Tafsir of Ya seen 36:6

( لتنذر ) is connected to tanzil (the revelation) or to its implied verb according to the second interpretation of its grammatical analysis. That is: "It has been revealed by the Almighty, the Merciful, so that you may warn by it—or by what it points to—( قوما ) a people ( ما أنذر آباؤهم )—that is, their fathers were not warned, as is narrated from Qatadah. The particle ma is negative, and the sentence is an adjective for qawman, clarifying the extent of their need for warning. The intended meaning of "warning" is to inform or to threaten; its second object is omitted, meaning: "a punishment," based on the Almighty's saying, "We have warned you of a near punishment." The intended meaning of "their fathers" is their immediate ancestors; otherwise, the more distant ones had been warned by Ishmael (peace be upon him), and the law of Abraham (peace be upon him) had reached them.

There were among them those who held onto his law in the most perfect manner, then the matter lapsed and time grew long, so that nothing remained of his law (peace be upon him) but the name. In Al-Bahr, it is noted that the call to God Almighty was not interrupted for any nation, either directly through their prophets or through transmission, up to the time of the mission of our Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace). The verses indicating that no warner had come to the Quraysh mean that no warner had come to them or their immediate ancestors directly. As for the claim that warning was interrupted entirely, that is not the case; when the traces of the law began to fade, the Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace) was sent. What theologians mentioned regarding the state of those in the fatrah (interval) is hypothetical.

Accordingly, the meaning is: "A messenger did not warn their fathers directly," not that no warner at all had warned them. It is possible that they were warned by someone who was not a prophet, such as Zayd ibn Amr ibn Nufayl or Quss ibn Sa'idah. Thus, there is no contradiction between this and the Almighty’s saying, "And there was no nation but that a warner had passed among them." This does not deny the fatrah mentioned in the Almighty’s saying, "After an interval of messengers," for that is an interval of sending and a temporal cessation, not an absolute interval of warning. According to Ikrimah, ma is in the sense of alladhi (the one which). It is also possible that it is an adjective, and in both interpretations, it is the second object of tundhira—that is, "to warn a people of that which the messengers warned their distant fathers." Ibn Atiyyah said: It is possible that ma is masdariyyah (source-denoting), functioning as an adjective for an emphasized verbal noun; that is: "to warn a people the warning that the messengers gave their distant fathers." It has also been said that it is extra, but that is of no consequence.

( فهم غافلون )—according to the first interpretation, this is branched from the negation of warning and caused by it, and the pronoun refers to both groups; that is, their fathers were not warned, so they are all, because of that, heedless. According to the remaining interpretations, it is connected to the Almighty's saying ( لتنذر ) or to what is conveyed by ( إنك لمن المرسلين ), serving as a justification for his warning (may God bless him and grant him peace) or his mission due to their heedlessness which necessitates it, similar to the phrase "Give him a drink, for he is thirsty," provided the pronoun refers to the people specifically. The meaning is: "They are heedless of it," meaning of that which their fathers were warned.

Al-Khafaji said: It is permissible for it to be connected to this according to the first interpretation as well, and for it to be connected to the Almighty's saying ( لتنذر ) according to the other interpretations, treating the fa as causative, with the pronoun referring to them or to their fathers. It will not be hidden from you that what comes to mind is what was established first.