Tafsir of Ash-Shu`ara' 26:215

This is a command to him, may the blessings of Allah be upon him, to be humble. It is by way of a metaphorical expression, either a metaphor of dependency (taba'iyya), a representative metaphor (tamthiliyya), or a loose metaphor (majaz mursal) whose relationship is that of necessity (luzum). It is used for arrogance [under the term] "raising the wing," and upon this came the saying of the poet: "And you are famous for lowering the wing, so do not, in your elevation, be a hawk."

Regarding "min" (from): It is said to be explanatory (bayaniyya), because "whoever follows you" in its original meaning is more general than one who follows for religion or otherwise; thus, it contains ambiguity. By mentioning "the believers," it is intended that they are those who follow the religion, which removes that ambiguity.

It is also said to be partitive (tab'idiyya), based on the prevalence of "whoever follows you" being used for those who follow for the sake of religion. If "believers" is taken to mean those who profess faith by the tongue, even if hypocritically, then there is no doubt that those who follow the religion are a part of the believers in this sense. It is also permissible to interpret it as those who are on the verge of belief, even if they have not yet believed, and there is no doubt that the followers mentioned are a part of them. In both cases, the verse contains a command to be humble toward those who follow for the sake of the religion.

Some have said: On the assumption that it is explanatory, "the believers" is intended to mean those who have not yet believed but are on the verge of believing, such as those whose hearts are to be reconciled (al-mu'allafa), [using] metaphor by considering the future state. And since "whoever follows you" was prevalent for those who believe in reality and those who believe metaphorically, it was clarified by His saying, "from among the believers," that they are the ones on the verge of believing—meaning: be humble toward those on the verge of belief to win them over and reconcile them.

On the assumption that it is partitive, "the believers" is intended to mean those who said, "We believe," and they are of two types: a class that believed and followed, and a class from whom nothing was found but verbal profession. Thus, it was said "from among the believers," intending some of those who believed and followed—meaning: be humble toward some of the believers, namely those who followed you out of love and affection. Upon this, the command to him, may the blessings of Allah be upon him, to be humble toward them on the assumption of it being explanatory is different from the one he was commanded to be humble toward on the assumption of it being partitive.

Some scholars have said: Following and belief are twins, since the immediate understanding of his following, peace and blessings be upon him, is his religious following. Likewise, the immediate understanding of belief is true belief. Mentioning "from among the believers" is to provide generalization, like the mention of "with its two wings" after "bird" in the saying of the Almighty: "And there is no bird that flies with its two wings." The verse provides a command to be humble to everyone who believes, from his kin, may the blessings of Allah be upon him, and others.

Al-Tayyibi said: Proceeding according to the arts of rhetoric is to carry the speech on the style of placing the explicit noun in the place of the pronoun. The origin is "And warn your closest kinsmen, and lower your wing to those who follow you from among them." Then it was changed to "the believers" to generalize and to signal that the attribute of belief is what makes its possessor worthy of being honored and being humble for its sake, whoever is characterized by it, whether they are from your kin or others. This is not far-fetched, but I choose [the view] that it is explanatory and that the generality of "whoever follows you" is in consideration of the origin of its meaning.

Ibn Jarir and Ibn al-Mundhir recorded from Ibn Jurayj that he said: When "And warn your closest kinsmen" was revealed, he, may the blessings of Allah be upon him, began with his family and tribe, and that was difficult for the Muslims. So Allah the Almighty revealed, "And lower your wing to those who follow you from among the believers."