Al-An'am (The Cattle): 123

Issue 1: The Meaning of the Particle Kāf (ك) in {And thus We have made...}

The particle Kāf (ك) in {And thus We have made...} implies comparison. There are two views on this:

1. First View: Just as We made the chieftains (leaders) in Mecca plot therein, similarly We have made the great criminals in every town.
2. Second View: It is connected to the preceding statement, meaning: Just as We adorned (the deeds of) the disbelievers, similarly We have made [them the great criminals in every town].

Issue 2: The Grammar of {the greatest among them} (أكابر مجرميها)

• Akābir (أكابر) is the plural of Akbar (أكبر), which is a noun (not an adjective here).
• The verse structure implies a transposition: The meaning is, "We made their criminals the greatest among them" (جعلنا مجرميها أكابر).
• It is not permissible for Akābir to be in an iḍāfah (possessive construction). If it were, the meaning would be incomplete.
• The verb Ja'ala (to make) requires two objects. If you say, "I made Zayd," the statement is incomplete until you specify what he was made, such as "a leader" or "humiliated," because Ja'ala demands a second object.
• Furthermore, if Akābir were in an iḍāfah, it would mean adding an adjective to the noun it describes, which is impermissible according to the Basrans.

Issue 3: The Implication of the Lām (ل) in {to plot therein} (ليمكروا فيها)

The structure of the verse thus becomes: "We made the criminals in every town the greatest among them so that they may plot therein."

This implies that God Almighty only made them great because He willed them to plot against the people. This, in turn, suggests that both good and evil actions stem from the will of God Almighty.

The Response of Al-Jubba'i: He explained that the Lām (ل) here should be interpreted as the Lām al-'Āqibah (the Lām of consequence/result), not the Lām of purpose.

Others stated: Since God Almighty did not prevent them from plotting, the speech became analogous to a situation where He did will it, so the expression is used in a manner of resemblance (analogy). This question and its answer have been repeated many times beyond enumeration.

Issue 4: The Wisdom Behind Making Criminals the Leaders

Al-Zajjaj said that criminals are made the leaders because:

1. Due to their leadership status, they are more capable of treachery, plotting, and promoting falsehoods among the people than others.
2. The abundance of wealth and power compels a person to exert maximum effort to preserve them. This preservation can only be achieved through all reprehensible traits: treachery, plotting, lying, backbiting, tale-bearing, and false oaths.
3. If wealth and status had no other fault than that God Almighty decreed that only those possessing wealth and status are described with these blameworthy attributes, that alone would suffice as proof of the baseness of wealth and status.

Then, the Almighty said: {And they plot not except against themselves, and they perceive not.}

This means what God Almighty mentioned in another verse: {And the evil plot encompasses none but its authors.} We have already explained the reality of this at the beginning of Surah Al-Baqarah when interpreting {Allah mocks them}.

The Mu'tazila argue: It is undeniable that {And they plot not except against themselves, and they perceive not} is mentioned in the context of threat and deterrence. If the preceding verse implies that God willed them to plot against people, how can it be fitting for the Merciful, the Generous, the Wise, the Forbearing One to will plotting from them, create plotting within them, and then threaten them for it and punish them severely for it? Know that we have repeatedly addressed the refutation of this argument using well-known methods.