Al-Furqan: 23

(And We turned to what...) meaning, We intended and purposed, as it has been narrated from Ibn Abbas, and as extracted by Ibn Abi Shaybah, Abd al-Rahman ibn Humayd, Ibn Jarir, Ibn al-Mundhir, and Ibn Abi Hatim from Mujahid.

(Of what they did) in this world—deeds of importance, such as maintaining family ties, providing for the distressed, hosting the guest, and freeing the captive, among other virtuous acts and excellences of theirs. Had they performed these with faith, they would have attained their reward. The prepositional phrase is an explanation of that which the statement clarifies, considering the indefiniteness, like the validity of the exception in "We do not think but a conjecture." However, the indefiniteness here is for magnification, as we have indicated.

It is permitted that it be for generalization and the dispelling of any illusion of a specific reference in the relative pronoun. That is, We turned to every deed they performed that was devoid of faith. Perhaps the former is more appropriate to His saying, the Almighty, (And We made it dust), meaning, like dust in its worthlessness and lack of benefit. It is, according to what Abd al-Razzaq, al-Firyabi, and Ibn Abi Hatim extracted from Ali—may Allah, the Exalted, ennoble his countenance—the dust particles that rise and then disappear.

Ibn Abi Hatim extracted from Ibn Abbas—may Allah be pleased with them both—that it is the sparks that fly from fire when it is kindled. In another narration from him, it is poured-out water. From Ya'la ibn Ubayd, it is ash. A group extracted from Mujahid, al-Hasan, Ikrimah, Abi Malik, and Amir that it is the ray of the sun in a niche; they seem to have intended the dust within it, as is well-known among linguists. Al-Raghib said: Al-haba' is fine dust and that which is scattered in the air, appearing only in the midst of the sunlight in a niche. It is said: haba al-ghubar yahbu when it rises and spreads. It is described by His saying, the Almighty, (Scattered).

This is an exaggeration in nullifying their deeds; for the haba' is seen aligned with the light, but when the wind moves it, it scatters and goes in every direction. Thus, it was not enough to liken their deeds to haba'; rather, it was made "scattered," such that it cannot be gathered or benefited from at all. This kind of post-position is called in rhetoric tatmim (completion) and ighal (intensification). From this is the saying of al-Khansa: "Noble, bright-faced, the guided follow him; as if he were a landmark, upon his head is a fire." She did not suffice with making him a landmark for guidance until she made a fire upon his head. It is said: it is described as "scattered," i.e., dispersed, because their intentions in their deeds were dispersed; thus, making their deeds scattered haba' is a requital of the same nature as the action.

It is permissible that it be a second object of "made," and this is the intention of whoever said it is a third object for it, in the sense that "We made it possessing the worthlessness of haba' and the state of being scattered." Similar to this is His saying, the Almighty: (Be you apes, despised), meaning, possessing the state of transformation and contempt. There is a dispute here regarding Ibn Darastawayh, as he did not permit it to be a predicate of "to be" (kana), and the analogy of his statement is to forbid it from being a third object for "made." Despite this, the obvious meaning is descriptive.

In it is a representational metaphor, where the state of these disbelievers and the state of the deeds they performed in their disbelief are likened to the state of a people who defied their ruler and rebelled against him; so he turned to their possessions and intended toward what was under their hands, destroying it and making it scattered bits and pieces, leaving for it neither trace nor remnant. The metaphorical term occurred with the usage of "turning" (qudum) in the sense of intending and purposing due to its fame in that, even if it is figurative, as indicated by the words of al-Asas. The intention that leads to the goal is called qudum (arrival/turning) because its preliminary is [the arrival].

The inclusion of the simile entails likening their nullified deeds to scattered haba' without a metaphor, so there is no difficulty according to what has been said, and the discussion on this is lengthy, so let it be sought in its proper place. Some have made the "turning" in relation to Him, the Almighty, an expression of His decree. It is said: the speech is based on the omission of an added element; i.e., "Our angels turned." This is attributed to Him, the Almighty, because it is by His command, the Sublime. It is reported from some of the predecessors that they do not interpret (metaphorically) His saying, the Almighty: (And your Lord comes), and His saying, the Sublime: (Do they wait for anything but that Allah should come to them in covers of clouds), according to their custom regarding the ambiguous attributes. The analogy of that is not to interpret (metaphorically) in this verse. Perhaps it is from here that it is said: the interpretation of al-Zamakhshari for it is based on his belief in denying the attributes, and the heart is more inclined toward the interpretation of them.

If you do not interpret the "turning" metaphorically, you must then interpret the "making it scattered dust" as revealing its utter invalidity and discarding it from the rank of consideration in any way. The predecessors do not reject this.