Tafsir of As-Sajdah 32:24

"And We made of them leaders..."

Qatadah said: "Leaders in goodness, other than the prophets, peace be upon them." It was also said: "They are the prophets who were among the Children of Israel."

"...guiding..."

They guide the remainder of them—by what is contained within the folds of the Book of wisdoms and rulings—to the path of Truth, or they guide them to what is in it of the religion of Allah the Exalted and His glorious laws.

"...by Our command..."

By Our ordering them to guide. On the view that they are prophets, this is manifest. As for the view that they are not prophets, it is permissible that Allah’s command to them in this regard is similar to His command to the scholars of this nation in His saying: "And let there be [arising] from you a nation inviting to all that is good, enjoining what is right..." (the verse). It is also permitted that "the command" (al-amr) refers to "the affair" (al-sha'n), and the meaning is: "They guide by Our facilitation."

"...when they were patient..."

Qatadah said: "In abandoning the world." Others suggested that the meaning might be: "When they were patient regarding the hardships of obedience and enduring tribulations in support of the religion." The word lamma (when) might possess the meaning of requital, such as: "When (lamma) you honored me, I honored you"—meaning, "When they were patient, We made them leaders." It is also possible that it is the lamma that denotes time, devoid of the meaning of requital; in this case, it is outwardly an adverbial phrase for "We made," meaning: "We made them leaders when they were patient." Abu al-Baqa’ permitted it to be an adverbial phrase for "guiding."

Abdullah, Talhah, al-A'mash, Hamzah, al-Kisa'i, and Ruways recited it as lima (with a kasra on the lam and a light mim), meaning the lam is for causation (ta'lil) and ma is the infinitive particle (masdariyyah), meaning: "due to their patience." This is linked to "We made" or to "guiding." Abdullah also recited it as bima (with a ba' for causation and ma as the infinitive particle), meaning: "due to their patience."

"...and were, of Our signs, certain."

The signs contained within the folds of the Book. It was also said: "What is intended by it is what encompasses the creative signs." The prepositional phrase is connected to His saying, "certain" (yuqinun), meaning: "They were certain of them due to their deep contemplation of them, and not of other false matters." This is an allusion to the disbelievers of the people of Makkah. The clause is conjoined to "were patient," thus it enters into the scope of lamma (when). It is permitted that it be conjoined to "We made," or that it be in the position of a state (hal) pertaining to the pronoun in "were patient."

The intent is likewise: "We shall surely make the Book which We have brought," or "We shall surely make you a guide for your nation, and We shall surely make of them leaders who guide with that same guidance."