Tafsir of Al-An'am 6:80

(He said) —denying their disputation with him, peace be upon him, given their deficiency regarding that high station, the sublimity of the claim, the strength of the opponent, and the clarity of the truth— (Do you dispute with me concerning Allah?) That is, concerning His affair, Exalted be He, and His Oneness, Glorified be He.

Nafi’ and Ibn ‘Amir, in one narration from Ibn Dhakwan, read tuhajunni with a light nun (i.e., tuhajuni). This involves the elision of one of the two nuns. There is disagreement as to which one is elided: It is said: It is the nun of the nominative case (raf’), which is the doctrine of Sibawayh. It is argued that the necessity arose for a kasra on the nun because of the ya (first person pronoun), and the nun of the nominative case does not take a kasra. It is also argued that its elision occurs elsewhere, as in the verse: "Everyone has an intention in hating his companion; by the grace of Allah, we hate you and you hate us," intending taqlunana (we hate you). The second nun here is not the nun of protection (wiqayah), but rather part of the pronoun; the elision of part of the pronoun is not permissible. Further, it acts as a substitute for the damma, which may be elided for the sake of lightness, as in the reading of Abu ‘Amr: yansurukum, yash’urukum, and ya’murukum. Others say: It is the nun of protection (wiqayah), which is the doctrine of Al-Akhfash. It is argued that it is the added element which caused the heaviness.

His saying, Exalted be He, (And He has guided me) is in the position of a state (hal) of the first-person pronoun, serving as an emphasis of the denial. For his being guided by Allah, Exalted be He, and supported by Him, Glorified be He, necessitates refraining from disputing with him, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and a lack of concern for it or attention toward it when it occurs. It is said: The meaning is, "And He has guided me to establishing the proof against you regarding His Oneness, Exalted be His affair." It is also said: "He guided me to the truth after I walked your path by way of assumption and supposition, and its falsehood became completely clear as you have witnessed." According to both interpretations, it does not imply prior error on his part, peace be upon him, or ignorance of knowing his Lord, Majestic be His praise. (Hadan) is written—as Al-Ajhuri said—without a ya.

(And I do not fear that which you associate with Him) —the answer, as narrated from Ibn Jurayj, to what they threatened him with—peace be upon him—regarding the affliction of harm from their false deities, just as his people said to Hud, peace be upon him: "We say nothing but that some of our gods have possessed you with evil." This intimidation, it is said, was regarding abandoning the worship of what they worship. Others say: Rather, it was regarding his belittling and despising them, such as by breaking or denigrating them. It is said: Perhaps this was when he did to their gods what he did, as Allah, Exalted be He, has related to us. In some accounts, it is mentioned that when he grew up, Azar would make idols and give them to him to sell. He would go out and call out, "Who will buy what harms him and does not benefit him?" So no one would buy them. When they did not sell, he would take them to the river, strike their heads, and say to them, "Drink!", mocking his people until his mockery became widespread among them. It was then that they argued with him and threatened him.

Ma (that which) is a relative noun whose referent (‘aid) is omitted, and the pronoun in the prepositional phrase refers to Allah, Exalted be He. That is, "I do not fear that which you associate with Him, Exalted be He." It is permitted that the referent returns to the relative noun, and the ya is causal—meaning, "that because of which you associate." It is also possible that it is an indefinite noun qualified by a relative clause, or that it is an infinitive (masdariyyah).

His saying, Exalted be He, (Unless my Lord should will something) —with the estimation of 'time' according to more than one scholar—is an exception from the most general times, an istithna mufarragh (empty exception). Some said: The infinitive is in the accusative case as an adverb of time without needing the estimation of 'time'. Ibn al-Anbari forbade this, distinguishing between the explicit infinitive—which is permitted to be accusative as an adverb of time—and the non-explicit one, in which it is not permitted. Ibn Jinni does not distinguish between the explicit and non-explicit, and it is permitted for both alike. The exception is connected in opinion, and shay’an (something) is the direct object or an absolute object. Meaning: I do not fear what you associate with Him at any time, except at the time when my Lord wills something—either of being afflicted with harm from their side, or something of His, Exalted be He, willing that I be afflicted with harm from their side. And that is purely from His side, Exalted be He, without any role for your gods in creating or bringing it into existence. It is also permitted that the exception is disconnected, in the sense of: "But I fear that my Lord might will my fear of what you have associated with Him."

The exposure of the title of Lordship, along with the attribution to his pronoun, peace be upon him, is an indication that if that will occurs, it is not devoid of a benefit that returns to him through cultivation (tarbiyah), or a manifestation from him, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, of his submission to His command, Exalted be He, his resignation to His order, and his acknowledgment of being under His dominion and Lordship, Exalted be He.

(My Lord encompasses all things in knowledge) —as if it were a justification for the exception. That is, He encompasses everything with knowledge; thus, it is not far-fetched that it is in His knowledge, Glorified be He, that harm befall me from their side for some reason or another. ‘Ilman (in knowledge) is in the accusative case as a tamyeez (specification) transformed from the subject. It is also permitted that it is in the accusative case as an infinitive for wasi'a from a different root. The use of the noun instead of the pronoun is an emphasis of the aforementioned meaning, and a finding of pleasure in mentioning Him, Exalted be He.

(Will you not then remember?) That is, will you turn away—after I have clarified for you—from reflecting that your gods are devoid of the power to do anything of benefit or harm, so that you do not remember that they are incapable of harming me? The use of "remembering" (tadhakkur) rather than "thinking" (tafakkur) or similar, is an indication that the matter of their gods is firmly established in the intellects and only requires reminding.