Tafsir of An-Najm 53:12

(Meaning: Do you deny him, thus disputing with him over what he sees?)

The word tumarunahu (do you dispute with him) is a conjunction linked to an omitted clause, according to the view of al-Zamakhshari. Al-mira' (disputation) means argumentation; its etymology is derived from mara al-naqah (he stroked the she-camel), meaning he rubbed its back and udder so that its milk might come forth and flow. Disputation is likened to this because each of the two disputants seeks to reach what is with the other to bind him with an argument, as if he were extracting the other’s "milk."

'Ali (may Allah honor his face), 'Abdullah, Ibn 'Abbas, al-Jahdari, Ya'qub, Ibn Sa'dan, Hamza, al-Kisa'i, and Khalaf recited it as atu-marunahu (with a fathah on the ta and a sukun on the mim), which is the present tense of maraytu, meaning "you denied." It is said: maraytu hu haqqahu (I denied him his right). They cited as evidence for this the poet's verse: "If you have forsaken a truthful, noble brother, you have indeed denied (mariya) a brother who would have been loyal to you." Alternatively, it is the present tense of maraytuhu (I overcame him in disputation), in the sense of a competition. It is permissible to interpret the word in the verse according to this meaning. The verb is used with the preposition 'ala (over/upon), whereas it ought to have been used with fi (in), due to their implying the meaning of "overcoming" (competing); for the disputant and the denier both intend by their action to overcome their opponent.

'Abdullah—as narrated by Ibn Khalawayh—and al-Sha'bi—as mentioned by Shu'ba—recited utumirunahu (with a dammah on the ta and a sukun on the mim), the present tense of amraytu. Abu Hatim said: "It is an error."

The intent by "what he sees" is the form of Gabriel (peace be upon him) which he saw. The present tense is used to bring the past image to mind due to its strangeness. In al-Bahr, it is stated that the present tense form was used, even though the act of seeing had already passed, to point to what might occur thereafter. It is also said: The intent is "Will you dispute with him over what he sees" of the forms in which Gabriel (peace be upon him) appears to him after he has seen him before, having verified him in such a way that he is not confused by any form in which he appears; thus, the use of the present tense is taken at its literal meaning.