Yā Sīn: 76 — "So let not their speech grieve you..."

The fa (particle) in His saying, "So let not their speech grieve you," is faṣīḥah (eloquent/explanatory). That is: If this is their state with their Lord—Exalted and Majestic is He—then do not grieve because of their saying about you that you are a poet. Or, if their state on the Day of Resurrection is what you have heard, then do not grieve because of their saying about Allah—Exalted is He—that He has partners (exalted is Allah far above that), or their saying about you that you are a poet, or their saying about Allah and yourself things that do not befit His Majesty—Exalted is He—nor your station.

Restricting the explanation of their speech against the Prophet (peace be upon him) to the claim that he is a poet—God forbid—is because it is most consistent with what preceded it in His saying: "We have not taught him poetry, nor is it befitting for him." It may also be generalized to include everything that does not befit his station (peace and blessings be upon him) from their words. Interpreting the condition indicated by the fa according to what we mentioned first is appropriate for what was narrated from al-Ḥasan and Qatādah regarding the meaning of His saying: "And they are, for them, troops made present." Interpreting it according to what we mentioned second is appropriate for what was mentioned afterward regarding the meaning of that.

It is said that the implication according to the first interpretation is: If they are at this level of feeble-mindedness—where they have taken, in hopes of victory, gods besides Allah—Exalted and Majestic is He—who are incapable of helping them or defending them, but rather are themselves defended by those gods—then do not grieve because of their saying about you what they have said. Perhaps the first is more appropriate. Regardless, the prohibition, while appearing to be directed at their speech, is in reality—as we have indicated—directed at the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). The intention is to forbid him (peace and blessings be upon him) from being affected by grief, through metaphor, in the most eloquent and emphatic way, as is clear.

Nāfi‘ recited "fa-lā yuḥzin-ka" with the yā dammah and the zāy kasrah, from aḥzana (to cause grief), which is the transitive form derived from the intransitive ḥazana. Both ḥazanahu and aḥzanahu have been used.

This is an explicit justification for the prohibition via isti’nāf (a new starting sentence) after it was previously justified via indication, based on the second interpretation of the condition. For the knowledge of what is mentioned is a metaphor for retribution against them, or a metonymy for it, because of its necessity. Since the knowledge of the Sovereign, the Powerful, the Wise, regarding what occurred from His enemy—who is such that wisdom dictates retaliation against him—is for the sake of retribution and vengeance against him.

According to the first interpretation, it is said to be an isti’nāf bayānī (explicative commencement) occurring as an answer to a hidden question, as if it were said: "O Lord, if their state with You and Your Prophet is such, what will You do to them?" It was said: "Indeed, We know..."—meaning, We will recompense them for all their crimes. It is also said that it is a justification for arranging the prohibition upon the condition. So contemplate this.

"What" (mā) is a relative pronoun, and the referent is elided; i.e., We know that which they conceal of corrupt beliefs, enmity toward you, and the like, and that which they declare of words of polytheism, denial, and the like. It is also permitted that it be an infinitive particle (maṣdariyyah), i.e., "We know their concealing and their declaring," with the object elided, or that the two verbs are treated as though they were intransitive. The former is more evident and is the preferred view.

The concealment is presented before the declaration to show the encompassment of His knowledge—Exalted is He—such that the knowledge of the secret is, in His presence, as if it were prior to the knowledge of the declaration. It is said [it is presented first] because the rank of the secret precedes the rank of the declaration, since there is nothing declared except that it—or its foundations—was hidden in the heart before that; thus, the attachment of His knowledge—Exalted is He—to its initial state precedes its attachment to its second state. It is also said: to signal the importance of reforming the inner self, for it is the crux of the matter and the place of ambiguity that requires clarification.

It is commonly held that pausing at "their speech" is mandatory, though some have said it is not. This is because it has been suggested that "Indeed, We know..." could be the content of the speech, treated as a form of provocation and allusion, like His saying: "And do not ever be among the polytheists," or that the intent is: "So let not their speech grieve you—by way of mockery and ridicule—'Indeed, We know...'" From this, one understands that if a reader were to recite "anna-nā na‘lamu" (with an alif fathah) and considered it a substitute for "their speech," his prayer would not be invalidated, nor would he be considered a disbeliever if he held the meaning that follows from it, just as if he had made it a justification with the causal particle elided. The truth is that such an interpretation is acceptable in warding off charges of disbelief, but as for the matter of the pause, what should be said is that at "their speech" it is as if it were mandatory.