Tafsir of Al-A'raf 7:184

When He—the Exalted and Almighty—exaggerated the threat against the atheists, who were turning away and heedless of His signs and of faith in His Messenger (upon him be peace and blessings), He followed this, according to what has been said, with a response to their suspicion and a denial of their lack of reflection. Thus, He said (mighty is the Speaker):

"Have they not pondered? There is no madness in their companion."

The hamza denotes denial and rebuke, and the waw is for conjunction with an implied [preceding clause] necessitated by the context and the preceding text; the disagreement regarding such a structure is well-known, and reference to it has preceded.

As for "ma" (in "ma bi-sahibihim"), Abu al-Baqa’ said: It is possible that it is interrogative, used for denial, in the place of an elevation (raf’) as the subject, while the predicate is "bi-sahibihim". It is also possible that it is negative (nafiyah), with its noun being "jinnatun" and its predicate being "bi-sahibihim". It has also been permitted that it be a relative pronoun (mawsulah), though there is remoteness in that.

Jinnah is a verbal noun, like jalsah, meaning madness (junun). It does not mean "jinn" (the unseen beings) as in the verse, "from the jinn and mankind," because that would require the estimation of an omitted noun—that is, "a touch of madness" (massu jinnah) or "a confusion of it." The indefiniteness serves to belittle and degrade.

"Pondering" (tafakkur) is reflection and the application of the mind to a matter; it is one of the actions of the heart, and thus it follows the same rules as they do regarding suspension (ta'liq). The place of the sentence, under both interpretations, is in the accusative due to the omission of the preposition. The place of the relative pronoun, in the latter interpretation, is also in the accusative for that same reason. That is to say: Have they denied, and not pondered upon anything of the madness that [they claim] is in their companion, who is the greatest of guides to the Truth, and upon whom the verses were sent down? Or, have they not pondered that there is no madness in their companion, so that their reflection might lead them to affirm his truthfulness and the validity of his prophethood, thus believing in him and in what was sent down to him? Or, have they not pondered the thing that they claim is a madness in their companion, so that they might know it is not madness at all, and thus believe?

Al-Tabarsi preferred that the speech is completed at His words: "Have they not pondered?"—that is: Have they denied and failed to ponder his statements and actions? Or, have they failed to reflect? Then a new sentence begins, saying: "What kind of madness is in their companion?"—by way of denial, astonishment, and putting them to shame. Or, it is said: "There is nothing of it in their companion."

The term "their companion" refers to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). The expression of this, for the Messenger (upon him be peace and blessings), is to emphasize the denial and intensify it, because the state of "companionship" is what makes them aware of his (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) purity from any trace of what they mentioned. The exposition of the negation of madness regarding him (upon him be peace and blessings)—despite the clear impossibility of it being proven against him—is because one who speaks that which is miraculous does not act except by one who has been touched by madness—however one might view it, without it having any foundation—or by one who has divine support through which he speaks of the Unseen. Since he (upon him be peace and blessings) has nothing of the former, the latter is established.

Ibn Jarir and others reported from Qatadah: It was mentioned to us that the Prophet of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) stood upon al-Safa and called the Quraysh, clan by clan: "O children of so-and-so," warning them of the wrath and punishments of Allah until the morning, until one of them said: "This companion of yours is truly mad; he has spent the night shouting until morning." Then Allah sent down this verse. On this account, the explicit negation of madness is a rebuttal to their monstrous calumny in the eyes of anyone possessing the slightest intellect. The expression "their companion" is used in accordance with their own speech, despite containing the aforementioned nuance. Some have mentioned in the "reason for revelation" that when they saw the intensity of the revelation (barha’ al-wahy) appearing upon him (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), they would say: "He is mad," and so [this verse] was revealed:

"He is only a clear warner."

This is an affirmation of what preceded and a refutation of what they claim, for it clarifies the true nature of his condition (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). That is: He (upon him be peace and blessings) is nothing but one who conveys the warning, manifesting it with the utmost manifestation.