Tafsir of Al-A'raf 7:102

"And We did not find for most of them..." (meaning: most of the nations mentioned). The verb wajadna (We found) is transitive to one object, and the lam is connected to it, as in your saying: "I did not find wealth for Zayd," meaning I did not encounter or meet any wealth belonging to him. Or, it is connected to an elliptical element, as Abu al-Baqa' stated: it functions as a circumstantial qualifier (hal) for the verse, "from a covenant," because it was originally an adjective for an indefinite noun, and when it was advanced before it, it became a circumstantial qualifier. The min (in "from a covenant") is an intensifier for comprehensiveness. It is permitted that wajadna be the one that takes two objects (meaning "to know/conclude"), but the first view is more apparent. The statement entails an elliptical addition, meaning: "We did not find the fulfillment of a covenant existing for most of them," for they violated what they had covenanted with Allah the Almighty when hardship and adversity touched them, saying: "If You save us from this, we will surely be among the thankful." Qatadah held this view.

Specifying this matter to "most of them" is not because some of them fulfilled the covenant, but because some of them did not enter into a covenant at all, and thus did not violate it. It has been said: the intended "covenant" is what took place on the Day of the Primeval Covenant (Mithaq); this is narrated from Ubayy ibn Ka'b and Abu al-'Aliyah. It has also been said: it refers to what Allah the Almighty covenanted to them regarding faith and piety by establishing evidences, proofs, and sending down signs. Ibn Mas'ud interpreted it as "faith," as in the Almighty's saying: "...has taken a covenant with the Most Merciful." It is also said: it means "remaining," meaning we did not find them remaining upon their innate nature (fitrah). The intent of "most" in all these instances is "all." Many people have held that the pronoun in "most of them" refers to mankind, which is understood due to its prominence.

The sentence "indeed, most of them were defiantly disobedient" is a parenthetical clause because it has no specific connection to what precedes it, though due to its generality, it provides emphasis. According to the first interpretation, it acts as a completion as stated by al-Tibi and others. "And We found most of them..." (meaning: most of the nations or most of mankind), i.e., We knew them, as in your saying: "I found Zayd to be virtuous." Between this wajadna and the previous one (under the first meaning), there is a perfect, identical wordplay (jinās).

The in is the weakened form of the heavy inna (that), with the "pronoun of the affair" being omitted; it has no grammatical influence because it is deemed null/void according to the famous view. It is necessary to interpret wajadna here as "knowing," which takes a subject and a predicate, because the in enters upon them; the majority of scholars have declared that it does not enter except upon the subject and predicate or upon the abrogating verbs. Al-Akhfash disagreed with this and did not hold that view, though he permitted it to enter upon other structures. The Kufans held that in is a negation, and the lam in the Almighty's saying: "for indeed they were defiantly disobedient" is the "differentiating lam." According to the Kufans, in is a negation, and the lam carries the meaning of "except," so the meaning is: "We did not find most of them except as those who have departed from obedience." This includes the violation of the covenant.

Al-Tibi mentioned that if "the defiantly disobedient" (al-fasiqin) is interpreted as "the violators" (al-nakithin), then the verse contains the figure of "affirmation and negation" (al-tard wa al-'aks), which is when two statements are brought forth such that the first is confirmed by the explicit wording of the second and vice versa. It is like the Almighty's saying: "Let those whom your right hands possess ask permission of you..." to His saying: "There is no blame upon you or upon them beyond these [times]." The explicit wording of the command to ask permission at the three specific times confirms the implied lifting of blame for times other than those, and vice versa. Likewise is His saying: "They do not disobey Allah in what He commands them, but do what they are commanded." This type of amplification (itnab) is countered in the style of conciseness by the type known as ihtibak.