Tafsir of Al-Mu'minoon 23:75

(Meaning: from their bad state. It has been said: This refers to what afflicted them due to the punishment of their affluent ones on the day of Badr, specifically the anguish over them, by reviving them and returning them to this world after they were killed. That is, if We had mercy on them and removed their affliction by returning their affluent ones to them, (they would persist) in their (transgression), which is their excess in disbelief, arrogance, and hostility toward the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and the believers, (wandering blindly).

(Meaning: straying, confused in misguidance. It is said: ‘amaha like man’a [to forbid] and fariha [to rejoice], with the variations ‘amahan, ‘amuhah, ‘amuhah, ‘amahanah. It has also been said: It refers to the state they are in due to the intensity of their fear of being killed or taken captive, and the increased agitation resulting from that when they saw what befell their affluent ones on the day of Badr, and the removal of that [fear] by the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, ordering the cessation of fighting and enslavement against them afterwards, or something similar to this; and this is not a far-fetched interpretation.

It has been said: The intended meaning of "affliction" is the punishment of the Hereafter. That is, they are so entrenched in wickedness and rebellion that if they were shown mercy and the punishment of the Fire were removed from them, and they were returned to this world, they would return [to their ways] due to the intensity of their obstinacy in what they are upon; though this interpretation contains some remoteness.

Abu Hayyan favored the view that the intended meaning is the drought and famine that afflicted them due to the supplication of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and he mentioned that this is narrated from Ibn Abbas and Ibn Jurayj. The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, supplicated against them with this in Mecca, on the day the polytheists threw the intestines of a camel upon him while he was standing in prayer at the House, so he said: "O Allah, intensify Your grip upon Mudar; O Allah, make them years like the years of Joseph." He also supplicated with this in Medina, for it has been narrated that he, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, would spend a month, when raising his head from the second rak'ah of the dawn prayer after saying "Allah hears those who praise Him," saying: "O Allah, deliver Al-Walid ibn Al-Walid, Salamah ibn Hisham, ‘Ayyash ibn Abi Rabi’ah, and the weak among the believers in Mecca. O Allah, intensify Your grip, etc." Perhaps he would do this after rising from the final rak'ah of the evening prayer. Both of these narrations were mentioned by Burhan al-Din al-Halabi in his biography [of the Prophet].

The majority hold that it is the hunger that afflicted them when Thumamah withheld supplies from them. This occurred because Thumamah ibn Uthal al-Hanafi was brought to Medina by a detachment of Muhammad ibn Maslamah when the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, sent it to Banu Bakr ibn Kilab. He embraced Islam after refusing to do so for three days, then he went out for ‘Umrah. When he arrived at the valley of Mecca, he pronounced the Talbiyah, and he was the first to enter it pronouncing the Talbiyah. For this reason, the Hanafi [scholar] said: "And from us is the one who pronounced the Talbiyah in Mecca publicly, in defiance of Abu Sufyan during the sacred months." The Quraysh seized him and said: "You have been bold against us, and you have apostatized, O Thumamah!" He replied: "I have embraced Islam and followed the best religion, the religion of Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. By Allah, not a single grain from Yamamah shall reach you—which was the source of provisions for the people of Mecca—until the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, permits it."

Then Thumamah went to Yamamah and prevented them from carrying anything to Mecca until they were struck by hunger, and the Quraysh ate al-‘alhaz (a mixture of fur and blood). The Quraysh wrote to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him: "Do you not claim that you were sent as a mercy to the worlds? You have killed the fathers with the sword and the sons with hunger! You command the maintenance of family ties, yet you have severed our family ties." The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, wrote to Thumamah, may Allah be pleased with him: "Clear the way between my people and their supplies." And he did so. In another narration, Abu Sufyan came to him, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and said: "Do you not..." and the way to reconcile these [reports] is evident. This was shortly before the Conquest [of Mecca]. In my view, the [particle] law (if) makes this interpretation unlikely, as is not hidden. Indeed, Ibn Jarir recorded...