Al-An'am (The Cattle): (126) And this is the path of your Lord...

There are several issues in this verse:

Issue 1: The Meaning of "And this" ($\text{و}_{\text{هاذا}}$)

This points to something previously mentioned. There are two opinions:

The First Opinion (The Strongest in my view): It refers to what was established and affirmed in the preceding verse: that action depends on a motivator (da'i), and the occurrence of that motivator is from God (Allah). Therefore, the action must originate from God. This necessitates pure Monotheism (Tawhid), meaning He is the Originator of all created beings and possibilities.

It is called a "path" (صراط) because knowledge of this principle leads to the true knowledge of Monotheism. It is described as "straight" (مستقيما) because the position of the Mu'tazila is not straight.

The Mu'tazila's view is flawed because the preference of one possibility over another must either depend on a pre-determining factor (murajjih) or not.

1. If it depends on a pre-determining factor: Then the action cannot proceed from the capable agent unless that factor is present. In this case, our position (that everything is by God's decree and predestination) is confirmed, and the Mu'tazila's view is invalidated.
2. If the preference does not depend on a pre-determining factor: Then this self-sufficiency must apply to all possibilities and created things. This necessitates the denial of the Creator and the creation, invalidating the concepts of action, agent, effect, and effector.

As for the Mu'tazila's claim that this preference requires an effector in some cases but not others, this is crooked and not straight. The straight path is to affirm the necessity of dependence (on a pre-determining factor) absolutely, which confirms our doctrine. This first interpretation is the preferred one for understanding this verse.

The Second Opinion: The phrase "And this is the straight path of your Lord" refers to everything previously mentioned throughout the entire Qur'an. Ibn Abbas said it means: "This, O Muhammad, is the straight religion of your Lord that you are upon." Ibn Mas'ud said it means the Qur'an.

The first opinion is stronger because the pronoun reference (الإشارة) is more appropriately directed toward the nearest mentioned subject.

Consequence of Affirming the First Opinion: Since God commanded adherence to what is mentioned in the preceding verse, that preceding statement must be among the clear, unambiguous verses (المحكمات), not the ambiguous ones (المتشابهات). When God mentions something and strongly commands adherence, reliance, and recourse to it, it must be a clear verse. Thus, the preceding verse is established as a clear verse, and it must be taken according to its apparent meaning, and interpretation (ta'wil) contrary to that is forbidden.

Issue 2: The Grammatical Status of "Straight" (مستقيما)

Al-Wahidi stated that mustaqiman (straight) is in the accusative case (منصوب) as a circumstantial adverb (حال). The operative factor for this circumstantial adverb is the meaning inherent in the demonstrative pronoun (هذا), because the demonstrative particle (ذا) implies the act of pointing. It is like saying: "This Zayd, while standing" (هذا زيد قائما), meaning: "I point to him in the state of his standing."

When the operative factor for the circumstantial adverb is the meaning of a verb rather than the verb itself, the adverb cannot precede it. Thus, one cannot say: "Standing, this Zayd" (قائما هذا زيد), but one can say: "Laughing, Zayd came" (ضاحكا جاء زيد).

Regarding the phrase: "Indeed, We have detailed the verses for a people who remember." (قد فصلنا الآيات لقوم يذكرون)

The detailing (تفصيل) of the verses means mentioning them one by one (فصلاً فصلاً) so that none mixes with another. God has clarified the correctness of affirming Divine Decree and Predestination in many successive verses in this Surah, using numerous methods and different approaches.

As for the phrase "for a people who remember" (لقوم يذكرون), what I surmise—and God knows best—is that God made this the concluding phrase because it is established in everyone's intellect that one side of a possibility cannot be preferred over the other except by a pre-determining factor (مرجح). It is as if God is saying to the Mu'tazilite: "O Mu'tazilite, remember what is established in your intellect: that one side of a possibility cannot be preferred over the other except by a pre-determining factor, so that the doubt concerning Divine Decree and Predestination is completely removed from your heart."

7 < { For them is the Abode of Peace with their Lord, and He is their Protector because of what they used to do. } > 7 !