Tafsir of An-Nisa' 4:88

(So what is the matter with you) is a nominal sentence composed of a subject and predicate. The interrogative is for the purpose of denunciation and negation. The address is to all believers, and it contains the meaning of rebuke towards some of them. His statement—Exalted is He—(regarding the hypocrites), as Al-Samin stated, may be connected to what is indicated by His statement—the Almighty—(two factions); meaning: "Why do you divide yourselves regarding the hypocrites?" It may also be a state (hal) from "(two) factions," meaning: "two factions divided regarding the hypocrites." Because it was brought forward, it is in the accusative case as a state. It may also be connected to that which the predicate is connected to, meaning: "What thing is existing for you in their affair and concern?"—the genitive noun having been omitted and the genitive object taking its place.

There are two views regarding the accusative case of "two factions" (fi'atayn), as stated in Ad-Durr al-Masun. One: that it is a state from the genitive pronoun "for you" (lakum), and the operator is the "establishment" (istiqrar) or the prepositional phrase that stands in its stead. This state is necessary, and the speech cannot be complete without it; this is the school of the Basrans regarding this construction and similar ones. Second—and this is the school of the Kufans—that it is the predicate of an implied kana (to be), meaning: "What was it that you were, in their affair, two factions?" This has been refuted by the necessity of it being indefinite in their speech, such as in [the verse]: "What is the matter with them that they turn away from the Reminder."

As for what was said regarding the first view—that a state being a part of its operator is strange and almost invalid according to the majority—it cannot be its own operator, nor is it permissible for the operator to differ between the state and its possessor; this is from the "philosophy of grammar," as Ash-Shihab said.

The intention is to denounce that the addressees should have any justification for their disagreement in the matter of the hypocrites, and to clarify the obligation for the community to be certain of their disbelief and to treat them as those who openly manifest it in all rulings. They are mentioned under the title of "hypocrisy" in consideration of their previous description.

Abd ibn Humayd extracted from Mujahid, who said: They are a people who went out from Makkah until they arrived in Medina, claiming to be emigrants, then they apostatized after that. They asked the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) for permission to go to Makkah to fetch goods of theirs to trade with. The Muslims differed regarding them; some said they are hypocrites, and some said they are believers. So Allah—the Almighty—clarified their hypocrisy, revealed this verse, and ordered their killing.

Ibn Jarir extracted from Ad-Dahhak, who said: They are people who stayed behind from the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and remained in Makkah, declaring faith but not emigrating. The companions of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) differed regarding them; some took them as allies, and others disassociated from their alliance, saying: "They stayed behind from the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and did not emigrate." So Allah—the Almighty—called them hypocrites, cleared the believers from their alliance, and ordered them not to take them as allies until they emigrate.

The two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim), At-Tirmidhi, An-Nasa'i, Ahmad, and others extracted from Zayd ibn Thabit that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) went out to Uhud, then a people who went out with him returned. The companions of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) were two factions regarding them; one group said: "We shall kill them," and one group said: "No." Then Allah—the Almighty—revealed: "So what is the matter with you regarding the hypocrites..." the entire verse. This is problematic due to what will come shortly, if Allah wills, regarding making their emigration the end-limit for the prohibition of taking them as allies, unless it is interpreted away from its apparent meaning, as you will know.

It is also said: They are the ‘Uraniyyun who raided the livestock, took away a servant of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), mutilated him, cut off his hands and feet, and drove thorns into his tongue and eyes until he died. This is refuted, as the Shaykh al-Islam said, by what will come—if Allah wills—of the verses that state the manner of dealing with them in peace and war; these [people] were captured and done to as described of mutilation and killing, and no disagreement among the Muslims regarding their affair was reported. Others have said otherwise.

(And Allah has cast them back) is a state from "the hypocrites," serving to emphasize the previous denunciation. It is said: [it is a state] from the pronoun of the addressees, with the "and" (waw) as the link. It is also said: it is a new sentence (musta’nafa). The "ba" (bi) is causal, and "ma" is either an infinitive or relative. Arkasa and rakasa carry the same meaning. There is disagreement regarding the meaning of raks: it is the "turning back," as was said regarding the statement of Umayyah ibn Abi as-Salt: "So they were turned back (fa-urkisû) into the hellfire," meaning they were disobedient and spoke falsehood and lies. This is the narration of Ad-Dahhak from Ibn Abbas—may Allah be pleased with them both. The meaning then is: Allah—the Almighty—turned them back to disbelief after belief due to what they earned of apostasy and joining the polytheists, or something similar, or because of their earning. It is said: it is close to naks (inversion), and its gist is that He—the Almighty—threw them [in] inverted, which is more emphatic than tankis (inversion), for he who is thrown inverted into an abyss rarely escapes it. The meaning is that He—the Almighty—due to their earning of disbelief, or by what they earned of it, overturned their state and threw them into the pits of fire.

Ibn Jarir extracted from As-Suddi that he interpreted "cast them back" (arkasahum) as "led them astray." Arkās has come with the meaning of leading astray, and from it: "You led me astray from the path of guidance and made me a proverb for the enemies." Al-Tusti extracted from Ibn Abbas—may Allah be pleased with them both—that he said: The meaning is "imprisoned them in Hell." Al-Bukhari [extracted] from him that the meaning is "dispersed them," i.e., scattered their unity. Ibn al-Mundhir [extracted] from Qatadah "destroyed them." Perhaps these are meanings that return to a single root. It is reported from Abdullah and Ubayy that they recited rukisū without an alif, rukkistuhum (in the intensive form).

(Do you want to guide those whom Allah has led astray?) is a rebuke to the faction that claimed the faith of those hypocrites according to their own assumption, and an indication that this leads to attempting the impossible, which is the guidance of one whom Allah has led astray. This is because the judgment of their faith and the claim of their being guided—while they are far from that—is an exertion toward their guidance and a desire for it. So the meaning of the relative pronoun [those] is the hypocrites; however, it was placed in the stead of their pronoun to emphasize the denunciation and confirm the impossibility of [their] guidance by what was mentioned in the silah (relative clause). Carrying it on the general [meaning], with those mentioned being included primarily—as Abu Hayyan claimed—is of no substance. Directing the denunciation toward the "desire" rather than its object is for the sake of hyperbole in denouncing it by clarifying that even the desire for it is impossible, let alone the occurrence of it itself. The verse is apparent regarding the doctrine of the community (the Sunnis), and interpreting "guidance" and "misguidance" as "judging them to be so" is contrary to the apparent [meaning], and is made unlikely by His statement—the Almighty—(And whoever Allah leads astray, never will you find for him a way).

For the most immediate understanding of it is "creation," meaning: "Whoever He creates misguidance within, whoever he may be." Included here is the one who was mentioned previously, primarily. Then, "never will you find for him a way" [out] of the ways, let alone [you] guiding him to it. The address in "you find" is to no one in particular, or to everyone among the addressees, to indicate the lack of discovery for everyone in a detailed manner. Negating the finding of a way is more emphatic than negating the guide. Interpreting His leading astray as His judgment and decree of misguidance is detrimental to the beauty of the contrast between the condition and the response. And making the "way" mean "the argument"—and that the meaning is "whoever Allah makes in His decree astray, you will never find for him in his misguidance an argument," as Ja'far ibn Harb said—is of no substance, as is not hidden. The sentence is either a parenthetical [statement] as a tail-piece confirming the previous denunciation and emphasizing the impossibility of guidance, or a state from the subject of "you want" or "you guide," with the waw as the link.