Ghafir: (28) "And a believing man said..."
"And a believing man from the family of Pharaoh said..." It is said he was a Copt, a cousin of Pharaoh, and held a position equivalent to the crown prince and the chief of police. It is also said he was an Israelite, or that he was a stranger, not of either group. According to these latter two opinions, he is described as being "from the family of Pharaoh" in the sense of his inclusion within their faction, and his outward manifestation of being upon their religion and creed out of taqiyya (dissimulation) and fear. Something similar is said regarding the addition in "the believer of the family of Pharaoh," which occurs in several reports.
It is said that "from the family of Pharaoh," according to both opinions, relates to His saying, "who hides his faith," with the precedence being for the sake of specification—meaning: a believing man, who hides his faith, from the family of Pharaoh, as opposed to Musa (peace be upon him) and those who followed him. According to this, there is no harm in pausing at "a believing man." This has been objected to on the grounds that katama (to hide) takes its object directly, not with the particle min (from); one says katamtu fulanan kadha (I hid such-and-such from someone), not katamtu min fulan. Allah the Almighty said: "And they do not hide from Allah a statement." And the poet said: "I hid from you, during the night at al-Jumumayn, a wakeful one... and two anxieties, one concealed and one manifest—speeches of a soul that complains of what it doubts." He intended, according to what is in al-Bahr, katamtuki ahaditha nafs. However, some linguists have explicitly stated that it also takes the particle min. It is stated in al-Misbah, under the entry q-t-l, that it takes two objects, and it is permissible to add min to the first object; one says, "I hid the matter from Zayd," just as one says, "I sold him the house," and "I sold it from him." Yes, its relation to that is contrary to the apparent meaning; rather, the apparent meaning is its relation to a hidden entity that acts as a second attribute for "a man." According to this, it is apparent that his being "from the family of Pharaoh" is a reality. In his speech reported thereafter, there is that which is clear regarding this.
His name: It is said to be Sham'an (with a dotted shin), and it is said to be Kharbil (with a dotted kha, and a plain ra), and it is said to be Hizbil (with a plain ha, and a dotted za), and it is said to be Habib. 'Isa, 'Abd al-Warith, 'Ubayd ibn 'Aqil, and Hamzah ibn al-Qasim narrated from Abu 'Amr "a man" (rajul) with the jim quiescent; this is a dialect of Tamim and Najd.
"Do you kill a man..." meaning: Do you intend his killing? It is a metaphor in which the consequence is mentioned while the cause is intended; the fact that the negation does not necessitate occurrence does not validate it without metaphor.
"...for that he says, 'My Lord is Allah'"—that is, because he says that—"...and he has come to you with clear proofs" (the evidence testifying to his truthfulness, from the miracles and the numerous logical proofs). Although the sound feminine plural is often cited as denoting a small quantity, when the definite article al- is prefixed to it, it denotes a large quantity, aided by the context. The clause is a state (hal) from the subject or the object. This is a severe denunciation from that man and a profound rebuke to them, as if he said: Do you commit the heinous act of killing a sacred soul, while you have no justification for committing it except the word of truth which he uttered, namely his saying: "My Lord is Allah," even though he has come to you with clear proofs "from your Lord"—that is, from the One to whom he attributed Lordship, and He is your Lord, not his Lord alone. This is an inducement toward acknowledgment.
In the phrase "that he says, 'My Lord is Allah'" to "from your Lord" there is a subtle, magnificent point: that whoever says "My Lord is Allah" or "so-and-so," this does not necessitate that he be met with killing, just as you are not met with killing when you say, "Our lord is Pharaoh." How much more so when he has made his Lord to be the one who is your Lord? It would have been upon you to support him and honor him, not to forsake him and kill him.
Al-Zamakhshari permitted that "that he says" is based on the estimation of an omitted noun—meaning: at the time of his saying—so the genitive noun was omitted and the word following it became accusative, acting as an adverbial because it replaced the original. The meaning is: Do you kill him the moment you heard the statement from him, without reflection or thought regarding his matter? Abu Hayyan refuted this, stating that only a clear verbal noun (masdar) can replace an adverb, such as "I came at the crowing of the rooster," or that which conveys continuity, not a non-explicit one like "that he says" (an yaqula). However, Ibn Jinni, like Al-Zamakhshari, explicitly allowed it, and every Imam has their view.
Furthermore, the man exercised caution for his own sake, fearing that the accursed one might uncover his true position and strike him. Thus, he was subtle in his argumentation and said: "And if he is a liar, then upon him is his lie"—the calamity of his lie will not transcend him, so there is no need to resort to killing him to avert it—"and if he is truthful, there will strike you some of what he promises you." He did not say "some of what he promises," but rather added "you," which has exaggeration in the warning. For if he warns them of the affliction of some of it, it implies that it is a destructive, terrifying thing; so what of the entirety? It also displays fairness and lack of amazement, and this is why he presented the possibility of him being a liar first.
It is said that the intent is: "There will strike you what he promises you of the punishment of this world," which is some of his promises, as if he was frightening them with what is more apparent as a possibility to them. It is also said that "some" (ba'd) here means "all." They cited for this the saying of 'Amr al-Qutami: "The deliberate person may attain some of his need, while haste may be accompanied by stumbling." Al-Zajjaj went to the view that "some" here is in its literal sense, and the intent is to impose the argument and demonstrate the superiority of the deliberate over the hasty in a way that the opponent cannot refute; thus, the verse of poetry is like the verse of the Qur'an according to the first interpretation. They also cited "some" meaning "all" from the poet's saying: "Indeed, affairs, when events manage them without the elders, show some [all] defect." This is not definitive, as is not hidden.
It is narrated from Abu 'Ubayda that he also interpreted "some" as "all," and cited the saying of Labid: "I abandon places if I am not pleased with them, or some of the soul's parts are tied to their death." He interpreted the verse to mean: I will not cease moving about in the lands until there remains no one among the servants [of God] whom I seek. The scholars of investigation hold that "some" here is in its literal sense, and the intent is the soul itself; the meaning is: I will not cease to leave the places I am not pleased with until I die. Al-Zamakhshari said: "If the report from Abu 'Ubayda regarding this is authentic, then the statement of al-Mazini regarding the issue of al-'Alaqi is truly applicable to him: 'He is too ignorant to understand what I say to him'." There is exaggeration in the rebuttal here.
"Indeed, Allah does not guide one who is a transgressor, a liar."
(Another argument with two sides: the first is that if he were a transgressor and a liar, Allah the Almighty would not have guided him to the clear proofs and would not have supported him with those miracles. The second is that if he were such, Allah the Almighty would have forsaken him and destroyed him, so there is no need for you to kill him. Perhaps he intended the first and misled them into thinking he intended the second, so that their resolve might soften. He alluded to Pharaoh, meaning he is a transgressor—in killing and corruption—and a liar in claiming Lordship; Allah the Almighty does not guide such a person to the path of rectitude and the way of salvation. Thus, the clause is an inception, related to the first conditional or the second, or both.)
