Tafsir of Az-Zukhruf 43:29

"Nay, I gave these..." (meaning the people of Mecca who were contemporary to the Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace) "...and their forefathers..." (with an extension in lifespan and bounties) "...until the truth came to them" (the call to Monotheism or the Quran) "...and a clear Messenger."

(Manifest in his mission by what he possesses of brilliant miracles, or clear in manifesting Monotheism through verses and decisive proofs. The intended meaning of 'tamti’' [granting enjoyment] is the cause thereof, namely their enjoyment of that which they were given and their preoccupation with it, preventing them from thanking the Bestower and obeying Him. This is the ultimate end of that matter; it is as if it were said: "They occupied themselves until the Truth came." It is an ultimate end to the matter in its reality, for the arrival of the Messenger is something that awakens one from the slumber of heedlessness and restrains one from preoccupation with pleasures. However, they inverted that which is a cause for excuse into a cause for deeper involvement. This is in the style of His saying, Exalted is He: "Those who disbelieved among the People of the Scripture and the polytheists were not to be parted [from disbelief] until there came to them the clear evidence" [98:1]).

"Nay, I gave enjoyment" is a redirection (idrab) from His saying, Glorified is He: "that they might return," as if it were said: "Nay, I have given the polytheists of Mecca enjoyment and occupied them with distractions and pleasures, so they became occupied and did not return," or "The repentance that was hoped for from their shirk was not realized." In reality, it is a redirection from the preamble you heard, and an entry into the intended subject. The connection was observed through proximity to the redirection phrase, meaning "that they might return."

In the Shihabiyyah marginalia, it is stated that it is a redirection from His saying, Exalted is He: "And he made it..." i.e., they did not return, so I did not hasten their punishment; rather, I gave them other blessings besides the "lasting word," so that they might thank their Bestower and unify Him, but they did not do so; nay, their tyranny increased due to their arrogance. Or the interpretation is: "I did not suffice for their guidance by merely making the word 'lasting' among them; rather, I gave them enjoyment and sent a Messenger."

Qatadah and al-A’mash read bal matta’ta (Nay, You gave enjoyment) with a second-person address, and Ya’qub narrated it from Nafi’. This is from the speech of Allah, Exalted is He, by way of tajrid (abstraction), not iltifat (shifting of pronouns), although it is claimed to be such in similar instances. It is as if He, Exalted is He, is raising an objection against His Own Self, Glorified is He, in His saying, Glorified is He: "And he made it..." not to censure His own action, but to increase the reproach of the polytheists. This is like a benefactor saying to himself regarding someone who treated him badly: "You are the one who invited his evil treatment by being kind to him and caring for him." He presents his speech in the form of one objecting to and reproaching himself, as if he himself were deserving of that blame; in this, there is the maximum reproach for the evildoer.

The author of al-Lawami’ said: "It is from the speech of Ibrahim, peace be upon him, and his intimate conversation with his Lord, Exalted is He."

And it is said in al-Bahr: "The apparent meaning is that it is from the intimate conversation of the Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, meaning: 'Say, O Lord, You gave enjoyment'." The first [interpretation] is worthier, and it is the one consistent with the well-known foundation. Al-A’mash read matta’na (We gave enjoyment) with the 'nun' of Majesty.