Tafsir of Ash-Shu`ara' 26:113

“Their account is not but upon my Lord”—that is, their being held to account for what they do is only upon my Lord. For the consideration of what lies within the inner selves is among His affairs—Exalted and Majestic is He—for He is the One who is cognizant of them.

“If you could perceive”—meaning, if you possessed any form of perception, or were among the people of awareness, you would have known that. But you are not such, and that is why you have said what you have said. The ‘al’ (the definite article) in this interpretation is for the genus.

A group has said: Their regarding them as base was due to their meager portion of worldly wealth. It is also said: It was because they were of those who practiced lowly crafts. They were, as has been narrated from Ikrimah, weavers and cobblers. It is also said: It was due to the baseness of their lineage. The origin of this, in all cases, is the triviality of their intellects and the short-sightedness of their views. For poverty is not, in any way, a form of baseness. A youth may attain glory even while his cloak is worn and the pocket of his shirt is patched. Likewise, the baseness of a craft does not demean one's honor in the Hereafter, nor does it attach any deficiency to the God-fearing person in the sight of Allah—Exalted and Majestic is He. Abu al-Atahiya has recited:

There is no disgrace upon a righteous servant, If he perfects his piety, even if he weaves or performs cupping.

The same applies to the attribute of lineage. It has been said:

My father is Islam; I have no other father besides it, When they boast of Qays or Tamim.

What the jurists have mentioned regarding the subject of ‘suitability’ (kafa’ah) in marriage is based upon common social conventions for the sake of regulating worldly living and the like. Moreover, it is narrated from Imam Malik that none of this is to be considered at all, and that Muslims, regardless of their state, are suitable for one another. The ‘al’ in these views is for reference (al-ahd).

The answer provided serves as a response to what they alluded to with their statement, implying that their [the believers'] faith was not based on reflection and insight, but rather on personal motive—such as the attainment of influence by gathering together, whereby they might be included in the ranks of the honorable and be counted among them. The essence of the reply is: My duty is only to consider outward appearances, not to split open hearts or inspect what is in the inner secrets. Therefore, it does not harm me if they are not sincere in their faith, as you claim.

It is also permissible to say that when they said, “And follow you are the lowest of people,” intending thereby those who have no portion of worldly wealth, or those whose lineages were low, or those who were of the practitioners of base crafts, the Prophet (peace be upon him) feigned ignorance of their intent. He acted as if they meant by ‘the lowest’ those who lack sincerity in their deeds and did not believe out of reflection and insight. Thus, he answered them with what was mentioned, as if he did not know ‘the lowest’ to mean anything other than that. If this is categorized as a type of ‘wise discourse’ (uslub al-hakim), it would not be far-fetched in my view; it contains an elegance of rebuttal against them and a denunciation of their state that is not hidden.

Some have claimed that by ‘the lowest’ they meant his womenfolk, his children, his daughters-in-law, and his grandsons. Regarding them as base due to a flaw in lineage cannot be imagined as a reality for all of them, as is clear. Thus, one would have to assume the principle of ‘predominance’ (taghlib) and the like.

Al-A’raj, Abu Zur’ah, and Isa ibn Umar al-Hamadani recited it as “yash’urun” (they perceive) in the third person.