Tafsir of Al-Anfal 8:35

"And their prayer at the House"—that is, the Sacred Mosque from which they barred the believers. The expression "the House" is used for brevity, while indicating that it is the House of Allah the Exalted, and thus it ought to be venerated through worship, yet they did not do so—"except whistling," which is mukā’, with a damma on the first letter, like all nouns denoting sounds; they generally come in the form of fu‘āl, except for rare exceptions like nidā’ (calling). It is derived from makā-yamkū when one whistles. It is also recited as makā with a shortened vowel, like bukā.

"And clapping," which is tasdiyah, meaning the striking of one hand against the other in such a way that a sound is produced. Its morphological form is taf‘ilah, derived from al-sadd (the sound), as Abu Ubaydah said; he converted one of the two dāls into a yā’, just as in the phrase taqaddī al-bāzī (the falcon swooping down) for taqaddudihi. From this is the saying of the Exalted: "When your people turn away (yassiddūn) from it," meaning they clamor due to their intense astonishment. It has been said: it is from al-sadā, which is the sound heard as an echo from a mountain or the like.

Prayer here refers either to supplication or other actions they performed and called prayer. Applying "whistling" and "clapping" to it follows what is indicated by the words of al-Rāghib, interpreting it to mean that these acts had no benefit or meaning, just as the whistling of birds and the clapping of children at play. It may also be said that the intent is that they replaced the prayer befitting the House with whistling and clapping, similar to the verse: "A greeting between them [was] a heavy blow."

It is narrated that when the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) wished to pray, they would disturb him with whistling and clapping, believing that they too were praying. It is also narrated that they used to circumambulate naked, men and women, with their fingers interlaced, whistling and clapping. Some have said that tasdiyah means sadd (barring), intending their barring [of others] from the recitation or from the religion, or sadd meaning clamor, as reported from Ibn Ya‘īsh regarding the verse: "When your people turn away (yassiddūn) from it." The transmitted interpretation from Ibn ‘Abbās and a group of the predecessors is what we have mentioned. Yes, it is reported from Ibn Jubayr that he interpreted tasdiyah as barring people from the Sacred Mosque, but this is far-fetched. More far-fetched still is the interpretation by ‘Ikrimah as circumambulating on the left side, which is hardly defensible.

The sentence is conjoined either to "while they were barring," making it a confirmation of their deserving punishment by explaining that they barred [others] and did not perform the role of those they barred in venerating the House; or it is conjoined to "and they were not its guardians," making it a confirmation of their lack of eligibility for His guardianship.

Al-A‘mash recited "salātuhum" (their prayer) in the accusative case, which is also a narration from ‘Āsim and Abān. In that case, it is the predicate of kāna, and mukā’an (whistling) in the nominative is its subject. This involves predicating a definite noun with an indefinite one, which is considered a reversal (qalb) according to al-Sakkākī. Ibn Jinnī said: "There is no reversal." Then he said: "We do not deny that making the subject of kāna indefinite and its predicate definite is poor, and only anomalous verses have appeared that way. But beyond that is what I mention: that the indefinite of a genus serves the purpose of its definite. Do you not see that you say, 'I went out and there was a lion at the door,' and you find its meaning is 'the lion is at the door,' with no difference between them? This is because in both instances, you do not intend one specific lion, but rather one of this genus. When this is the case, the accusative and the nominative are permissible here with a near-equal degree of allowance, as if it were said: 'Their prayer was nothing but this genus of action.' It is not like saying kāna qā’iman akhūka (was standing your brother), because there is no sense of genus in qā’im. Furthermore, what is not permissible with affirmation is permissible with negation; do you not see you say, 'There was no man better than you,' yet you do not permit 'Was a man better than you?'" The discussion is completed in its proper place.

"So taste the punishment"—meaning slaughter and captivity on the day of Badr, as narrated from al-Hasan and al-Dahhāk. It is also said: the punishment of the Hereafter. It is also said: the punishment known in His saying, the Exalted: "Or bring us [a] punishment." There is no specificity.

The bā’ in His saying, the Exalted: "For what you used to disbelieve," is for causation. The fā’ (in fadhūqū), based on the assumption that the punishment is not the punishment of the Hereafter, is for consequence; and based on the assumption that it is intended, it is for causation, like the bā’. The matter of their combination is clear. The primary understanding of kufr (disbelief) is what relates to belief, though it may also be intended to include both belief and action, just as "faith" in common usage may also intend that.