Tafsir of Al-A'raf 7:30

(A party He guided, and a party) – this is an explanation and a detailed account of that which preceded it. It is analogous to His saying, the Almighty, "He created him from dust, then He said to him, 'Be,' and he is," following His saying, the Almighty, "Indeed, the example of Jesus to Allah is like the example of Adam." It is said that this is more appropriate to the context.

Al-Tayyibi mentioned that there is a subtle secret here, which is that it may be said: In His, the Exalted’s, saying, "Just as He began you, you will return," He placed the object of comparison (the one compared to) before the subject of comparison to alert the rational mind that the execution of affairs does not contradict destiny and eternal knowledge at all. As this subtlety was observed in the object of comparison, it was observed in the interpretation, and another was added to it: He, the Exalted, placed the object of (guided) first to indicate exclusivity—meaning that He did not will the guidance of the other party. He affirmed this by joining to it, "and a party, the error has become binding upon them," and brought it forth in the form of a pronoun (implied verb) contingent upon the explanation—that is, "He caused a party to err upon whom the error became binding." This, along with the exclusivity, contains emphasis, as the author of Al-Miftah affirmed, so that the doubt of the dissenter might be severed, preventing him from saying that the knowledge of Allah, the Exalted, has no effect upon their error. End quote.

It is as if he is pointing thereby to a rebuttal of Al-Zamakhshari’s statement regarding His, the Exalted’s, saying, "Indeed, they took the devils as allies instead of Allah"—that is, they took them as allies by obeying them in what they commanded them to do. This is evidence, according to him, that the knowledge of Allah, the Exalted, has no effect on their error, and that they are the ones who are astray by their own choice and their taking of the devils as allies instead of Allah, the Exalted. Thus, the sentence "Indeed, they took" is, according to this, an explanation (causation) for His, the Exalted's, saying: "And a party, the error has become binding upon them." This is supported by the fact that it was read "annahum" (indeed, they) with a fatha. It is also possible that it is an emphasis on their error and a confirmation of it.

As for me, the Truth is more deserving of being followed: I side with the one who says that the knowledge of Allah, the Exalted, does not influence the known object, and that whoever explains predestination by it is invalidating it. How could it be otherwise, when all the theologians without exception say that knowledge relates to a thing as it is? The debate is only whether the power of Allah, the Exalted, has an effect—according to the claim of the misguided followers of Al-Zamakhshari—and we strongly deny that. There is no prohibition, according to the Ash'arites, against using the act of "taking" as a cause, due to the establishment of acquisition (kasb) and choice; this involvement is sufficient as a cause.

Al-Zamakhshari estimated the verb in His, the Exalted’s, saying "And a party... became binding" as "He forsook them" (kadhala), and some people agreed with him. What Al-Tayyibi did is the chosen view of some investigators due to the obvious relevance and its freedom from the suspicion of the Mu'tazilah. It was chosen that the estimate be placed at the end so that the two sentences are coordinated. They are, according to many, in the position of a state (hal) from the pronoun in "you will return," with the estimate of "already" (qad), or they are independent sentences. It is permissible to construe "a party" (the first) and "a party" (the second) as in the state position, with the two sentences following them being their adjectives. This is supported by the reading of Ubayy: "You will return as two parties: a party He guided and a party..." The accusative on this reading is either a substitute or the object of an estimated "I mean." The feminine 't' was not attached to "haqqa" (became binding) because of the separation, or because the femininity is not real. The speech involves the estimation of a genitive, according to some—that is, "the word of error became binding upon them," which is His, the Exalted's, saying: "They went astray... and they suppose that they are guided."

(And they suppose that they are guided) is a conjunction to what precedes it, included with it in the sphere of causation or emphasis. Perhaps the discourse is of the category of "So-and-so’s tribe killed so-and-so." The first—because it is in contrast to the one whom Allah guided—is inclusive of both the obstinate and the mistaken, while the second is restricted to the latter. This applies to the one who is negligent in his inquiry, as well as the one who exerts his utmost effort therein. There is a difference of opinion regarding the justification for the blame cast upon the latter and his abiding in the Fire. The school of some is that he is excused, and they did not distinguish between one who has no intellect at all and one who has an intellect but did not perceive the Truth with it after having exhausted all possibilities in his search. Since the first is excused for the non-establishment of the proof against him, the second is excused for the same reason. They do not view mere ownership and the freedom to act as a definitive proof; to Allah, the Exalted, belongs the conclusive argument. The commitment to the idea that every disbeliever after the mission and the appearance of the matter of the Truth is an obstinate denier, like a fire on a mountain, and that there is no disbeliever in the east or west of the earth today who is a seeker of evidence, is something that no one would undertake except a Muslim who is obstinate or a Muslim who is relying on evidence weaker than the house of a spider—and it is indeed the weakest of houses. Some have claimed that the intended meaning of the one joined to is the obstinate one, and the one joined is the mistaken one. The apparent meaning is what we have said, and making the sentence a state, in the sense that "they took the devils as allies while they suppose they are guided in that taking," is something whose flaws are not hidden.