"Nay, but you wonder, and they mock."

(Nay, but you wonder): This is an address to the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), though it is permissible that it refers to anyone who would accept it. "Nay" (bal) is for turning away [from a previous topic], either from a suggested meaning sensed in the context—"so ask them for a verdict," meaning: they do not acknowledge or answer with what is the truth, but someone like you is one who submits and wonders at these proofs—or it is turning away from the command to ask for a verdict, meaning: do not ask them for a verdict, for they are obstinate and requesting a verdict is of no use with them, nor do they wonder at these proofs, rather, someone like you is one who wonders at them.

(And they mock): That is, they mock you, your wonder, and the signs you show them. It has been permitted that the meaning is: "Nay, but you wonder at their denial of the Resurrection despite these signs, while they mock the matter of the Resurrection." It has been preferred that the meaning is: "Nay, but you wonder at the power of Allah the Exalted over these great creations, while they deny the Resurrection and mock your wonder and your establishing of the proof for the Resurrection."

Some have claimed that the intended meaning of "He whom We created" refers to the past nations, but this is baseless, as those nations had no prior mention; the mention had preceded for the angels (peace be upon them) and the heavens and the earth, as you have heard. Moreover, the particle of succession (fa) indicates the contrary. Those who spoke like the author of al-Fara'id follow the majority of the exegetes (excluding the Imam), explaining it by saying: When he argued against them using what they themselves acknowledge—namely, that He is the Lord of the heavens and the earth and the Lord of the risings—and held them accountable for that, and they met him with obstinacy, it was said to them: "Await destruction like those before you, for you are not stronger in creation than they." Thus, "So ask them for a verdict: Are they stronger in creation" was placed in its stead. And His saying (Exalted is He): "We created them" is a justification for why they are not stronger in creation, or evidence for their arrogance which produces their obstinacy. He supported this by pointing to the turn away (the bal) and the questioning of the Resurrection following it, as it indicates it is not related to what preceded the turn away. However, it escaped him that the wording is subtly indicative of what he mentioned regarding obstinacy and the deserving of destruction like past nations, and the justification for the denial of superiority using what he justified it with is baseless, due to the clarity that the predecessors were stronger in that regard—and such instances are many in the Noble Book.

As for the turn away, it is from the [command for] asking a verdict to the fact that someone like you is one who submits and wonders at those proofs, and that is why "and they mock" is conjoined to it, and he made what they denied of the Resurrection a part of their mockery; this was said by the author of al-Kashf, so do not be heedless.

Hamza, al-Kisa'i, Ibn Sa'dan, and Ibn Miqsam read "ajibtu" (I wondered) with the letter ta representing the speaker. It has been narrated from Ali (may Allah honor his face), Ibn Mas'ud, al-Nakha'i, Ibn Waththab, Talha, Shaqiq, and al-A'mash. Shurayh al-Qadi denied this reading and said: "Allah the Exalted does not wonder at anything; only one who does not know wonders." The denial of this judge is something regarding which a verdict of non-acceptance was issued, because it is in opposition to a continuous, relayed testimony (mutawatira). Furthermore, it has come in the tradition: "Your Lord wonders at the despair of your state and your despondency."

The reading has been interpreted as being by way of hypothesis; that is: "If wonder were something permissible for Me, I would have wondered at this state," or it is a matter of imaginative representation (takhayyul), such that Allah makes it appear as if He considers their state a strange matter because of His disapproval of it, then He (Sublime is He) affirms wonder at it. According to the first [interpretation], the metaphor is takhayyuliyya tamthiliyya (imaginative representational), as in the saying: "The wall said to the peg: 'Why do you split me?' and it replied: 'Ask the one who hammers me.'" According to the second, it is makniyya (implied) and takhayyuliyya, as in the likes of "the tongue of the state speaks of such-and-such." The standard approach in such instances is to carry it upon implication (luzum), making it a figurative expression (majaz mursal), so "wonder" is carried upon "considering something great" (istizam), which is to view a thing as great—that is, having reached the extreme in beauty or ugliness. The intended meaning here is viewing what they are upon as having reached the limit in ugliness. The "considering of a thing as great" is not preceded by an emotional reaction that occurs in the soul upon witnessing a strange matter, as was imagined, so that it might be said that the aforementioned interpretation does not settle the essence of the problem.

Abu Hayyan said: "It is interpreted as an attribute that Allah the Exalted reveals in the quality of that which is being wondered at, of glorification or belittlement, until people become the ones wondering at it. So the meaning is: 'Nay, but I have wondered at their misguidance and the evil of their sect, and I have made it a matter of wonder for those who look into them and into what accompanies them of My laws and guidance.'"

Makki and Ali ibn Sulayman said: "The pronoun in 'ajibtu' belongs to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and the speech implies a command, i.e., 'Say: Nay, but I have wondered.'" In my view, if the command [to say] were placed after "Nay" (bal), it would be better, meaning: "Nay, say: I have wondered."

What the speech of the predecessors necessitates is that wonder, in us, is an emotional reaction that occurs to the soul when ignorant of the cause, which is why it is said: "When the cause becomes apparent, wonder ceases." As for it [wonder] in Allah the Exalted, it is in a sense that befits His Essence (the Mighty and Majestic), and He (Sublime is He) knows best about it, so they do not specify the intended meaning, whereas the later scholars do specify it.