ﱮ ﱯ ﱰ ﱱ ﱲ ﱳ ﱴ ﱵ ﱶ ﱷ ﱸ ﱹ ﱺ ﱻ ﱼ ﱽ ﱾ ﱿ ﲀ ﲁ
Those upon whom the word will have come into effect will say, "Our Lord, these are the ones we led to error. We led them to error just as we were in error. We declare our disassociation [from them] to You. They did not used to worship us."
Tafsir
Verse range: 28:63
( قَالَ ) is a new beginning constructed upon the narration of the question, as if it were said: "What happened after this question?" It is said: ( الَّذِينَ حَقَّ عَلَيْهِمُ الْقَوْلُ ) meaning those upon whom the requirement of the decree was established and whose outcome was realized, which is the saying of the Exalted: "I will surely fill Hell with jinn and mankind, all together," and other verses of threat.
The meaning of the relative pronoun [the ones] are the partners whom they falsely claim to be partners, from among the devils and the leaders of disbelief. They are specified by what is in the relative clause—despite the content being inclusive of the followers as well—due to their primary status in disbelief and their deserving of the punishment. They are referred to as such, rather than as "those whom they claimed were partners," in order to exclude figures like Jesus, Uzair, and the angels—upon them be peace—because the term "partners" is inclusive of them, as you have heard.
They hasten to answer, even though the question was directed at the worshippers, because they realize that the question posed to them is one of rebuke and humiliation. This requires their presence and their censure for having led others astray, as they are certain that the worshippers will say, "These are they who led us astray." It is also said: It is possible that the worshippers had already answered, excusing themselves by saying, "These are they who led us astray," and then the partners said what Allah the Exalted narrated as a refutation of their statement, but it was not recounted for the sake of brevity, as it is evident.
( رَبَّنَا هَؤُلَاءِ الَّذِينَ أَغْوَيْنَا ) is a preamble to the answer. The indication toward the worshippers is to clarify that they are saying what they are saying in their presence, and that they [the partners] are unable to deny or refute it. ( هَؤُلَاءِ ) is the subject (mubtada') and its predicate is the relative pronoun that follows it, and the sentence ( أَغْوَيْنَا ) is the relative clause (silat al-mawsul). The referent (al-'a'id) is omitted, for it is explicitly mentioned afterward; meaning, "those whom we led astray."
His saying, the Exalted: ( أَغْوَيْنَا كَمَا غَوَيْنَا ) is the answer in reality, meaning: We did not force them toward deviation; rather, we led them astray by way of whispering and enticement, not by coercion and compulsion. Thus, they deviated by their own choice, a deviation similar to our deviation by our own choice.
It is permissible for the relative pronoun to be a demonstrative pronoun, and the predicate to be the sentence (أَغْوَيْنَا كَمَا غَوَيْنَا). Abu Ali [al-Farisi] rejected this in al-Tadhkirah, arguing that it leads to the predicate having no additional benefit, because their leading them astray was already known from the description [the relative clause]. This was refuted by stating that the comparison (tashbih) indicates that they deviated by their own choice, for [the alternative interpretation] implies that the leading astray was a form of compulsion. His saying that "as we deviated" is redundant (fadlah) and thus cannot be a fundamental part of the sentence is incorrect, because redundant elements may be necessary in some positions, such as in "Zayd, Amr is standing in his house."
Aban narrated from Asim, as did some of the Levantines, (كَما غَوِينا) with a kasrah on the waw. Ibn Khalawayh said: This is not preferred, for the speech of the Arabs is: "ghawaitu" (غويت) from misguidance, and "ghawita" (غويت - with a kasrah) from overeating.
( تَبَرَّأْنَا إِلَيْكَ ) We have declared our disassociation from them, and from the disbelief and sins they chose, which were desires of their own souls, directing this disassociation toward You and preparing it for You. The sentence is a confirmation of what preceded it, for the admission of causing deviation is, in reality, a disassociation; hence, it was not conjoined with a conjunction.
Likewise is the saying of the Exalted: ( مَا كَانُوا إِيَّانَا يَعْبُدُونَ ) meaning they were not worshipping us; rather, they were, in truth and in the final outcome, worshipping their own desires. It is also said that "ma" (ما) is a masdariyah (infinitive) particle connected to the saying of the Exalted: ( تَبَرَّأْنَا ), with a preposition omitted; meaning, "We declare disassociation from their worshipping of us." Making it negative, to mean that they were not worshipping us with justification or proof, is weak. In any case, ( إِيَّانَا ) is the object of "worshipping" (يَعْبُدُونَ), placed at the beginning for the sake of the verse ending (fasilah).
