Muhammad: (22) Perhaps you, if you turn away...

This verse alludes to the falsehood of a statement they used to make. They would say: "How can we fight when fighting is corruption, and the Arabs are from our kin and tribes?"

Allah the Almighty responded: {If you turn away}—nothing will result from you except corruption in the land. You will kill those you can overpower and plunder them, and fighting will occur among you. Is not your killing of daughters corruption and severing of kinship? Therefore, your justification is invalid, especially since it contradicts what Allah has commanded, which is obedience.

In this verse, there are several issues:

Issue 1: The Usage of ʿasā (عسى)

There are three views regarding the use of ʿasā (perhaps/it may be):

1. It is used in the form of a past tense verb with a subject (e.g., ʿasā Zayd, ʿasaynā, ʿasaytum).
2. It is used in the form of a verb with an object (e.g., ʿasāhu, ʿasāka).
3. It is used without being coupled with a subject or object (e.g., ʿasā Zaydun yakhruj, ʿasā anta takhruj, ʿasā anā ukhrij).

All these forms have a basis, but the usage in the Book of Allah is the most sound. This is because ʿasā is considered one of the jāmid (inflexible/fixed) verbs. Coupling the subject with the verb is more appropriate than coupling the object, because the subject is like a component part of the verb. This is why four moving vowels are not permitted in forms like naṣartu (I helped), although naṣaraka (He helped you) is permissible. Every verb has a subject, whether it is intransitive or transitive, but this is not true for the object. Thus, ʿasaytu and ʿasāka are like ʿaṣaytu and ʿaṣāka in coupling the subject with the verb and the object with the verb. As for those who say ʿasā anta takhruj or ʿasā an aqūm, this is less precise than what we mentioned, due to the unnecessary length involved.

Issue 2: The Interrogative Form for Affirmation

The question here is for emphatic confirmation (taqrīr). If Allah had stated it as a declarative statement, {If you turn away, you will cause corruption}, the addressees would have the right to deny it. By using the interrogative form, it is as if Allah is saying: "I am asking you about this, and you cannot answer except with 'no' or 'yes.' Therefore, it is established for you and for Me."

Issue 3: ʿAsā Signifying Expectation (Tawqīʿ)

Allah the Almighty knows everything. We say about ʿasā what we said about laʿalla (perhaps/hopefully). Regarding the verse {that We may test them} (Al-Kahf: 7), some scholars said it means Allah will deal with them as one who hopes or tests. Others said it means everyone who looks at them expects that outcome from them.

We maintain that it should be taken literally. When an action is possible in itself, observing it does not necessitate a specific outcome. The matter may happen sometimes and not happen other times. Therefore, the action is sought after based on expectation (tarajjī), whether the actor knows the outcome will occur or not.

Example: If someone sets a net to catch game, it is said that he is mutawaqqiʿ (expecting) that outcome. If he gains certainty of its occurrence through a truthful report or another means, it does not cease to be expectation. The only difference is that in worldly matters, we lack certainty regarding what we expect, leading some to think that lack of knowledge is inherent to expectation, which is not the case. Rather, expectation is awaiting something whose occurrence is not obligatory, based solely on that potential outcome, regardless of whether the person has knowledge of it or not.

Regarding {If you turn away} (in tawallaytum), there are two interpretations:

1. It means taking authority (wilāyah): If you assume leadership and people are under your command, you will cause corruption and sever kinship ties.
2. It means turning away (tawallī), which is aversion. This aligns with what we mentioned: You refrain from fighting, claiming it causes corruption and severs kinship because the disbelievers are our relatives. Thus, nothing but that will result from you, as you fight over the slightest thing, which was the custom of the Arabs.

The first interpretation is supported by the narration of Imam Ali (peace be upon him) reading it as tūllaytum (تُوُلِّيتم), meaning: "If unjust, harsh, and oppressive rulers are put in charge of you, and you follow their banner and cause corruption along with them, and you sever your kinship ties—while the Prophet (peace be upon him) only commands you toward reform and maintaining kinship—why then do you hold back from fighting and stray into misguidance?"

{Those are the ones whom Allah has cursed, so He has deafened them and blinded their sight.}