"And those who believe say..."
This is a new commencement, brought forth to clarify the extremity of the wretched state of the aforementioned group.
Ibn Kathir, Nafi', and Ibn 'Amir read it without the waw (conjunction), treating it as an explanatory commencement, as if it were said: "What do the believers say at that time?" Abu 'Amr and Ya'qub read it with nasb (accusative case), as a conjunction linked to "so they become" (fa-yusbihu). It has also been said that it is linked based on the meaning, as if it were said: "It may be that Allah brings about the victory, and those who believe say [such and such]," attributing the verb "brings about" to the Majestic Name rather than its pronoun. This is considered necessary because a conjunction linked to the predicate of "may" ('asa) or its object necessitates a pronoun referring back to Allah, the Exalted, for the predication to be valid or for it to follow standard usage; yet there is no pronoun here, nor anything to substitute for it. In the case of linking based on meaning, "may" ('asa) becomes a complete verb, as it is attributed to the "that" clause and what it contains, thus requiring no pronoun. This is similar to what is termed "conjunction of illusion," and it is as if they expressed it this way out of reverence. Some permitted "that He brings about" to be a substitute for the Majestic Name, with the conjunction linked to the substitute and "may" ('asa), estimating a pronoun, meaning: "And those who believe in Him say." Ibn al-Nahhas maintained that the conjunction is linked to the "victory" (al-fath), which is analogous to [the poetic verse]: "And I wore a cloak and my eye felt cool." This was objected to on the grounds that it creates separation between parts of the relative clause, which is impermissible, and that the meaning would then be: "May Allah, the Exalted, bring about the statement of the believers," which is weak. The first objection was answered by distinguishing between parts that are actual and parts that are estimated; the second by stating that the intent is: "May Allah, the Glorified, bring about that which necessitates the statement of the believers, namely the victory that exposes their condition."
The Sheikh al-Islam—may his secret be sanctified—chose what we have presented, and there is no need for the difficulty of estimating a pronoun. For "so they become" (fa-yusbihu), as you have learned, is linked to "brings about" (ya'ti), and the fa is sufficient as a substitute for the pronoun in it; thus, it also suffices for the pronoun in what it is linked to, because the two linked elements are like a single entity. With this, there is no need to claim that the conjunction is based on it being in the accusative case as a response to an expressed hope, treating it like a wish—as Ibn al-Hajib suggested—because this is only permitted by the Kufans, unlike the approach we have mentioned. The meaning is: And those who believe say, addressing the Jews and pointing to the hypocrites who were allying themselves with them, hoping for their dominion, and showing them the utmost love and inseparable attachment in times of ease and hardship—saying this upon witnessing the disappointment of their hopes and the reversal of their calculations, as the opposite of what they were expecting and boasting about occurred. This is said to amaze the listeners at their state and to insinuate against them.
"Are these the ones who swore by Allah their most earnest oaths that they were with you?"
That is, with support and assistance, as they said in what was narrated about them: "If you are fought, we will surely help you." The demonstrative pronoun is the subject, and what follows is its predicate. The meaning is a denial of what they did, considering it improbable, and correcting them in that; this was stated by the Sheikh al-Islam and others. Many others chose the view that the meaning is: The sincere believers say to one another, "Are these the ones who swore by Allah, the Exalted, to the Jews that they were with you?" The address, according to both interpretations, is to the Jews, except that in the first, it is from the side of the believers, and in the second, from the side of those who swore the oaths. It is stated in *al-Bahr* that the address, according to the second interpretation, is to the believers—that is, those who believe say to one another in astonishment at the state of the hypocrites, since they emphasized their oaths to them and swore that they were with them and that they were their supporters against their enemies, the Jews. But when that which befell the Jews happened, they exposed what they had been concealing of their loyalty and collusion against the believers. This is what the statement of 'Ata' points to, though it is of no weight, as is obvious. The sentence "that they were with you" has no place in grammatical inflection because it is an interpretation and a narrative of the meaning of "they swore," though not in their exact words; otherwise, it would have been said: "We are with you." Al-Samin and others mentioned that it is permissible to say: "Zayd swore he would certainly do [it]," and "they swore their most earnest oaths"—*jahd* is in the accusative as a verbal noun (*masdar*) from the meaning of "they swore." The meaning is: "They swore an oath in which they exerted effort," or it is an adverbial state (*hal*) interpreted as "exerting effort." Its origin is "they exert their most earnest oaths," so the state, in reality, is the sentence. This is why it is permissible for it to be a state, similar to their saying: "Do that [with] your effort," even though a state, by right, is indefinite, because it is not a state according to its origin. Many have said: "One does not care about the definiteness of the state here, for it is indefinite in interpretation," and it is borrowed from "one exerts himself" when he reaches his utmost capacity. The summary of the meaning is: "Are these the ones who confirmed their oaths and intensified them?"
"Their deeds have become worthless, and they have become losers."
It is possible that this is a new sentence brought forth by Allah, the Exalted, to clarify the outcome of what they did regarding their claim of alliance and their swearing of companionship in every circumstance, following the indication of its falsity via the interrogative. It is also possible that it is part of what the believers said, by making it a second predicate for the demonstrative pronoun. Some grammarians have permitted such a thing, including His statement, the Sublime: "Then, lo, it is a snake, moving." Or, it could be that it is the predicate, and the relative pronoun and its relative clause are an adjective for the subject; the interrogation then is for affirmation, containing a meaning of astonishment, as if it were said: "How worthless are their deeds! How great their loss!" The meaning is: The deeds they performed in the matter of your alliance have become void, and they exerted great effort in that, as they believed you would have dominion, but since you did not, they failed to benefit from the efforts they made and the hardships they endured. There is in this, from the mockery of the hypocrites and the rebuke of the addressees, what is not hidden; the Sheikh al-Islam said this. Some have argued that if it is part of the spoken statement, it is in the place of the accusative by the verb "say," estimating that a speaker says: "What did the believers say after that speech of theirs?" and it is said: "They said: 'Their deeds have become worthless,' etc." The sentence is either declarative, and the believers' testimony to its content—given that the intent is worldly loss and the disappearance of deeds without any benefit accruing from them, which is what they hoped for from the dominion of the Jews—is something about which there is no doubt. On the assumption that it refers to an otherworldly matter, it is possible that it is in consideration of what appears of the hypocrites' state in committing what they committed, or that it is in consideration of the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—having foretold this. It is also possible that it is an imprecation; there is no harm in imprecating such things, as previously alluded to. The words of some suggest that the sentence contains a meaning of astonishment entirely, whether it is part of the speech or from the words of Allah, the Exalted; perhaps this is far-fetched to those who reflect.
