Tafsir of An-Naml 27:43

This is an explanation from His side—Exalted is He—regarding what had prevented her, up until now, from manifesting the Islam she claimed. That is, it prevented her from manifesting that [Islam] on the day she was brought the knowledge that necessitated [the abandonment of] her former worship of the sun. The word mā (ما) is a masdariyyah (infinitive particle), and the verbal noun formed by it is the subject of the verb sadda (prevented). It is also permissible that it be a relative pronoun (mawsūlah) referring to the sun, and it is likewise the subject; the attribution in both views is figurative.

This provides the causality for the aforementioned worship being the reason for the obstruction. It means she was from a people deeply rooted in disbelief; therefore, she was unable to manifest her Islam while she was among them until she appeared before Sulayman (peace be upon him). Sa’id ibn Jubayr and Ibn Abi ‘Ablah read it as annahā (أنها) with the hamzah vocalized with a fathah, based on an implied causal lam (the lam of explanation). That is, "[It happened] because she was..." or by making the verbal noun an appositive to the subject of sadda as an appositive of comprehension (badal ishtimāl).

It is said: The words of the Exalted, {And we have been given knowledge...} and what follows, are the words of the people of Sulayman (peace be upon them). It is as if, when they heard her answer the question by saying, {It is as if it were he}, they said: "She has hit the mark in her answer and acted with sagacity." She is intelligent and sharp-witted; she has been granted Islam and has come to know the power of Allah—Exalted is He—and the validity of Prophethood through the signs that preceded, and through this miraculous sign regarding her throne. To this, they added their words: {And we have been given knowledge} of Allah—Exalted is He—of His power, and of the truth of what has come from Him—Glorified is He—prior to her knowledge, and we have always been upon the religion of Islam. This was, on their part, a form of gratitude to Allah—Exalted is He—for His grace upon them and their precedence over her in knowledge of Allah and in Islam. What is implied by this interpretation is that their knowledge and Islam preceded hers, and {And that which she used to worship...} could, under this interpretation, be a continuation of the people’s speech.

It is also possible that it is the beginning of a narrative from the side of the Exalted. From Mujahid and Zuhayr ibn Muhammad, it is reported that {And we have been given} is from the speech of Sulayman (peace be upon him). Under this view, there is also the possibility that {And that which she used to worship...} is a continuation. It is not hidden that there is a degree of remoteness and artifice in making {And we have been given...} the speech of the people or of Sulayman (peace be upon him), and there is no merit in it other than the alignment of feminine pronouns.

It is also said that {And we have been given...} is a continuation of her speech, and the words of the Exalted, {And that which she used to worship...} is the beginning of a narrative from the side of the Exalted to explain the goodness of her state and the purity of her Islam from any trace of polytheism, by making the subject of sadda the pronoun of the Exalted or the pronoun of Sulayman (peace be upon him).

The mā is either masdariyyah or mawsūlah, preceded by an implied preposition. That is: Allah—Exalted is He—or Sulayman prevented her from worshipping what she worshipped instead of Allah, or from that which she worshipped besides Him. Abu Hayyan narrated this from al-Tabari and critiqued it by saying: "It is weak and impermissible except in poetry, such as his saying: 'You pass by the abodes without stopping,' and it is not among the positions where a preposition can be omitted."

You know that the meaning, according to this, is something the heart does not find solace in. Some have gone to the furthest extreme, claiming that the words of the Exalted, {And that which she used to worship...} are connected to His, the Exalted’s, words: {Does she have guidance, or is she of those who are not guided?}, and that the waw is for the state (hal) with an implied qad (participle of certainty). In al-Bahr, it is stated that this is a rejected view due to the long separation between them, and because placing something out of order is not resorted to except in cases of necessity. By my life, whoever is fair will see that what has been mentioned is not how the speech of the Protector, Allah, should be explained. I say, after all the discourse: The way to connect these sentences is something that does not require refined scrutiny; so let it be contemplated. And Allah—Exalted is He—is the Grantor of success.