Sād: (2) "Nay, but those who disbelieve..."

The particle bal (nay/but) in His saying: "Nay, but those who disbelieve are in pride and opposition," is for shifting from this oath and the object of the oath to mentioning the state of the disbelievers’ arrogance and their opposition regarding the acceptance of his message—may Allah exalt him and grant him peace—and their compliance with what he brought. It functions this way in many of the preceding interpretations.

It may also be rendered, in some respects, as an idrab (disjunctive/correctional) against a [hypothetical] answer. For instance, if one were to say: "It is indeed a miracle; nay, those who disbelieve are in arrogance against acknowledging its miraculous nature," or "This Surah has rendered the Arabs helpless; nay, those who disbelieve do not submit."

Some have interpreted it as an idrab against what is understood from the aforementioned context—and similar passages—namely, that whoever disbelieved did so because of some flaw in the message. It is as if it were said: "Whoever disbelieved did not do so due to a flaw in it; nay, they disbelieved out of arrogance against following the truth and out of stubbornness." This is more evident than making it an idrab against the explicit text itself; and if an implied meaning of this sort is taken as the [suppressed] answer, then the idrab is directed against that [answer] definitively.

In al-Kashf, this idrab is counted as a form of semantic idrab, similar to the expression: "Zayd is chaste and learned; nay, his people have belittled him," representing an idrab against the reverence that such attributes usually necessitate. As for what some have reported [in this regard], it is a departure from the apparent meaning.

It is also possible that the answer being countered by the idrab is: "You are not failing in reminding those who disbelieve and in manifesting the truth to them," which is suggested by the verses that follow and the sabab al-nuzul (reason for revelation) to be mentioned, Allah willing. It is as if it were said: "Sād. By the Quran, possessor of the Reminder, you are not failing in reminding those who disbelieve and in manifesting the truth to them; nay, those who disbelieve are failing in following you and acknowledging the truth." The indication of the noble structure toward our reading—"nay, those who disbelieve are failing..."—is manifest. These are several possibilities set before you, and the choice is yours. Peace be upon you.

The intended meaning of al-ʿizzah (pride/might) is the arrogance against the truth that they manifest, not the true ʿizzah, for that belongs to Allah, His Messenger—may Allah exalt him and grant him peace—and the believers. The root of al-shiqaq (opposition) is disagreement, being in a different "side" (shiqq) than your companion, or from splitting the staff between you and him. The intended meaning is opposing Allah, the Exalted, and His Messenger—may Allah exalt him and grant him peace. The indefinite form (tankir) is to indicate the intensity of both, and the expression "in" (fi) denotes their total immersion in them.

Hammad ibn al-Zibriqan, Surah [narrating] from al-Kisa’i, Maymunah from Abu Ja’far, and al-Jahdari, via the path of al-Uqayli, read ghirrah (with a kasra on the ghayn and a non-dotted ra’), meaning: in a great heedlessness regarding what is incumbent upon them to contemplate. It is reported from Ibn al-Anbari that he said in his book al-Radd ‘ala Mukhalif al-Imam: "A man read it this way and said: 'It is more appropriate to [the context of] shiqaq, which is fighting with earnestness and exertion.'" This reading is a fabrication against Allah, the Exalted. And therein is what is therein.