ﲝ ﲞ ﲟ ﲠ ﲡ ﲢ ﲣ ﲤ ﲥ ﲦ ﲧ ﲨ ﲩ ﲪ ﲫ ﲬ ﲭ ﲮ ﲯ ﲰ ﲱ ﲲ ﲳ ﲴ
Or have they other deities who have ordained for them a religion to which Allah has not consented? But if not for the decisive word, it would have been concluded between them. And indeed, the wrongdoers will have a painful punishment.
Tafsir
Verse range: 42:21
"Or do they have partners" in disbelief, and they are the devils, "who have ordained for them"—that is, for these disbelievers contemporary to you, through incitement and embellishment—"of religion that which God has not permitted", such as polytheism, denial of the Resurrection, and working [only] for the worldly life.
The "Or" (am) is munqati'ah (disjunctive), carrying the meaning of "nay" (bal) and the implication of transition, as well as the interrogative particle for the purpose of affirmation and reproach. It acts as a diversion from what preceded in His saying, exalted is He: "He has ordained for you of religion," etc. Thus, the conjunction relates to it, and what was interposed between the two verses is a completion of the first. The postponement of this diversion serves to indicate that they legislate in a manner that contradicts what God, exalted is He, has legislated in every respect. Polytheism stands in opposition to "establishing the religion and being steadfast therein"; denial of the Resurrection stands in opposition to His saying, exalted is He: "And those who believe are fearful of it and know that it is the truth"; and working for the worldly life stands in opposition to His saying, Glorified is He: "Whoever desires the harvest of the Hereafter." This is more manifest than making the diversion [relate] to what preceded in His saying, exalted is He: "It is difficult for the polytheists," as is not hidden.
It is said: Their partners are their idols, attributed to them because they are the ones who made them partners unto God, exalted is He. The attribution of "ordaining" to them is because they are the cause of their misguidance and trial, like His saying, exalted is He: "They have led astray many." It is permissible that the implied interrogation here is for denial—that is, they have neither a religion nor a legislator, as in His saying, exalted is He: "Or do they have deities who could defend them other than Us?" In any case, the pronoun in "have ordained" refers to the partners, and the pronoun in "for them" refers to the disbelievers.
It is permissible, under the interpretation of partners as idols, that the first [pronoun] refers to the disbelievers and the second to the partners—that is, the disbelievers ordained for their idols, prescribing laws and customs that God, exalted is He, has not permitted, such as the belief that they are gods, that their worship brings them closer to God, exalted is He, and the establishing of the Bahirah, the Sa'ibah, the Wasilah, and so forth. And this is as you see it.
"And were it not for the decisive word"—that is, the decree and the judgment preceding from Him, exalted is He, to delay the punishment until the Day of Resurrection or until the end of their lifetimes—"it would have been judged between them"—that is, between the disbelievers and the believers in this world, or at the time they were separated by punishment and reward. It is also permissible that the meaning is: were it not for what God, exalted is He, promised them of a decisive judgment in the Hereafter, it would have been judged between them; so the "decisive judgment" here means the manifestation [of the truth], as in His saying, exalted is He: "This is the Day of Judgment; We have assembled you and the former peoples." It is also said: The pronoun "between them" refers to the disbelievers and their partners, in whatever sense that may be.
"And indeed, the wrongdoers"—they are those mentioned, or those more general than them, and they are included primarily—"will have a painful punishment."
In the Hereafter. And it is said in the sea [of interpretation]: In this world through killing, captivity, and plunder, and in the Hereafter through the Fire. Al-A'raj and Muslim ibn Jundub read "wa anna" with a fat-hah on the alif, as a conjunction to "the decisive word"—meaning, were it not for the preceding decree of delaying the punishment and the estimation that "the wrongdoers will have a painful punishment in the Hereafter," or were it not for the promise that the judgment will be on the Day of Resurrection and the estimation that "the wrongdoers will have" [the judgment]... and the conjunction based on both estimations is a completion of the clarification, not purely exegetical.
