Tafsir of Al-An'am 6:39

(And those who deny Our signs), meaning the Qur’an or all other proofs—and they are included in this primarily. The relative pronoun refers to those mentioned in His saying—Exalted is He—(And among them are those who listen to you), etc., or it refers to a broader category including them. The statement is connected to His saying—Glorified is He—(We have not neglected in the Book a thing), etc., or to His saying—Majestic is He—(Only those who hear will respond). The waw (and) is for starting a new sentence, and what follows is a subject whose predicate is (deaf and dumb). It is permitted that this be the predicate of an omitted subject, meaning: "some of them are deaf and some are dumb," and the sentence is the predicate of the initial subject. The first view is superior, and it is a case of "eloquent metaphor" (tashbih baligh) according to the most correct opinion regarding such instances; meaning, they are like the deaf and like the dumb, for they do not hear the verses in a way that their souls are affected, nor are they able to speak the truth. Because of this, they do not respond and they say regarding the verses what they say.

His saying—Glorified is He—(in darknesses), meaning in the darknesses of disbelief and its varieties, or in the darkness of ignorance, the darkness of stubbornness, and the darkness of blind imitation of falsehood—is a predicate after a predicate for the relative pronoun, acting in the place of "blind" (‘amyan), as in His saying—the Exalted—(deaf, dumb, and blind). The reason for omitting the conjunction here—unlike what preceded it—is to indicate that this [state] alone is sufficient to signify blame and turning away from the truth; whereas the conjunction was chosen for what preceded it because of the [inherent] association between those states. Sometimes it is omitted out of regard for another subtle point. Alternatively, it is linked to an omitted term acting as a hal (state) for the implicit pronoun in the predicate, as if it were said: "straying, stumbling, or existing in darknesses." The hal interpretation is preferred because it is more eloquent; for then it is understood that their deafness and dumbness are restricted to the state of their being in the darknesses of disbelief, ignorance, or the like—such that if they were brought out of them, they would hear and speak. According to this, there is no need to explain why the conjunction was omitted. Abu al-Baqa’ permitted that it be the predicate of an omitted subject—meaning, "they are in darknesses"—or that it be an adjective for "dumb," or a prepositional phrase related to it, or to "deaf," or to the verb standing in place of them both.

According to Abu Ali al-Jubba’i, the meaning of "darknesses" is the darknesses of the Hereafter in reality, meaning that they will be like that on the Day of Resurrection as a punishment for their disbelief in the world. The speech, according to him, is connected to His saying—the Exalted—(Then to their Lord they will be gathered), assuming the pronoun refers to the nations in an absolute sense, but this is far-fetched.

His saying—Glorified is He—(Whomever Allah wills, He lets go astray) is a validation of the truth and a confirmation of their aforementioned state, by clarifying that they are among those whose hearts are sealed, from whom faith does not manifest at all. Man (whomever) is a subject whose predicate is what follows it, and the object of yasha’u (wills) is omitted, meaning: "wills his misguidance." It is not permissible for man to be a pre-posed object for it, due to the corruption of the meaning. The meaning is: "Whomever He—Glorified is He—wills to create misguidance from the truth within, He creates it therein according to his [the person's] choice, which arises from his capacity." Some have permitted that man be in the accusative case by an implied verb thereafter, explained by what follows it, meaning: "Whomever He wills to punish, or whomever He wills to let go astray, (He lets go astray; and whomever He wills, He places on a straight path)."

This is a conjunction to what preceded it, and the discourse regarding it is like the discourse regarding it [the previous clause]. The verse is a proof for the People of the Sunnah that disbelief and faith are by His—Glorified is He—will, and that the will does not fail to reach its intended object. When al-Zamakhshari saw his corrupt creed being dismantled, he attempted to raise it [the meaning], as is his habit. He said: "The meaning of (He lets him go astray) is 'He abandons him and does not show him kindness,' and (He places him) etc., is 'He shows him kindness.'" Others said: "The meaning is: 'Whomever He wills to let go astray on the Day of Resurrection from the path to Paradise, He lets him go astray; and whomever He wills, He places him on the path which the believers take to Paradise.'" And this is as you see.

The literal reading—as it is said—would have been to say: "And whomever He wills, He guides," but He turned away from it because His—the Exalted—guidance, which is directing to the right path, is not exclusive to some and not others. Therefore, it was said in the interpretation of (He places him) etc., meaning: "He directs him to the guidance and compels him toward it."