Tafsir of As-Sajdah 32:30

(So turn away from them): Do not concern yourself with their denial and mockery. It has been narrated from Ibn Abbas that this is abrogated by the Verse of the Sword. It is not hidden that it is possible the intent is to turn away from debating them because it is of no benefit, or that the command is specific to a certain time; thus, abrogation is not definitively established.

(And wait): For the victory over them and their destruction.

(Indeed, they are waiting): The majority said: i.e., they are waiting for victory over you, just as in His saying: "So wait; indeed, we are with you waiting." It is said that the most apparent interpretation is: they are waiting for their own destruction, as in His saying: "Do they look for anything other than that Allah should come to them in covers of clouds?" (the verse). Close to this is what was said: "And wait" for Our punishment upon them; "indeed, they are waiting," meaning this is their ordained fate even if they do not perceive it. For their hastening (the punishment) mentioned, and their persistence in the disbelief and sins upon which they stand, is in the nature of awaiting the punishment that inevitably follows from such actions. The Yamani read it as muntazarin (with a fatha on the za), as a passive participle, meaning they are worthy of their destruction being awaited, or that the angels, peace be upon them, are waiting for it. The meaning is that they will inevitably perish.

His saying: "You have not besides Him any protector or intercessor" contains an indication that one should not turn toward (worldly) causes nor rely upon them.

His saying: "He arranges [each] matter from the heaven to the earth" contains an indication that the arrangements of servants, when compared to the arrangement of the Almighty, have no effect. How blessed is he who has been granted contentment with the arrangement of Allah the Exalted, and is satisfied by it, needing no arrangement of his own.

"Who perfected everything He created" provides guidance that no one should deem any of the created beings as ugly. It is narrated that Noah, peace be upon him, once spat upon a mangy dog, and Allah the Exalted caused the dog to speak, saying: "O Noah, do you find me ugly, or do you find my Creator ugly?" Noah, peace be upon him, wept over this for a long time. Thus, all things are beautiful, each in its own category, and the disparity is merely relative.

In His saying: "And began the creation of man from clay"—up to the end of the verse—after His saying: "Who perfected..." is an indication of the transition through the stages of perfection and the ascent through its degrees. How vast is the distance between the clay and the human—the hearing, the seeing, the knowing! For the human is a niche for the lights of the Essence and the Attributes, while the clay in relation to him is as nothing.

"Only those believe in Our verses who, when they are reminded by them, fall down in prostration and exalt [Allah] with praise of their Lord, and they are not arrogant" is an indication of the state of those of complete faith, and the loftiness of the status of prostration, glorification, praise, and humility before His Greatness, the Exalted.

"They arise from [their] beds; they supplicate their Lord in fear and aspiration" is an indication of their sleeplessness in intimate conversation with their Beloved, and their observation of His Majesty and Beauty.

In His saying: "And from what We have provided them"—meaning, from the (spiritual) knowledges and various types of divine emanations—"they spend" is an indication of their perfection of others after having achieved perfection within themselves.

The people (of gnosis) mentioned that the "lesser punishment" is the greed for the worldly life, and the "greater punishment" is the chastisement that follows it. Some said: the first is the exhaustion in pursuing the world, and the second is the dispersion of the heart. It is also said: the first is the deprivation of (divine) knowledge, and the second is being veiled from witnessing the Known (Allah). It is also said: the first is humiliation, and the second is abandonment.

"And We made among them leaders guiding by Our command when they were patient and [when they] were certain of Our verses" contains an indication of the attributes that a guide must possess: patience in the face of the hardships of worship and various afflictions, restraining the soul from the delights of desires, and certainty in the verses. Whoever claims to be a guide while not possessing these traits is lost and leading others astray.

"So turn away from them and wait; indeed, they are waiting" contains an indication that one should turn away from the deniers who mock the gnostics and the wayfarers when guidance and advice are of no avail to them, and that they will inevitably perish. For denial, for which its bearer has no excuse, is a deadly poison and an arrow aimed at vital organs. We seek refuge with Allah the Exalted from turning back after having moved forward, by the sanctity of His noblest Beloved, may the blessings and peace of Allah the Exalted be upon him, his family, and his companions.