Surah At-Tur 52:40
ﲅ ﲆ ﲇ ﲈ ﲉ ﲊ ﲋ
Or do you, [O Muhammad], ask of them a payment, so they are by debt burdened down?
Tafsir of At-Tur 52:40
Tafsir
Ruh al-Ma'ani
Verse range: 52:40
40 **"Or do you ask them for a payment"**—that is, for conveying the Message. This is a return to addressing him (may Allah the Exalted grant him peace and blessings) and a turning away from them—**"so they are"**—due to that—**"burdened"**—derived from *ghurm* (loss) and *gharama* (indemnity), which, as Al-Raghib said, is what befalls a person in their wealth as a harm without a crime on their part. Thus, the speech contains an elliptical genitive, meaning: "burdened by the commitment of a debt." Al-Zamakhshari interpreted it as "a person committing themselves to something that is not incumbent upon them," so there is no need for an elliptical addition, though what the language requires is the first [interpretation].
"burdened"—meaning, they are laden with a heavy weight, and that is why they do not follow you.
"Or do they have [knowledge of] the Unseen"—that is, the Preserved Tablet in which the Unseen is recorded.