Tafsir of Al-A'raf 7:18

(He said) is a resumption [of speech], as has passed more than once. (Get out of it) that is, from Paradise, or the ranks of the angels, or from the sky, according to the previous difference of opinion. (Disgraced) meaning blameworthy, as narrated from Ibn Zayd, or humiliated and cursed, as narrated from Ibn Abbas and Qatada; its root verb is dha'ama. Al-Zuhri recited (madhmūman) with a damma on the dhal and a quiescent waw; there are two possibilities regarding this: first, that it is a lightened form of the hamza-containing [original] by transferring the vowel of the hamza to the quiescent letter and then deleting it; second, that it is from dhāma with an alif, like bā'a, and its analogy in this case would be madhīmun like mabī'un, except that the waw was substituted for the ya, in the manner of their saying makūlun for makīlun, despite it being from the kayl (measurement). Its case [as accusative] is that of a state (hāl). The same applies to His saying, the Exalted: (rejected). It is from dahr, meaning expulsion and distancing. It is permitted in this [case] that it be an adjective.

The lam in His saying, the Exalted, (whoever follows you from among them) is, according to what is in al-Durr al-Masūn, a preparer for an oath. (Man) is conditional, in the place of a nominative as the subject, and His saying, the Exalted in Name, (I will surely fill Hell with you all) is the response to the oath, acting in place of the response to the condition; the disagreement regarding the predicate of the subject in such instances is well-known. It is also permitted that the lam be the lam of inception (al-ibtida') and man be a relative pronoun acting as a subject, whose connection (silah) is (follows you), and the oath-sentence is the predicate.

‘Ismah narrated from ‘Asim: (liman) with a kasra on the lam. It is said that it is connected to the disgrace and rejection on the basis of tanāzu' (contention) and acting upon the second [verb], meaning: Get out with these two attributes because of your following. It is also said that the prepositional phrase is the predicate of an omitted subject that is estimated to be delayed, meaning: for whoever follows you [is] this threat; and His saying, the Exalted: "I will surely fill..." etc., points to this. Perhaps this is what al-Zamakhshari meant by saying that "I will surely fill" is in the place of the subject and "for whoever follows you" is its predicate, as the explanation of the meaning indicates. "(Min kum)" is in the sense of "from you" and "from them," so the address takes precedence, as in His saying, the Exalted: "O assembly of jinn and mankind, you are ignorant" (a metaphorical generalization).

Furthermore, the apparent meaning is that these addresses to Iblis—upon him be the curse—were from Him, the Exalted, directly without an intermediary, and the purpose behind them is not honor or nobility, but rather torment and reproach. Al-Jubba'i held that it was by the mediation of some of the angels, because Allah the Exalted does not speak to the disbeliever, but in this there is contemplation.

From the chapter of allusion (al-isharah) in the verses: (Alif. Lam. Mim. Sad.) The Alif is an allusion to the Oneness of the Essence (al-dhāt al-aḥadiyyah). The Lam is to the Essence with the attribute of Knowledge. The Mim is to the meaning of Muhammad, which is his reality. The Sad is to his form and peace. Sometimes it is said: The Alif is an allusion to Unification (tawḥīd), the Mim to Sovereignty (mulk), and the Lam between them is an intermediary so that it acts as a link between them. The Sad, because it is a letter of graceful shape, is receptive to all shapes, as the Greatest Shaykh—may his secret be sanctified—said: In it is an allusion that the matter, even if it appears in different shapes and multiple images, its beginning and its end are none but Him.

It is not hidden that there is subtlety in opening this surah with these letters, based on what the Shaykh—may his secret be sanctified—mentioned in his Futūḥāt (Openings), that each of them—except the Alif—has stations (a'rāf). As for the Alif, he mentioned—may Allah benefit us by the blessings of his sciences—that it is not among the letters according to one who has smelled a scent of the Realities, but the common people have named it a letter. So if the researcher says that, it is only by way of metaphorical expression. And Allah the Exalted knows the truth of the state.

