Tafsir of Al-Mu'minoon 23:3

"And those who from vain talk"—which is what is not taken into account from speech and actions. Regarding it, Ibn Abbas interpreted it as falsehood, and it is commonly used for speech that is brought forth without deliberation or thought, thus flowing in the manner of al-lugha (the chirping/cries), which is the sound of sparrows and similar birds. Sometimes, ugly speech is called laghw. It is said of it, as Abu Ubaydah stated: laghw and lagha (to speak vainly), similar to ‘ayb (a defect) and ‘aba (to consider defective). He recited: "Away from vain talk and the obscenity of speech."

"Are turning away"

They do so during the general course of their time, due to the state within them that invites them to turn away from it, alongside their preoccupation with that which concerns them. This is more eloquent than saying "they do not engage in vain talk" for several reasons:

1. Expressing the sentence as a nominal sentence, which denotes fixity and continuity.
2. Placing the pronoun [in hum] forward, which serves to strengthen the judgment through its repetition.
3. Expressing the predicate as a noun, which is common for denoting fixity.
4. Placing the prepositional phrase ('an al-laghw) before the predicate (mu'ridun) to signify exclusivity (restriction).
5. Using the term "turning away" (i'rad) instead of "abandoning" (tark), to indicate their distance from it entirely—directly, indirectly, by inclination, and by presence. For its origin lies in being at the ‘ard (side), meaning a direction other than the one facing it.