Tafsir of Ar-Rum 30:28

(From among yourselves): That is, extracted from your own conditions, which are the matters closest to you, the most familiar to you, and the most manifest in their indication of the aforementioned invalidity of shirk (polytheism), because it acts a fortiori (by way of priority). The particle min (from) is for the beginning of a limit. The saying of the Exalted, "(Do you have...)," and what follows, is a depiction of the parable. The interrogation is one of negation, implying denial. The phrase "(to you)" is a fronted predicate.

The saying of the Exalted, "(from among those whom your right hands possess)," occupies the place of a circumstantial state (hal) for the word "partners" (shuraka’), because it is a description of an indefinite noun that preceded it. The operative factor (‘amil) in it—as stated in al-Bahr—is the same as the operative factor for the prepositional phrase serving as the predicate. The min is for partitive purposes, and the word ma refers to the type/category.

The saying of the Exalted, "(as partners)," is the subject (mubtada’). The min is an augmentative particle for the sake of emphasizing the negation derived from the interrogation. The saying of the Exalted, "(in what We have provided for you)," is connected to "partners"; that is: Do you have partners in that which We have provided for you of wealth and its equivalents—matters in which you exercise disposal—who are of the type that your right hands possess, such as slaves and slave-girls, who are [also] partners to you?

It is permitted that "(to you)" be connected to "partners," and that "(in what We have provided for you)" be in the place of the predicate, just as you say: "For Zayd, in the city, [there is] one who hates him," where "for Zayd" is connected to "hates" (which acts as the subject), and "in the city" is the predicate. That is: Are there partners for you, who are of the type your right hands possess, who are also [partners] in what We have provided for you?

The saying of the Exalted, "(so you are equal in it)," is a sentence in the place of the answer to the interrogative of denial. "(In it)" is connected to "equal" (sawa’). There is an ellipsis in the speech coordinated with "(you)," meaning: You and they—the slaves—are equal in it, with no difference between you and them in the disposal of it. It is said: There is no ellipsis, and "you" includes the slaves by way of taghlib (predominance).

The saying of the Exalted, "(do you fear them)," is another predicate for "you." Abu al-Baqa’ said: It is a circumstantial state (hal) from the pronoun "you" (the agent in "equal"). The saying of the Exalted, "(as you fear your own selves)," is in the position of an adjective for an omitted verbal noun (masdar); that is: Do you fear them—that you might be exclusive in the disposal of it without their opinion—a fear that is like your fear of those who are of your own kind, meaning the free men who are your peers?

The intended meaning is to negate the content of what was detailed in the interrogative sentence: You are not pleased that your slaves—who are your peers in humanity, not created for you but for Allah—should share with you in the wealth and the like that We have provided for you; so how, then, can you associate them with Him—Glorified is He—in divinity, which is one of His essential characteristics, whereas they are His creation, nay, they are fabricated by your own hands, then you worship them?

Ibn Abi ‘Ablah read "(your own selves)" in the nominative case (raf’), on the basis that the verbal noun is genitive to the object, and "your own selves" is its agent. Abu Hayyan said: This is a sound perspective, and there is no ugliness in attributing the verbal noun to the object while the agent is present.

(Thus): That is, like that clear detailing, "(do We explain the signs)," meaning We clarify and elucidate them, not a detailing lesser than that. For parables are the depiction of intelligible meanings in a sensory form, and the presentation of remote concepts in the form of familiar ones, and thus it is at the pinnacle of clarity and explanation.

(For a people who use reason): That is, who employ their intellects in the contemplation of parables. It is also said: In the contemplation of all matters generally, and parables enter into that with primary priority. He specified them with mention—despite the fact that the detailing of the signs is for everyone—because they are the ones who benefit from them. The scholar al-Tayyibi mentioned that since the setting of parables is for bringing the hypothetical closer to the intelligible, and displaying the imagined in the form of the realized, it was fitting that the concluding phrase be "(for a people who use reason)." This point is more manifest here than in the preceding verses, so remember this.

Abbas narrated from Abu ‘Amr the reading "(He explains)" with the ya of the third person, in observance of the word "sets forth" (daraba), since it is a predicate attributed to what refers to the absent [Allah]. The reading of the majority is with the nun (We explain), to align with "We provided for you" (razaqnakum). Some scholars have mentioned that in this verse is evidence for the validity of the principle of partnership between created beings, due to the need of some for others, as if it were said: What is forbidden and detestable is the partnership of slaves with their masters; as for the partnership of masters with one another, it is not forbidden nor detestable.