Tafsir of Al Imran 3:176

The intended meaning of the "those who" (the relative pronoun) is either: the hypocrites who lagged behind—this is the view of Mujahid and Ibn Ishaq; or a group of Arabs who apostatized from Islam to draw closer to the idolaters—this is the view of Abu Ali al-Jubba’i; or all of the disbelievers—this is the view of al-Hasan; or the hypocrites and a faction of the Jews, as specified in His saying: {O Messenger, let not those who hasten into disbelief grieve you, from those who say, "We believe" with their mouths, but their hearts believe not, and from among those who are Jews}. This last view is held by some scholars.

The meaning of "they hasten into disbelief" is that they fall into it quickly due to their extreme eagerness for it and intense desire for it. Because the act of "hastening" (musara'a) implies the meaning of "falling into" (wuqu'), it is constructed with the preposition fi (in/into) rather than ila (to/towards), which is its common construction, as in: {And hasten to (ila) forgiveness from your Lord and a garden}. It is said that fi was preferred here to signal their persistence in disbelief and the permanence of their involvement in it, both at the start of the haste and its conclusion—similar to the phrase {they hasten into (fi) good deeds} regarding the believers. As for the preference for the preposition ila in the verse concerning forgiveness, it is because forgiveness and the Garden are the end and the goal of that hastening.

The relative pronoun is the subject of "grieve you" (yahzunka). The relative clause is not the cause for the prohibition of grief, as is common in such instances, because grief over them falling into disbelief is the appropriate response, for it is something repulsive in the sight of Allah—it is mandatory to be grieved upon witnessing it, so a prohibition against that grief would not be valid. Rather, the cause here is the harm resulting from that hastening, such as their malice toward the believers and the infliction of injury upon them; however, the expression used is a form of exaggeration in the prohibition.

The meaning is: "Do not let the fear that they might harm you or conspire against you grieve you." Evidence for this is the follow-up of His saying: {They will not harm Allah at all}, which is a refutation and a negation of the suspicion of fear. The speech omits a genitive noun; the intended meaning is "the allies of Allah," for example, due to the rational indication of it. In omitting this and linking the negation of harm to Allah (Exalted is He), there is an honor to the believers and an indication that harming them is equivalent to harming Him (Exalted is He). In this lies an increased exaggeration in consolation. "Anything" (shay’an) is in the position of the verbal noun (cognate accusative), meaning: "they will not harm Him any harm whatsoever." It is also said to be an object via a preposition, meaning: "they will not harm Him with anything at all." To interpret "harm" (yadurru) as acting directly upon two objects is an interpretation for which there is no necessity; perhaps the context calls for the opposite.

Nafi' read yahzunka (yuhzinuka) with a damma on the ya and a kasra on the za throughout the entire Quran, except for His saying: {The greatest terror will not grieve (la yahzunuhum) them}, where he opened it (with a fatha) and gave the za a damma. The rest of the reciters read as Nafi' read in the exception. Abu Ja'far read the opposite of Nafi'. The past tense for the reading with the fatha is hazana, and for the reading with the damma, it is ahzana; their meanings are the same, except that hazana is a less common dialect. It is said: hazantuhu means "I caused him grief," while ahzantuhu means "I exposed him to grief." Al-Khalil said: hazantuhu means "I placed grief within him," like dahantuhu (I put oil in it/on it), and ahzantuhu means "I made him a grieving person." It was also recited as yusri'una without the alif, from asra'a, and yusari'una with imala (inclination) and tafkhim (thickening).

{Allah intends that He should not give them any portion in the Hereafter} is a new start (istinaf) to clarify the reason for their hastening. It is as if it were said: "Why do they hasten in disbelief when they do not benefit from it?" It is answered that Allah intends not to give them any share of the reward in the Hereafter; so He intends this for them, and how then could they not hasten? In this is proof that disbelief is by the will of Allah, even if He punishes the one who performs it and condemns him, because that is due to his evil aptitude which necessitates the pouring of that (disbelief) upon him. Some of the investigators mentioned that the mention of "the intention" (irada) signals the complete purity of the motive for their deprivation and punishment, as it is related to the intention of the Most Merciful of those who show mercy. Some claimed this is based on the doctrine of Mu'tazilism, but it is not so, as is obvious, because it does not say that He did not intend their disbelief, nor is there any hint of that. The imperfect tense indicates the permanence and continuity of the intention, and it refers back to the permanence and continuity of the source of this intended object, which is disbelief; thus, it contains an indication of their remaining in disbelief until they perish in it.

{And for them—along with this total deprivation of reward—is a great punishment} the extent of which cannot be estimated. It is reported from some of them that since "hastening" in a thing indicates its greatness and high status in the view of the one who hastens, He described their punishment as "great" in observance of suitability, and as a warning of the triviality and vileness of that which they hastened into. It is also said that when His saying {They will not harm Allah at all} indicated the greatness of the one whose harm they intended, He described the punishment as "great" as an indication that intending to harm the Great One is a great matter, which results in a great punishment. The sentence is either a state (hal) from the pronoun in lahum (meaning: Allah intends their deprivation of reward while preparing for them a great punishment), or it is an initial sentence regarding their portion of the punishment after the clarification that they have no share in the reward.

Some have claimed that these two sentences are in the position of providing the cause for the preceding prohibition, and that the meaning is: "Do not let it grieve you that they hasten in exalting disbelief and destroying Islam," not out of fear for Islam, nor out of pity for them. As for the first, it is because {they will not harm Allah at all}, so they are unable to destroy His religion which He intends to exalt; thus there is no need for the concern of the allies of Allah. As for the second, it is because "Allah intends not to give them any portion in the Hereafter, and for them is a great punishment." Support for this is found in the fact that the Prophet (may Allah grant him peace and blessings) was often prohibited from exhausting his noble self for their guidance, and from being tight-chested over their disbelief, and it was addressed to him that he has nothing but the conveyance of the message {and you are not over them a controller}. This, however, is not without some remoteness (i.e., it is a strained interpretation).