Tafsir of Al-A'raf 7:146

"I will turn away from My signs those who act arrogantly upon the earth without right."

This is an initiation [of a new topic] intended to warn them against the arrogance that necessitates a failure to reflect upon the signs inscribed on the tablets of the Torah—which contain exhortations and rulings—or [a broader interpretation including] those signs and other existential signs, among which is the promised display of the abode of the disobedient. The meaning of "turning them away from them" is to restrain them by placing a seal upon their hearts, such that they hardly reflect upon them nor take heed from them, due to their persistence in the arrogance and tyranny they hold. This is similar to His, the Exalted, saying: "So when they deviated, Allah caused their hearts to deviate." That is, I will set a seal upon the hearts of those who consider themselves great and believe they possess a status in the lower world and a distinction over the creation, thus they will not benefit from My signs nor reap the gains of their effects. Do not follow their path, lest you become like them.

It is said: It is a response to an implied question arising from the promise of entering the land of the tyrants and giants, based on the assumption that the "signs" refers to what was just recited and its likes, and "turning away from them" means removing the arrogant ones from the position of opposing and resisting them, for the occurrence of their reports and the manifestation of their rulings and effects would come through their destruction at the hands of Musa or Yusha', peace be upon them. As if it were said: How shall you see their abode while they are therein? And it was said to them: I will destroy them. The shift to the verb "turn away" [rather than "destroy"] was made so that they might increase in trust in the signs and assurance regarding them. According to these two opinions, the discourse is directed to Musa, peace be upon him, and the verse is linked either to His, the Exalted, saying: "I will show you," or to what preceded it in the manner pointed out earlier. Al-Tibi permitted that it be connected to His saying, the Exalted: "And command," etc., in the sense of the command being likewise.

As for "the will," it means: I will turn away from taking heed of My signs those who are [locked] by [divine] disposition and wretchedness. It is also said: The discourse is addressed to the disbelievers of Mecca, and the verse is connected to His saying, the Exalted: "Have those who inherited the earth after its people not been guided?" and the mention of the story of Musa, peace be upon him, and Pharaoh is for the sake of taking heed. That is: I will turn the arrogant ones away from invalidating the signs, even if they strive to do so—as Pharaoh did, but his action rebounded against him in the opposite of what he intended. It is also said: If the discourse is with the nation of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), then the verse is an insertion amidst what was presented for the sake of taking heed; for it is the right of one who relates a story to provide a warning whenever an opportunity for it arises.

The advancement of the prepositional phrase [from My signs] over the direct object [those who act arrogantly] serves to show care for what is mentioned first and to create suspense for what is mentioned later, despite the fact that the later part is of a length that, if advanced, would disrupt the symmetry of the sublime arrangement. Some of our scholars have argued using this verse that Allah, the Exalted, may indeed prevent [people] from faith and turn [them] away from it. This is apparent based on the interpretation that "turning away" signifies preventing faith, though this is not definitive, as you have come to know. The Mu'tazila have delved into interpreting it, and they have interpreted it in ways mentioned by Al-Tabarsi.

"Without right"—this is either an attachment to "arrogance," meaning they act arrogantly and pride themselves with that which is not their right, namely their false religion and their excessive oppression; or it is attached to an omitted [state], acting as a descriptor of its subject—that is, they act arrogantly while being in a state of having no right. Its outcome is that they act arrogantly without being truthful, for arrogance by right belongs to none but Allah, the Exalted, as in the Sacred Hadith extracted by Abu Dawud from Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him): "Pride is My cloak and Grandeur is My garment; whoever disputes with Me regarding either of them, I will cast him into the Fire." It is also said: The meaning is that they act arrogantly toward those who do not act arrogantly, such as the Prophets, peace be upon them, because that is what is "without right." As for acting arrogantly toward an arrogant person, it is by right, according to the tradition: "Acting arrogantly toward the arrogant is charity." You know that this is a form of arrogance, not arrogance in reality. Perhaps the intent of this speaker is that the restriction with what was mentioned is to demonstrate that they are arrogant in reality.

"And if they see every sign, they will not believe in it"—this is a conjunction to "they act arrogantly," entering with it into the ruling of the connection. The "sign" refers either to the [divine] decree, in which case seeing it means witnessing and perceiving it, or to miracles, in which case seeing it means absolute viewing that encompasses hearing and sight. Some have interpreted "signs" mentioned earlier as those set in the horizons and the souls, and "sign" here as the decree or the miracle, so as not to fall into circular reasoning, as has been said—so let this be understood. It is also permissible that it be a conjunction to "I will turn away" for the purpose of causal explanation, in the manner of His, the Exalted: "And We had given to David and Solomon knowledge, and they said, 'Praise be to Allah,'" according to the opinion of the author of Al-Miftah. In any case, the intent is the universality of the negation, not the negation of the universality; meaning, they disbelieved in every single sign.

"And if they see the way of righteousness"—meaning the path of guidance and rectitude—"they will not adopt it as a way"—meaning they do not turn toward it nor travel it at all, due to the mastery of satanic influence over them. Hamza and Al-Kisa'i read ar-rushd (with two fathas), and it is also read ar-rashad; these three are dialects, like as-suqm, as-saqam, and as-saqam. Abu 'Amr differed, as Al-Jubba'i said, between ar-rushd (with damma) and ar-rushd (with fatha), stating that ar-rushd (with damma) is righteousness in affairs, and ar-rushd (with fatha) is uprightness in religion; but the well-known view is that there is no difference. "And if they see the way of error"—meaning the path of misguidance—"they will adopt it as a way"—meaning they choose it for themselves as a continuous path, from which they hardly deviate, because it aligns with their desires and leads them to their lusts. "That"—namely, what was mentioned of arrogance, the lack of belief in any sign, and their turning away from the path of guidance and their complete turning toward the path of error—"is because they denied Our signs," which indicate the falsehood of what they are characterized by in terms of vices and the truthfulness of their opposites, "and were heedless of them," not considering them; otherwise, they would not have committed what they committed of falsehoods.

More than one [scholar] has permitted that "that" is a reference to the "turning away," and the discussion regarding it is dispelled with the slightest concern, as is not hidden to one whose causes of concern have been extended toward it. In any case, the demonstrative pronoun is the subject, and the prepositional phrase is attached to an omitted [predicate] that serves as its comment, as we have indicated. It is also said: The place of the demonstrative pronoun is in the accusative as an absolute object—that is, I will turn them away that turning away because of their denial of Our signs and their heedlessness of them; and there is no obstacle to the agent being the preceding "I will turn away," for the separator is not foreign.