ﱻ ﱼ ﱽ ﱾ ﱿ ﲀ ﲁ ﲂ ﲃ ﲄ ﲅ ﲆ ﲇ ﲈ ﲉ ﲊ ﲋ ﲌ ﲍ ﲎ ﲏ ﲐ ﲑ ﲒ ﲓ ﲔ ﲕ ﲖ ﲗ ﲘ ﲙ ﲚ
Have they not traveled through the land and observed how was the end of those who were before them? They were greater than them in strength and in impression on the land, but Allah seized them for their sins. And they had not from Allah any protector.
Tafsir
Verse range: 40:21
Meaning: What was the final outcome of the condition of those who belied the messengers, peace be upon them, before them, such as 'Ad and Thamud.
{فَيَنظُرُوا} is jussive, being a conjunction to {يَسِيرُوا}. Abu Hayyan permitted it to be in the accusative case as a response to negation, as in the poet's saying: Did you not ask, so that the ruins might inform you?
He was countered with the argument that it is not valid to interpret it as "if they do not travel, they will look." It was answered that the interrogation is one of denial, and it is in the meaning of negation, so it acts as a response to the negation of a negation.
{كَانُوا هُمْ أَشَدَّ مِنْهُمْ قُوَّةً} Meaning: Power and ability in terms of acting and influence. The detached pronoun is an emphasis for the attached pronoun before it. It is also permissible for it to be a pronoun of distinction (fasl), and it is not strictly required that it fall between two definite nouns. Al-Jurjani permitted the present tense verb to follow it, as in the saying of the Exalted: {إِنَّهُ هُوَ يُبْدِئُ وَيُعِيدُ}. Yes, the most frequent origin for it is that, provided that the superlative noun (af'al al-tafdil) occurring after it is treated as a definite noun—both in wording, due to the non-entry of Al upon it, and in meaning, because the intent is "the most powerful" in consideration of a specific superiority. The sentence {كَانُوا} and what follows is an isti'nafiyyah (resumptive sentence) in answer to "how did their affairs turn out?" Ibn 'Amir recited it as {مِنكُمْ} with the second-person pronoun, by way of iltifat (shift in mode of address).
{وَآثَارًا فِي الْأَرْضِ} A conjunction to {قُوَّةً}, meaning: and they were more intense in terms of monuments upon the earth, such as fortified fortresses and secure cities. God the Exalted has narrated about a people among them that they used to hew houses out of the mountains.
It is also permissible for it to be a conjunction to {أَشَدَّ} by estimating an omitted word, meaning: "and more in monuments," such that it encompasses both strong monuments and others. This is an unnecessary commission of what is not intended by the apparent meaning. It was also said: What is intended by these monuments are their footprints upon the earth due to the greatness of their bodies, but this is of no substance at all.
{فَأَخَذَهُمُ اللَّهُ بِذُنُوبِهِمْ وَمَا كَانَ لَهُم مِّنَ اللَّهِ مِن وَاقٍ} Meaning: They had no protector against God the Exalted to shield them and prevent His torment from them ever. "Kana" denotes continuity, and the intent is the continuity of the negation, not the negation of continuity. The second "min" is redundant, and the first "min" is connected to {وَاقٍ}. The prepositional phrase is brought forward for importance, and to maintain the fasilah (rhyme), because it is said that the name of God the Exalted should not fall at the end of the fasilah.
It is also permitted that the first "min" be for substitution (badaliyyah), meaning: "They had no protector instead of the One characterized by the attributes of perfection"—intending by this their idols. It could also be ibtidaiyyah (initial), serving as a warning that the seizure was in the extreme of violence; for if there is no protection originating from His side—Glory be to Him—there is no remaining for them.
