Tafsir of Al-An'am 6:65

"Say" – O Muhammad, to these disbelievers – "He is the One capable," none other than Him, exalted be He, "of sending upon you" – the phrase "upon you" relates to "sending," and its precedence over the direct object, which is His saying "a punishment," is for the sake of highlighting it, hastening to show that what is sent is something that harms them, and for the sake of terrifying the matter of what follows. The discourse is an initiation intended to clarify that He, exalted be He, is the One capable of casting them into ruin, following the declaration that He is the One who saves them from it. Therein is an implicit threat of punishment for their aforementioned association of partners with God. The indefinite form (tanwin) is for magnification, meaning: a great punishment.

"From above you," that is, from the direction of height, such as a blast, stones, wind, or the downpour of the sky; "or from beneath your feet," that is, from the direction of below, such as trembling (earthquakes), swallowing by the earth, and drowning. Abu al-Shaykh narrated from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with both) that he said: "From above you" means from the side of your rulers and notables, and "from beneath your feet" means from the side of your subordinates and servants. In another narration from him, the first is interpreted as evil leaders and the second as evil servants. The immediate meaning is what we presented first, which is what has been narrated by more than one exegete. The prepositional phrase relates to "sending" as well; it is also permissible for it to be related to an omitted element serving as an adjective for "punishment." The "or" is for mutual exclusion, not for combining, so there is no prohibition against the occurrence of both from both directions simultaneously, as was done to the people of Nuh (peace be upon him).

"Or He makes you confused" – that is, He mixes your affairs for you; there is an implied object in the discourse. The confusion of their affairs causes them to have conflicting desires. It is said: The meaning is the entanglement of people in battle with one another, in which case there is no implied object. To this pertains the saying of al-Sulami: "And a battalion I mixed with a battalion, until they became intertwined, then I shook my hands of them." It is also read as "yulbisukum" (with a damma on the ya), and it is a conjunction following "yab'athu."

His saying, exalted be He, "in sects" – the plural of "shi'ah," like "sidrah" and "sidar," and they are a group gathered upon a matter – is in the accusative case as a state (hal). It is also said that it is a verbal noun (masdar) made accusative by "yulbisukum" without sharing its root. Based on this, it is permissible for it to be a state as well, meaning: "divided."

His saying, exalted be He, "and lets some of you taste the violence of others" – this is a conjunction following "yab'athu," as transmitted from al-Samin. It is understood from the words of some that it is a conjunction following "yulbis," and it is of the category of explanatory conjunction or the conjunction of the effect following the cause. It is read as "nudhiqu" (we let taste), with the 'nun' of majesty by way of a shift (iltifat) to terrify and exaggerate the warning. The "some" in the first instance is said to be the disbeliever, and the second is the believers; in that case, it contains both a promise and a threat. It is also said that both groups are from the disbelievers—meaning, We let each taste the violence of the other. It is also said that both groups are from the believers. Ibn Jarir, Ibn Abi Hatim, and Abu al-Shaykh narrated from al-Hasan that he said regarding His saying, "a punishment from above you or from beneath your feet": "This is for the polytheists." And regarding His saying, "or He makes you confused in sects and lets some of you taste the violence of others": "This is for the Muslims." It is not hidden that this is a deconstruction of the noble arrangement. Perhaps al-Hasan intended that this occurs to the Muslims and takes place among them, unlike the former.

Ibn Jarir also narrated from him that he said: When this verse was revealed, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stood, performed ablution, and asked his Lord (Mighty and Majestic) not to send upon them a punishment from above them or from beneath their feet, and not to confuse his nation in sects and let some of them taste the violence of others as He let the Children of Israel taste. Then Jibril (peace be upon him) descended to him and said: "O Muhammad, you asked your Lord for four, He granted you two and withheld two. No punishment will come upon them from above them or from beneath their feet that would eradicate them, for these are two punishments for every nation that gathered to belie its prophet and rejected the Book of its Lord. However, they will be confused in sects, and some will taste the violence of others, and these are two punishments for those who confess the Books and believe in the prophets (peace be upon them)."

Ahmad, Muslim, Abu Dawud, al-Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah, and al-Hakim—who authenticated it—narrated from Thawban that he heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "Indeed, my Lord gathered the earth for me until I saw its easts and its wests, and He gave me the two treasures: the red and the white. My nation’s kingdom will reach what was gathered for me of it. I asked my Lord for my nation that He not destroy them by a general famine, and He granted it to me. I asked Him not to empower an enemy over them from outside themselves, and He granted it to me. I asked Him not to let some of them taste the violence of others, and He withheld it from me and said: 'O Muhammad, when I decree a decree, it is not turned back. I have granted you for your nation that I will not destroy them by a general famine, and I will not show an enemy over them from outside themselves who will violate them in general, even if everyone from its farthest reaches gathered together, until some of them destroy others and some of them take others captive.'"

Ahmad, al-Tabarani, and others narrated from Abu Basrah al-Ghifari that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I asked my Lord for four, He granted me three and withheld one. I asked Allah (exalted be He) not to gather my nation upon misguidance, and He granted it to me. I asked Allah (exalted be He) not to show an enemy over them from outside themselves, and He granted it to me. I asked Allah (exalted be He) not to destroy them by famines as nations were destroyed, and He granted it to me. I asked Allah (exalted be He) not to confuse them in sects and let some of them taste the violence of others, and He withheld it from me."

The reports regarding this meaning are numerous. Some contain evidence that confusion and tasting violence are one thing, and some contain evidence that they are two distinct things; from here arose the aforementioned difference regarding the conjunction. Some supported the conjunction being on "yulbis" rather than "yab'athu" because it is with "wa" (and) rather than "aw" (or). What was narrated from al-Hasan regarding the non-occurrence of the first two in this nation is not contradicted by what Ahmad and al-Tirmidhi narrated from the hadith of Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said regarding this verse: "As for it, it will surely come to pass, and its interpretation has not yet arrived." Likewise is what the first (Ahmad) narrated in his Musnad by way of Abu al-'Aliyah from Ibn Ka'b, who said regarding the verse: "They are four, and all of them will surely come to pass," because it is permissible that "occurrence" refers to occurrence not by way of eradication, and "non-occurrence" refers to its non-occurrence by way of eradication. The words of al-Hasan are almost explicit in this, so understand.

"Look how We vary the signs" – that is, We transform them from one type of discourse to another to substantiate the meaning and bring it closer to understanding, "or We vary them by promise and threat," "so that they may understand." That is, so that they may know the clarity of the matter and return from the obstinacy and stubbornness they are upon. Some of the Sunnis used this verse as proof that Allah (exalted be He) is the Creator of both good and evil. Some of the Hashwiyyah and the blind followers said: It is among the strongest evidences prohibiting reflection and reasoning, because in that is the opening of the door to schism and reprehensible disagreement according to the verse—but this is nothing, as is not hidden.