Tafsir of Al-A'raf 7:16

(He said) This is a resumption, similar to those that precede it.

(Because You have seduced me) The fa (ف) is for the sequential ordering of the content of the sentence that follows it with respect to the act of looking. The ba (ب) is either for an oath or for causality. In both estimations, the ma (ما) is a masdariyyah (infinitive particle), and the prepositional phrase relates to an implied verb of swearing (i.e., "I swear by..."). It has been said that if it is for causality, it relates to what follows the oath particle; however, this is challenged by the fact that the oath particle occupies the initial position in the correct view, so what follows it cannot govern what precedes it. Some have permitted that ma is interrogative, with its alif not being elided, and that the preposition relates to "You have seduced me," but its weakness is not hidden.

Al-ighwa (seducing) is the creation of ghayy (error/misguidance). The root of ghayy is corruption. From this is said ghawiya al-fasil (the young camel strayed), and it is said one has ghawa when he suffers from overeating such that his stomach becomes corrupted. It has come to mean ignorance resulting from a corrupt belief, as in His saying, Exalted is He: "Your companion has not strayed, nor has he erred (ghawa)." It also comes to mean disappointment, as in the saying: "Whoever finds good, the people praise his command, and whoever finds disappointment (ghayy), he will not find a blamer for the ghayy." From this is His saying, Exalted is He: "And Adam disobeyed his Lord and erred (ghawa)." It is also used metaphorically for punishment due to the relationship of causality, as in His saying, Exalted is He: "But they will soon meet ghayy (evil/perdition)."

There is no objection among the People of Sunnah that "seducing" here means creating error in the sense of misguidance—that is: "By Your having caused me to go astray." This is what has been narrated from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both). Attributing ighwa in this sense to Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, is necessitated by the generality of His saying, Exalted is He: "The Creator of all things." The Mu'tazilah refuse to attribute anything like this to Him, Exalted is He, saying at times that this is a satanic statement and therefore not an argument, and at other times that "seducing" means attributing [one] to error, just as "to call him an infidel" (akfarahu) means to attribute him to infidelity, or that it means creating the cause of error and bringing it about, which is the command to prostrate.

Some have said that ghayy here means disappointment, i.e., "By Your having disappointed him of Your mercy," or destruction, i.e., "By Your having destroyed him through Your cursing and driving him away." What drove them to all this is their rejection of the belief that Allah is the Creator of all things and that there is no creator other than Him. They were not satisfied with that, but even maligned the People of Sunnah who affirm this. What can be thought of a sect that accepts for itself [the weight of] the hidden shirk in a way that Iblis, upon whom be the curse, did not precede them? We seek refuge in Allah, Exalted is He, from exposing ourselves to His wrath. Indeed, "seducing" in the sense of inciting toward what contains error and ordering it—as is the intent of the accursed one in his saying, "I will surely seduce them"—is something impermissible for Allah, whose is the majesty, as is not hidden.

Then, if the ba is for an oath, the object of the oath is an attribute of the actions, which is something sworn by in custom, even if the jurists have not established the rulings of an oath upon it. Perhaps the oath was made by the accursed one using both [His attributes of essence and action], so he swore at one time by one and at another by the other. If it is for causality, then the oath is by His might; that is, "Because of Your having seduced me for their sake, I swear by Your might..."

(I will surely sit in wait for them) That is, for Adam (upon him be peace) and his offspring, watching them, just as bandits sit in wait for travelers.

(On Your straight path) Which leads to Paradise, and it is the truth in which is Your pleasure.

Ahmad, an-Nasa'i, Ibn Hibban, at-Tabarani, and al-Bayhaqi in Shu'ab al-Iman recorded from Sabrah ibn al-Fakih that he heard the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) say: "Indeed, Shaytan sat in wait for the son of Adam on his paths. He sat for him on the path of Islam and said, 'Will you embrace Islam and abandon your religion and the religion of your fathers?' So he disobeyed him and embraced Islam. Then he sat for him on the path of migration and said, 'Will you migrate and abandon your land and your sky? The likeness of the emigrant is like a horse on a tether.' So he disobeyed him and migrated. Then he sat for him on the path of Jihad and said, 'It is an exhaustion of the self and wealth; so you fight and are killed, the woman is married, and the wealth is divided.' So he disobeyed him and fought." Then he (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: "Whoever does that among them and then dies or is killed by his mount and dies, it is incumbent upon Allah, the Exalted, to enter him into Paradise."

Perhaps the limitation by him (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) to these mentioned matters is for the sake of highlighting their significance and alerting to the greatness of their standing, as the situation required that, not for the sake of exclusivity. Similar to this is what is narrated from Ibn Abbas, Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with them both), and others, in their interpretation of the "straight path" as the road to Mecca; the speech here is in the category of metonymy or representation.

The accusative case of "the path" (sirat) is either as a direct object due to the inclusion of the meaning of "lying in wait" in the verb "I will surely sit," or because of the elision of the preposition (i.e., "on Your path"), just as you would say, "Zayd struck the back and the stomach," or due to it being an adverb of place. The accusative of a specific place adverbial appears rarely, and among the famous examples of this is the saying: "With the shaking of the palm, its back quivers in it, just as the fox quivers on the path."