Tafsir of Al-Qasas 28:57

"And they say: 'If we follow the guidance with you, we will be snatched away from our land.'" That is, we will be expelled from our country and our place of residence. The root of khatf (snatching) is to snatch away quickly, so it is used metaphorically for what has been mentioned. The verse was revealed regarding Al-Harith ibn Uthman ibn Nawfal ibn Abd Manaf when he came to the Prophet—may Allah the Exalted grant him peace—and said: "We know that you are upon the truth, but we fear that if we follow you, we will oppose the Arabs, and we are but a small group; [we fear] that they might snatch us away from our land."

Allah the Exalted responded to their fear of being snatched away by saying: "Have We not established for them a secure sanctuary?" That is, have We not protected them and made their place a sanctuary possessing security, by virtue of the House within it, around which the Arabs trade while they themselves remain secure? The conjunction is based on an omitted element. The verb numakkin (to establish/empower) implies the meaning of ja'l (to make/place), and therefore the words haraman (a sanctuary) and aminan (secure) are in the accusative case; it is treated like laban (one having milk) or tamir (one having dates) [denoting possession]. Abu Hayyan suggested that the attribution of "secure" is metaphorical, because the ones who are truly secure are its inhabitants, thus it does not require being interpreted as "possessing security"—which is a sound viewpoint.

"To which are brought"—meaning, brought and gathered to it from every side and direction—"the fruits of all things." This means the fruits of many things, on the premise that "all" here is for emphasis/abundance, as its primary meaning of "totality/comprehension" is definitely not intended. This sentence is another attribute of "sanctuary," countering what one might mistakenly imagine: that they would be harmed if they followed the guidance by having their provisions cut off.

His saying, the Exalted: "As a provision from Us," is in the accusative case as a masdar (verbal noun) derived from the meaning of yujba (is brought), because its outcome is "they are provided for," or it is a state (hal) from "fruits," meaning "provided." The arrival of a state from an indefinite noun is considered valid by those who allow it when it is qualified by annexation (idafa) as it is here, or it functions as an object denoting purpose (maf’ul lahu), with the estimation of "We bring it to him as a provision."

The summary of the rebuttal is that there is no basis for the fear of being snatched away if they were to believe; for they do not fear it while they are idol worshippers, so how could they fear it when they become secure, having added the sanctity of faith to the sanctity of the place?

"But most of them do not know"—they are ignorant; they neither perceive nor reflect so as to realize this. This relates to His saying, the Exalted: "Have We not established..." etc. It has also been said that it relates to His saying, Glorified is He: "from Us," meaning: only a few of them ponder, and thus they would know that this is a provision from Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, for if they knew, they would not fear anyone besides Him. The former view is more apparent, and the speech based upon it is more effective in its condemnation.

Al-Munqari read nutakhattaf (we are snatched) in the indicative (raf’), similar to the reading in His saying, the Exalted: "Wherever you may be, death will overtake (yudrikukum—in the indicative) you." This is explained as implying "then we will be snatched away," but it is an anomalous explanation. Nafi’ and a group from Ya’qub, as well as Abu Hatim from ‘Asim, read tujba with the feminine ta’. It was also read tujna with a nun, derived from janya (harvesting), which is the cutting of fruit; its transitivity with ila (to) is like saying "it is harvested to him" and "it is harvested to the container." Aban ibn Taghlib from ‘Asim read thamarat (fruits) with a damma on the tha’ and the mim. Others read thamarat with a fatha on the tha’ and a sukūn on the mim.

Furthermore, the Exalted, after refuting their fear of the people, demonstrated that they are more worthy of fearing the punishment of Allah the Exalted, by His saying: [next verse].