Tafsir of As-Saffat 37:28

(They said): This is an explanatory initiation, as if it were asked: "How do they question one another?" So, it was said: "They said," meaning the followers to the leaders, or the disbelievers in general to their companions: (Indeed, you used to come to us) in the world (from the right).

That is, from the direction of goodness and its side, hindering us from it and blocking us from it. This was stated by Qatadah. Due to the nobility of the right side in both Jahiliyyah and Islam, in this world and the hereafter, it is used as a formal, realized metaphorical expression for the "direction of goodness." The "right" is made a metonymy for the "direction of goodness," even though it is a metaphor in itself, thus becoming a "metaphor upon a metaphor." Because the "direction of goodness"—due to the frequency of its usage—has attained the status of literal truth, a metaphor upon a metaphor is permissible in it. This is similar to what they said regarding the word musafah (distance); it was originally the place of smelling, because it comes from safa al-turab (he smelled the dust), as a guide, when unsure of a path, would take dust and smell it to know if it was well-traveled or not. Then, it was made an expression for the distance between two places, and later metaphorically applied to the difference between two statements; and there is no remoteness in that.

Some scholars have favored interpreting the statement as a representational metaphor, considering the figurative use in the entirety of the phrase (come to us from the right) to mean "you prevented us and turned us away from the good." This avoids the claim of a "metaphor upon a metaphor." It is as if the "good" intends faith in what must be believed. It has also been suggested that the intended meaning is the "good" which the misguiders falsely claim is good; the meaning being: you come to us from the direction of [what you claim to be] goodness, asserting that what you are upon is true goodness and religion, thus deceiving and misguiding us. This has been narrated from al-Zajjaj.

Al-Jubba'i said: The meaning is, "You used to come to us from the direction of advice, blessing, and prosperity, persuading us toward what you were upon, thereby misguiding us." This is similar to the aforementioned.

It has also been suggested that "the right" is a loose metonymy for power and coercion, as it is characterized by strength and by it strikes are delivered; it is as if the place was mentioned for the state, or the cause for the effect. It is also possible that this is by way of metaphor, comparing power to the right side in terms of precedence and the like. The meaning would then be: "You used to come to us with power and coercion, blocking us from authority and dominance until you forced us into misguidance and compelled us to it." Al-Farra' inclined toward this.

It is also possible that "the right" is literal, meaning "oath," and the meaning of their coming from it is that they used to come to them swearing oaths regarding the truthfulness of the falsehood they were upon. In this case, the prepositional phrase is in the position of a circumstantial qualifier (hal), and "from" ('an) carries the meaning of "by" (ba'), as in the words of the Almighty: "Nor does he speak from [i.e., by] his own desire." Alternatively, it is a non-essential adverbial phrase, though that is far-fetched.

More far-fetched still is interpreting "the right" as desire and caprice, because the right side is the location of the liver, which contradicts what was narrated from some regarding the devil's approach: "Whoever the devil approaches from the right, he approaches him through religion, casting doubt upon the truth for him. Whoever he approaches from the left, he approaches through desires. Whoever he approaches from before him, he approaches through denying the Resurrection, reward, and punishment. And whoever he approaches from behind him, he causes him to fear poverty for himself and those he leaves behind, so he neither maintains kinship ties nor pays Zakat."