Tafsir of Al-Ahqaf 46:26

"And indeed We had established them in that which..."

"And indeed We had established them" (i.e., We settled the people of ‘Ad and gave them power). The word mā (ما) in His saying—Exalted is He—"in that which We have established you" (فيما إن مكناكم فيه) is either a relative pronoun (conjunctive) or an indefinite noun qualified by an adjective, and in (إن) is a negative particle. That is, "in that which" or "in something that We did not establish you in," referring to [the attributes of] vastness, expansion, longevity, and all the foundations of worldly affairs. This is as in His saying—Exalted is He: "And how many a generation before them have We destroyed, whom We had established in the earth as We have not established you." The negative particle used was not mā (ما) [to avoid] the dislike of repeating the word, even if the meaning were to differ. Hence, those who held that the origin of mahmā (مهما) is mā mā (ما ما)—arguing that the conditional mā was repeated for emphasis, and the first alif was changed to a hā to avoid the repetition—criticized Al-Mutanabbi for his saying:

"By your life, that which has departed from you is not a striker with a killing blow more than what has departed from you is a detractor"

(meaning: the one who insults [with his tongue] is not more dangerous than the one who strikes [with his sword]). He meant that his tongue does not fall behind his spear; this is for the detractor, and that is for the striker. It would have sufficed him to say: inna mā bāna (indeed, that which has departed). Inserting the bā for negation—rather than for grammatical operation—is based on the view that the operation of inna has been reported from Al-Mubarrad. It has also been said that in (إن) is a conditional particle, with the apodosis being omitted; the estimation being: "If We had established you in it, you would have transgressed." Others argued it is a particle of connection (ṣilah) following the relative mā, by way of analogy to the negative mā and the temporal mā. Thus, in the verse, it is like in the saying: "A person hopes for that which he does not see, while misfortunes stand between him and the least of it." That is: "We established them in that which is like what We have established you in." The view that it is negative is the correct one, as the Great Qur’an supports this in several places, and it is more eloquent in rebuke and more effective in urging reflection.

"And We granted them hearing and sight and hearts"

[They were granted these] to use them for what they were created for: to recognize—through each of them—that which their knowledge is tethered to regarding the various types of blessings, to use them as evidence for the affairs of their Bestower—Exalted and Majestic is He—and to persevere in gratitude to Him—Glory be to His Majesty.

"But their hearing availed them not"

Since they did not use it to listen to the revelation and the admonitions of the Messengers.

"Nor their sight"

Since they did not use it to gaze upon the creational signs inscribed in the pages of the world.

"Nor their hearts"

Since they did not use them to know Allah—Exalted is He.

"From anything"

Meaning: they did not avail them of anything at all. The min (from) is an extra particle for emphasis, and the tanwin denotes triviality [of that which was availed]. It has been permitted that it denotes partiality; meaning: "they did not avail them [even] a little." The mā in "availed them not" is negative. It has also been permitted that it is interrogative, though Abu Hayyan critiqued this, saying it would necessitate the addition of min in a positive context, which is not permitted according to the correct view. This was countered by the fact that they stated it is added in non-positive contexts, which they explained as negation and interrogation. The hearing is mentioned in the singular in the noble arrangement, while the others are pluralized, due to the unity of what is perceived by it—namely, sounds—whereas the objects perceived by the others are diverse, or because it is, in origin, an infinitive (maṣdar). Furthermore, what they heard from the Messengers was unified.

"When they used to reject the signs of Allah"

This is an adverbial phrase related to the negation—either explicit or implied—in His saying—Exalted is He: "availed them not." It is an adverbial phrase intended to denote causality, whether by implication or metaphor, because the purpose of the adverb and the cause are identical in your saying: "I struck him for his misdeed" and "I struck him when he did wrong," for you only struck him at that time due to the presence of the misdeed at that time. This is among the things that became dominant in idh (when) and ḥaythu (where) among all other adverbs, until they are attached to their literal meanings.

"And they were encompassed by what they used to ridicule"

From the punishment that they used to hasten by way of ridicule, saying: "Bring us that which you threaten us with, if you are of the truthful."