Tafsir of An-Nisa' 4:60

(Have you not seen) is an address to the Prophet, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, intended to express astonishment on his behalf. It means: Have you not looked, or has your knowledge not reached (those who claim)—from al-za‘m, which, as noted in the Qamus, is a word that can mean truth, falsehood, or lies. It is most commonly used for that which is doubted, and hence it is said to be a statement without proof. However, its usage has become frequent to mean a truthful statement as well; for instance, in the Hadith of the Prophet, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, "Gabriel claimed (za‘ama)," and in the Hadith of Dammam ibn Tha‘labah, may Allah be pleased with him, "Your Messenger claimed (za‘ama)." Sibawayh also frequently used in al-Kitab phrases like "Al-Khalil claimed (za‘ama)," referring to things he approved of. In Al-Nawawi’s commentary on Sahih Muslim, it is stated that za‘m in all these contexts means "to say." Here, it signifies mere allegation. That is, they claim that they have believed in what was revealed to you (meaning the Quran) and what was revealed to Moses, peace be upon him, (before you)—namely, the Torah. They were described with this claim to emphasize the astonishment and to intensify the rebuke and condemnation. It is also read as (unzila) and (anzala)—the latter being in the active voice.

(They wish to refer for judgment to the Taghut) is an explanation of the cause of astonishment, following the pattern of its counterparts. Al-Tha‘labi and Ibn Abi Hatim recorded through several chains from Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with both, that a man among the hypocrites named Bishr had a dispute with a Jew. The Jew invited him to the Prophet, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, while the hypocrite invited him to Ka’b ibn al-Ashraf. Eventually, they took their case to the Prophet, who ruled in favor of the Jew. The hypocrite was dissatisfied and said, "Let us take our case to Umar ibn al-Khattab." The Jew told Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, ruled for us, but he [the hypocrite] was not pleased with the ruling." Umar asked the hypocrite, "Is that so?" He replied, "Yes." Then Umar said, "Stay where you are until I come out to you." He entered, took his sword, came out, and struck the neck of the hypocrite until he was dead. He then said, "This is how I rule for those who are not pleased with the judgment of Allah and His Messenger, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him." Then this verse was revealed. In some narrations, it is said that Gabriel, peace be upon him, said, "Umar has distinguished between truth and falsehood," and the Prophet, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, named him "al-Faruq" (The Criterion), may Allah be pleased with him.

The Taghut in this context refers to Ka’b ibn al-Ashraf. Describing him as such is literal, based on the fact that the term means "one who commits much tyranny (tughyan)," or it is a proper title for him, similar to "Al-Faruq" for Umar, may Allah be pleased with him—perhaps serving as an antonym to al-Faruq. It also encompasses everyone who judges by falsehood and favors it. It is also possible that Taghut means the Devil, and applying it to the aforementioned Ibn al-Ashraf is either metaphorical or literal. The metaphorical usage in attributing the act of "seeking judgment" to him refers to the causative relationship between the act and its object through an intermediary. It has been said that seeking judgment from him is equivalent to seeking judgment from the Devil, as he is the one inciting it; thus, the term is transferred from the Devil to him by way of a general metaphor (majaz mursal).

Al-Tabarani recorded with a sound chain from Ibn Abbas also, saying: Abu Burzah al-Aslami was a soothsayer who used to judge between the Jews in their disputes. Some Muslims took their disputes to him, so Allah the Exalted revealed this verse regarding them.

Ibn Jarir recorded from al-Suddi that there were people from the Jews of Qurayza and al-Nadir who had embraced Islam, while some among them were hypocrites. They had a dispute regarding a murder, and the hypocrites among them insisted on taking the case to Abu Burzah. They went to him and asked him, but he said, "Make the bite larger." They said, "You shall have ten loads [of grain]." He replied, "No, one hundred loads." They refused to give him more than ten, so Allah the Exalted revealed regarding them what you hear.

According to this interpretation, the verse contains a condemnation of the act of seeking judgment [from others] itself, which is self-evident. It is also more consistent with describing the hypocrites as claiming belief in the Torah. The report of al-Tabarani can be reconciled with this by interpreting the "Muslims" mentioned therein as referring to the hypocrites who had converted from among the [tribes of] Qurayza and al-Nadir.

And they were ordered to disbelieve in it (is in the place of a circumstantial state relative to the pronoun in "they wish"). It contains an emphasis of the astonishment, like the previous description. The genitive pronoun refers back to the Taghut; this is clear if it is intended to mean the Devil. Otherwise, it refers back to him regarding the description, not the essence. That is, they were ordered to disbelieve in one who is a great tyrant or is like the Devil. It is also said the pronoun refers to the "seeking of judgment" understood from "they wish to refer for judgment," though this is far-fetched. It was read by Abbas ibn al-Mufaddal as (bihi) and also read as (bihin). The pronoun also refers to the Taghut, as it can be used for both the singular and the plural. If the latter is intended, it is feminine due to the meaning of a "group."

(And the Devil wishes to lead them far astray) is a conjunction to the circumstantial sentence, falling under the judgment of astonishment. According to some interpretations, it involves placing the explicit noun in the place of the pronoun—meaning "They wish to refer for judgment to the Devil," and he [the Devil] is intent on leading them astray, while they do not wish to refer to you, even though you are intent on guiding them. "Astray" (dalalan) is either an infinitive used to emphasize the aforementioned verb by omitting the redundant elements, similar to what is said in "And caused you to grow from the earth a [progressive] growth" (nabatan), or it is an emphatic for the verb implied by the aforementioned; i.e., they will go astray a great straying. Describing it with "distance," which is an adjective for the noun it describes, serves to emphasize the intensity.