Tafsir of Al-Furqan 25:59

{He who created the heavens and the earth and what is between them in six days, then established Himself above the Throne} – its explanation has already passed. The location of this relative pronoun (al-ladhi) is in the genitive case, as it is a further description of [the word] "the Ever-Living" (al-hayy). Describing the Glorified One with an action-based attribute after having described Him with eternity—which is among the essential attributes—and pointing toward His being characterized by all-encompassing knowledge, serves to establish the necessity of relying upon Him, may His majesty be glorified, and to emphasize it. For He who brought these massive celestial bodies into existence according to this superior pattern and splendid arrangement, with firm governance and precise order at appointed times, despite His absolute power—exalted be He—to create them instantly for wise purposes and beautiful ends that human minds cannot fathom in their details, is the most worthy of being relied upon and the most deserving of having affairs entrusted to Him.

His saying, "The Most Merciful" (ar-rahman), is in the nominative case out of praise—that is, "He is the Most Merciful." In reality, this is another description of "the Ever-Living," as in the recitation of Zayd bin ‘Abd ar-Rahman [where it is] in the genitive case. It serves the purpose of further emphasizing what was mentioned regarding the necessity of relying upon Him, may His glory be exalted, even if it does not follow the previous words in grammatical inflection. This is based on the established principle that a noun in the accusative or nominative case used for praise—even if it deviates in appearance from the preceding words by not following them in inflection—is called "cut off" (maqtu’). However, in truth, they are followers of it; do you not see how they committed to deleting the verb and the subject [of the implicit sentence] in order to portray each of them as something related to the preceding context, and to alert [the listener] to the intensity of the connection between them? They only "cut off" the grammatical flow to evoke astonishment, which compels the listener to awaken and be stirred toward earnest attentiveness.

It is permissible for the relative pronoun to be in the accusative case as a specification (ikhtisas), or in the nominative case as a predicate for a deleted subject acting as an adjective for Him, or as a subject with "the Most Merciful" as its predicate. It is also permissible for "the Most Merciful" to be an appositive (badal) to the implicit pronoun within "established" (istawa). According to the school of al-Akhfash, it is permissible for "the Most Merciful" to be a subject and His saying, "so ask about Him one who is expert," to be its predicate, similar to his interpretation of the poet’s verse: "And a woman said: Khawlan, so marry their young woman..." though this is far-fetched.

The obvious view is that this is a sentence severed grammatically from what precedes it, and the fa is fasiha (eloquent/explicative). The preposition and the noun it governs are a connection to "ask" (is’al). Asking, just as it is transitive with "about" (‘an) due to its containing the meaning of investigation, is also transitive with "by" (bi) due to its containing the meaning of seeking/attention. To this effect is the saying of ‘Alqama bin ‘Abada: "If you ask me about women, I am expert in the illnesses of women, a physician." Thus, there is no need to treat it as having the meaning of "about" (‘an), as al-Akhfash and az-Zajjaj did. The pronoun refers to what was mentioned in summary: the creation and the establishment. The meaning is: "If you desire verification of what was mentioned, or the details of what was mentioned, then ask, while being attentive to it, an expert—one of great status, surrounding the outward and inward aspects of affairs—who is Allah, the Almighty and Majestic; He will reveal to you the reality of the matter." The one asked is, in truth, the details of what was mentioned, not the subject itself, for after His clarification, there remains no need for asking. Nor is it the case that the transitive use of bi, based on its being imbued with the meaning of "attention"—which requires that the subject asked about be a grave matter of concern—yields no benefit to the asker; for the creation and the establishment themselves, after having been mentioned, are not [insignificant], as is not hidden. The interpretation that the estimation is "if you are in doubt about it, then ask an expert," under the premise that the address is to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and the intent is someone else, is far from sound.

It has been said: "About Him" (bihi) is connected to "expert" (khabiran) and was brought forward for the sake of the verse endings. It is also permitted that the speech be of the category of abstraction (tajrid), like "I saw in him a lion," meaning "I saw, by seeing him, a lion." It is as if it were said here, "So ask by asking him, an expert." The meaning is: "If you ask Him, you will find Him an expert." In this case, the ba is not a connector; it is the ba of abstraction, and according to az-Zamakhshari, it is causative. The "expert" in this case is also Allah Almighty. This view was mentioned by as-Sajawandi and chosen by the author of al-Kashf, who said: "It is more appropriate to be like a completion to His saying 'He who created,' for it is for the sake of establishing [His] power, while incorporating into it [His] knowledge." That the pronoun "about Him" (bihi) refers to the creation and establishment mentioned, and that "the expert" in the verse is Allah Almighty, is narrated from al-Kalbi. The interpretation of "the expert" regarding "Him" as the Almighty is also narrated from Ibn Jurayj.

From Ibn ‘Abbas—may Allah be pleased with them—the "expert" is Gabriel (peace be upon him). It is also said: It is one who found that in the ancient scriptures revealed from Him, the Almighty—meaning, "Ask by means of what was mentioned of creation and establishment from those who know it among the People of the Book, so that they may confirm it for you." It is also said: If by "the expert" is meant the aforementioned, then the pronoun "about Him" refers to the Most Merciful. The meaning is: "If they deny the application of 'The Most Merciful' to Him, the Almighty, then ask about Him those who can inform you from the People of the Book, so that they may recognize the arrival of what is synonymous to it in their books." The objection to this is that it does not fit what precedes it, that it involves the return of the pronoun to the word "the Most Merciful" rather than its meaning (which is contrary to the apparent sense), and that it would have been more appropriate to delay it from His saying, "What is the Most Merciful?"

It is also said: The "expert" is Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), and the pronoun "about Him" refers to the Most Merciful. The intent is: "Ask about His attributes," and the address is to someone other than the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) who did not know that. This is of no consequence, as is clear. It is also said: The pronoun "about Him" refers to the Most Merciful, and the intent is: "Ask by [the grace of] His mercy and its details [to] one who is knowing, so that he may inform you about them." Or the intent is: "Ask by [the grace of] His mercy, while he is knowing of everything," on the premise that "expert" is a state (hal) of the pronoun (in bihi), not the object of "ask," as in the previous views.

Abu al-Baqa permitted "expert" to be a state of "the Most Merciful" when it is in the nominative case by [the verb] "established." He said: "It is weak to be a state of the subject of 'ask,' because the expert is only asked by way of emphasis, like 'He is the Truth, confirming [the previous books]'." The most proximate and appropriate view in the verse among those mentioned is obvious. It has also been recited as fasal.