Fussilat: (42) "Falsehood cannot approach it..."

"Falsehood cannot approach it from before it nor from behind it" is another attribute of the Book. "From before it and from behind it" is a metaphor for all directions, similar to [the phrase] "morning and evening," which is a metaphor for all of time. That is: falsehood does not find a path to it from any of its directions. In this, there is a representation [tamthil] likening it to a person protected from all sides, such that his enemies cannot reach him, for he is in an impregnable fortress under the protection of the manifest Truth. It has been permitted that the meaning is: falsehood does not approach it from the direction of the reports it provides concerning past events or future matters. It is said: al-batil (falsehood) is in the sense of al-mubtil (the falsifier), like waris (heir) being in the sense of muris (inheritor), or it is an infinitive like al-‘afiyah (health), meaning "falsifier" as well.

His saying, "A revelation from One Who is Wise, Praiseworthy" (that is, praised for the blessings He has bestowed, among which is the revelation of this Book—and His, glory be to Him, being praised is realized by the state of every person blessed by Him, and realized by the word of those who are granted success to do so) is either the predicate of a deleted subject or another attribute of "the Book," providing it with extrinsic greatness, just as the two previous attributes provided it with intrinsic greatness.

His saying, "Falsehood cannot approach it..." and what follows, is an interpolation [i’tirad] according to those who do not permit the non-explicit attributes to precede the explicit ones; all of this is to emphasize the invalidity of disbelieving in the Quran.

There is a difference of opinion regarding the predicate [khabar] of "Inna" (in "Indeed, those who disbelieve in the Reminder..."): Is it mentioned or deleted? It is said: It is mentioned, and it is His saying, "Those—they are called from a far place." This is the view of Abu ‘Amr ibn al-‘Ala’ regarding an incident that took place between him and Bilal ibn Abi Burda. Bilal was asked in his assembly about this [verse], and he said: "I have found no outlet for it [to have a predicate]." Abu ‘Amr said to him: "It is indeed close to you: 'Those—they are called from a far place'." Al-Hawfi took this view, and [the phrase] "in a far place" supports it. Abu Hayyan took the view that it is His saying, "Falsehood cannot approach it," with a deleted referent pronoun [’a’id]. That is: The disbelievers—and the situation is that it is an exalted Book—falsehood cannot approach it from them. That is: Whenever they attempt to falsify it, they cannot reach it. Or, one may make the al in al-batil a substitute for the pronoun, which is the position of the Kufans, meaning: "Their falsehood cannot approach it." Or [it is] His, the Exalted’s, saying, "What is said to you..." etc., and the referent is also deleted, meaning: "Nothing is said to you regarding their situation, or regarding them, except what was already said to the messengers before you." That is: It has been revealed to you regarding these people who deny you and deny what you have brought, just as what was revealed to the messengers before me—namely, that their outcome is evil in this world through destruction, and in the Hereafter through eternal punishment.

Then [the author] said: "The utmost that these two interpretations entail is the deletion of the referent pronoun, which is common," for example: Al-samnu minhu wa’n bidirham (Fat is from it and honey is for a dirham), meaning "from it." It is reported from some Kufan grammarians that the predicate is in His saying, "And indeed, it is an exalted Book," but this was countered by the claim that it is not acceptable.

It is said: It is deleted, and the predicate of "Inna" is [often] deleted when the meaning is understood. ‘Isa ibn ‘Umar asked ‘Amr ibn ‘Ubayd about this, and ‘Amr said: "Its meaning in interpretation is: Those who disbelieve in the Reminder when it came to them—they disbelieved in it, and indeed it is an exalted Book." ‘Isa said: "You have done well, O Abu ‘Uthman."

Some groups said: Its estimation is "they are obstinate" or "they are perishing." Al-Kisa'i said: It has been fulfilled by the preceding speech, which is His saying, "Is he who is cast [into the Fire]..." It is as if he intends that it is deleted, indicated by what preceded it. Thus, one may estimate "they will abide in the Fire," and the predicate may be estimated according to what Ibn ‘Atiyyah favored after "Praiseworthy."

In al-Kashshaf, it states that His saying, "Indeed, those who disbelieve in the Reminder..." is a substitute [badal] for His saying, "Indeed, those who deviate in Our verses..."

He said in al-Bahr: He did not explicitly address whether the predicate of "Inna" is mentioned or deleted. However, it may be claimed that he alluded to it, for what is judged against the replaced [mubdal minhu] is judged against the substitute, so the estimation would be: "Indeed, those who deviate in Our verses—indeed, those who disbelieve in the Reminder when it came to them—will not be hidden from Us."

In al-Kashf: The benefit of this substitution is to warn that nothing drives them to deviation except mere disbelief. It contains an extension of the warning through the aspects of what was mentioned regarding the reminder, and placing "the Reminder" in the position of the pronoun referring to "the verses" is an increase in their regret. And what is in "when" (lammá) carries the meaning of them being taken by surprise by disbelief the moment it came, and the glorification of the status of the verses, and a preamble to the discussion concerning the perfection of the Book, which indicates the evil outcome of the one who deviates in it. Then, the most plausible [interpretation] is to take the statement of al-Kashshaf to mean that the predicate is deleted due to the indication of the preceding part, and to increase the intimidation, so that the mind wanders in every direction, and the [entire] sentence is a substitute for the [entire] sentence, because substitution by repeating the operator is only permitted in the genitive case due to the intensity of connection. End of quote. Reflect upon this, and Allah the Exalted is the Granter of success.