Tafsir of Ghafir 40:30

"And the one who believed said..."

The majority hold that this is the believing man who concealed his faith, the one who said, "Do you kill a man because he says, 'My Lord is Allah?'" Allah the Exalted strengthened his soul and steadied his heart, so he did not fear Pharaoh nor did he concern himself with him. Thus, he brought forth another kind of threat and warning, saying, "O my people, indeed I fear for you the like of the day of the confederates (al-ahzab)..." until the end of the verse.

A faction said: The speech of that believer has concluded, and what is intended by "the one who believed" here is Moses himself, peace be upon him. They argued based on the strength of his speech. The first opinion is the relied-upon one; that is, he said, advising his people: "O my people, I fear for you, in disbelieving in Moses, peace be upon him, and opposing him, that there should befall you the like of what befell those who banded together against their prophets among the past nations."

"The day" (al-yawm) is the singular of "days," meaning occurrences or events. Its usage in this sense has become so frequent that it has become a customary reality, or it remains in its known linguistic meaning. The discussion regarding it entails the omission of a genitive (mudaf); that is, "like the event of the day of the confederates."

Regardless, the apparent meaning is the plural of "day," but the plural of "the confederates" (al-ahzab) to which it is attributed—along with the subsequent explanation—dispenses with the need for its pluralization. The meaning is established upon it, and the singular form is preferred for its lightness and brevity. Al-Zajjaj said: The intention is "the day of a party after a party" (hizb hizb), meaning that if "party" (hizb) is pluralized, it is intended to encompass its members by way of substitution. This is an interpretation regarding the latter, but what preceded is more apparent.