(A Book revealed to you, so let there be no constriction in your chest from it) that is, tightness from carrying it. Do not let it encompass you due to its magnitude, lest you be obliterated by annihilation (fanā'), unity, and immersion in the eye of gathering (‘ayn al-jam‘), (that you may warn thereby and as a reminder to the believers), that is, so that warning and reminding become possible for you; for by immersion, you see nothing but the Truth, and thus you would not be able to do that.

(And how many a city) of the cities of the hearts (We have destroyed) We have corrupted its readiness, (and Our might came to them at night) that is, while they were asleep on the mattresses of heedlessness in the night of youth, (or they were taking a nap) under the shadows of hope in the day of old age.

(And the weighing on that Day is the Truth) for many of the Sufis, this is the consideration of deeds. They mentioned that the tongue of the balance of Truth is the attribute of Justice, and one of its scales is the world of sense, and the other scale is the world of intellect. Whoever has earnings from the remaining rationalities, virtuous characters, and good deeds joined with sincere intention, it becomes heavy, that is, it has worth and he succeeds, meaning he attains everlasting bliss. And whoever has acquisitions from the fleeting sensible things, corrupt pleasures and lusts, and base characters, it becomes light, and no concern is given to it, and he loses his own self due to his deprivation of bliss and his destruction.

(And We have certainly established you upon the earth) in that We made you successors therein, (and made for you therein livelihoods) multiple [types] other than you, for [the animal] has only one livelihood. This is because in the human there is sovereignty, animality, and satanic qualities; so the livelihood of his spirit is the livelihood of an angel, the livelihood of his body is the livelihood of an animal, and the livelihood of his commanding self is the livelihood of Satan. He has other livelihoods: the livelihood of the heart by witnessing, the livelihood of the secret (sirr) by unveilings, and the livelihood of the secret of the secret by attainment. (Little are you grateful); and had you been grateful, you would not have been satisfied with the lesser.

(And We have certainly created you, then given you [human] form) that is, We began that with the creation of Adam—peace be upon him—and his forming, (then We said to the angels, "Prostrate to Adam") for he is the greatest manifestation. In the report: "Allah created Adam in His image," and in a narration, "in the image of the Merciful." So they prostrated and yielded to the Truth. (Except Iblis; he was not of those who prostrated) due to the deficiency of his insight. He said: "I am better than him; You created me from fire and created him from clay." The accursed one meant that he is from the spiritual presence and that Adam—peace be upon him—is not so. [Allah] said: (Get out of it) that is, from that presence, (for it is not for you to be arrogant therein) because arrogance contradicts it, (so get out; indeed, you are of the humiliated) the lowly ones through [your] inclination to the demands of the self.

[Iblis] said: (Because You have put me in error) an oath by what is of the attributes of acts; he was not veiled from them, but was veiled from the Essential Oneness. (I will surely sit in wait for them on Your straight path) which is the way of Unification, (then I will come to them from before them and from behind them and on their right and on their left) that is, I will strive in misguiding them. What the philosophers of Islam said concerning this has already passed, and there is much talk on this in the interpretations of al-Nisaburi, and what some have said is the best in this regard. Some mentioned the reason for not mentioning the directions of above and below, which is that coming from the first direction is not possible for him, for the upper direction is the one that is adjacent to the spirit, from which come the true inspirations, angelic promptings, and the like. From the lower direction, sensory rulings and partial measures in matters of worldly interests occur, and that does not cause misguidance; rather, one may benefit from it in the natural and mathematical sciences, and in this there is contemplation.

(And You will not find most of them grateful) using what was created for them for what it was created for. (He said, "Get out of it, disgraced") despised, (rejected) expelled, (whoever follows you from among them) by selfishness and seeing other than Allah the Exalted and committing sins, (I will surely fill Hell with you all). You will remain imprisoned in the prison of nature, tormented by the fire of deprivation from the Desired One, which is the most severe of torments. Everything less than separation from the Beloved is easy, and He, the Exalted, is our sufficiency and the best disposer of affairs.