mash and al-Ju’fi, on the authority of Abu ‘Amr, recited both annahu and fa-innahu with the kasr. The justification for the kasr in the second is apparent. As for the first, it is, as Abu Hayyan preferred, to attribute "decreed" to the clause as a verbal attribution—meaning: "This statement was written upon him," similar to saying: "I have written: 'Indeed, God commands justice and excellence,'" or by estimating a verb (qawl—saying) and making the clause its object, or by incorporating the meaning of that verb into the verb "decreed," meaning: "It was written upon him, stated regarding his state, that whoever follows him..."