Tafsir of An-Nisa' 4:109

(Ha antum ha'ula'): This is an address to those who defend [the treacherous], indicating that the enumeration of their crimes necessitates confronting them directly with rebuke and censure. The sentence is a nominal sentence composed of a subject and a predicate.

His saying, Exalted is He: (jadaltum 'anhum fil-hayati d-dunya) is a sentence that is structurally dependent because 'ula' serves as the predicate; it is, therefore, equivalent in meaning to "those who argued." Through this, the meaning is completed. It is also permissible for 'ula' to be a relative noun, as is the view of some grammarians regarding every demonstrative pronoun, with jadaltum acting as its relative clause; in this case, the syntax is clear.

Jadal (arguing) is the most intense form of disputation. Its root comes from jadl, which means "twisting firmly"—from which the falcon (ajdal) is named. The meaning is: "Suppose you have exerted your utmost effort in disputing on behalf of those to whom the reports referred in the worldly life, (faman yujadilu-llaha 'anhum yawmal-qiyamah)," meaning: "So who will dispute with Him, Glorified is He, on their behalf on the Day of Resurrection, (am man yakunu 'alayhim yawma'idhin wakila)," meaning: a protector and a defender against the might and punishment of Allah, Exalted is He.

The original meaning of wakil is the person to whom affairs are entrusted and assigned. Interpreting it as "protector and defender" is metaphorical, based on the usage of a word to denote its necessary implication. Am (or) here is disconnected (munqati'ah), as As-Samin stated. It is also said to be conjunctive ('atifah), as cited in Ad-Durr al-Masun. The interrogation, as Al-Karkhi stated in both instances, is for negation—meaning: "There is no one to argue on their behalf, and no one to be a wakil (guardian) over them."