Al-An'am (The Cattle): Verses (23 - 24)

Then their trial (fitnah) was not...

Know that there are several issues here:

1. Recitation Variant 1 (Ibn 'Amir and Hafs from 'Asim): They recited $\text{{ثُمَّ لَمْ تَكُنْ فِتْنَتُهُمْ}} (Thumma lam takun fitnatuhum) with the feminine form of the verb (تَكُنْ - takun, with a tā' dotted from above) and the noun فِتْنَتُهُمْ (fitnatuhum) in the nominative case (raised).
   • In this reading, \text{{أَنْ قَالُوا}} (an qālū) is in the nominative case, serving as the subject (ism) of تَكُنْ (takun). The verb is feminine (تَكُنْ) because the predicate (فِتْنَتُهُمْ) is feminine in meaning (what they said is a fitnah), or because the predicate is interpreted as feminine, similar to \text{{مَنْ كَانَتْ أُمُّكَ}} (whoever your mother was).

2. Recitation Variant 2 (Hamzah and Al-Kisā'ī): They recited \text{{ثُمَّ لَمْ يَكُنْ}} (Thumma lam yakun) with the masculine verb (يَكُنْ - yakun, with a yā' dotted from below) and فِتْنَتُهُمْ (fitnatuhum) in the accusative case (nasb - منصوب).
   • In this reading, \text{{أَنْ قَالُوا}} (an qālū) is in the nominative case, serving as the subject (ism) of يَكُنْ (yakun), and فِتْنَتُهُمْ (fitnatuhum) is the predicate (khabar).

3. The Preferred Reading (Al-Wāḥidī): Al-Wāḥidī preferred the reading where \text{{أَنْ قَالُوا}} is the subject rather than the predicate. This is because when أَنْ (an) is connected to a verb, it is not typically described (as an adjective). It resembles the situation where a pronoun and an explicit noun are combined; the pronoun is usually taken as the subject, and the explicit noun as the predicate (e.g., كُنْتُ الْقَائِمَ - kuntu al-qā'im, where the pronoun I is the subject and the standing one is the predicate).

4. Regarding the phrase \text{{وَاللَّهِ رَبَّنَا}} (By Allah, our Lord):
   • The reading that has رَبَّنَا (Rabbanā) in the accusative case (nasb) has two possible interpretations: a. It implies an omitted verb, such as أَعْنِي (I mean) or أَذْكُرُ (I mention). b. It is a vocative (a call), meaning "By Allah, O our Lord!"
   • The rest of the reciters read رَبَّنَا (Rabbanā) with the genitive case (kasr), meaning it is an adjective describing Allah (the Almighty).

Al-Zajjāj stated that the interpretation of this verse is linguistically profound, known only to those familiar with the nuances of Arabic usage.

Allah (SWT) established that the polytheists were deluded by their polytheism and obsessed with loving it. This verse clarifies that their delusion and persistence in polytheism would only cease when they repudiated it and distanced themselves from it, swearing that they were not polytheists.

Analogy: If you see a person who loves someone with a blameworthy character, but when that person faces a trial because of that love, he disavows him, one might say: "Your love for so-and-so only existed until you denied him."

Here, the fitnah (trial/delusion) refers to their delusion by the idols. This interpretation is supported by what 'Aṭā' narrated from Ibn 'Abbās, who said: \text{{ثُمَّ لَمْ تَكُنْ فِتْنَتُهُمْ}} means "their polytheism in the world." This returns to the omission of a noun (ḥadhf al-muḍāf), meaning: "Then the consequence of their delusion was nothing but repudiation." It is like saying: "Your love for so-and-so only existed until you fled from him and abandoned him."

The apparent meaning of the verse suggests that they swore on the Day of Resurrection that they were not polytheists. This implies they would commit perjury on that Day. Scholars have two main views on this:

View 1: They cannot commit perjury (Al-Jubbā'ī and the Qāḍī):

They argue that people on the Day of Judgment cannot commit falsehoods, based on several proofs:

1. Proof 1 (Knowledge of God): On the Day of Judgment, people know Allah by necessity (iḍṭirār), not by inference (istidlāl). If it were by inference, the Day of Judgment would become a realm of accountability (taklīf), which is false. Since they know Allah necessarily, they are compelled (mulja'ūn) to avoid evil deeds. If this compulsion were absent, they would be free to commit evil, which is impermissible. Thus, they know Allah necessarily and are compelled to abandon evil.

• Objection: Why can't we say they commit this lie because the horrors of the Resurrection cause their minds to become disordered, leading them to say this falsehood while mentally incapacitated? Or, perhaps they forgot their polytheism in the world?
  • Response to the first objection: It is not fitting for Allah (SWT) to resurrect them, then rebuke them with \text{{أَيْنَ شُرَكَاؤُهُمْ}} (Where are their partners?), and then recount from them something that resembles an excuse while they are not rational. Furthermore, the accountable must be rational on the Day of Judgment to know they are not being wronged by Allah's treatment.
  • Response to the second objection: Forgetting something as significant as polytheism while possessing full intellect in the world is unlikely. An intelligent person should not forget such major events, even with the passage of time. If this were permissible, one could argue that a person who held great leadership positions for a long time could forget them, which leads to sophistry.

2. Proof 2 (Rationality and Knowledge of God): Those who commit this lie are either irrational or rational. If irrational, it contradicts divine wisdom (Allah recounting the words of the insane as a prelude to excuse). If rational, they know Allah is aware of their deeds and that lying to Allah is impossible. They know that lying will only bring increased hatred and wrath. Therefore, it is impossible for them to lie in that situation.

3. Proof 3 (Accountability): If they lied and swore falsely on the Day of Judgment, they would have committed two types of evil/sin, necessitating punishment. This would make the Hereafter a realm of accountability, which is agreed upon as false. If one argues they deserve no punishment for this lie/false oath, it implies Allah permits committing evil deeds, which is false.

Conclusion of View 1: Since it is established that they cannot commit evil/lies, the interpretation of \text{{وَاللَّهِ رَبَّنَا مَا كُنَّا مُشْرِكِينَ}} must be: "We were not polytheists in our belief and assumptions," because they genuinely believed themselves to be monotheists, distant from polytheism.

• Counter-Objection: If this is the case, they are truthful in what they report (since they believed they were not polytheists). Why then does Allah say \text{{انظُرْ كَيْفَ كَذَبُوا عَلَى أَنْفُسِهِمْ}} (See how they lied to themselves)?
• Response: The phrase \text{{انظُرْ كَيْفَ كَذَبُوا عَلَى أَنْفُسِهِمْ}} does not necessarily refer to their statement \text{{وَاللَّهِ رَبَّنَا مَا كُنَّا مُشْرِكِينَ}}. Rather, it refers to how they lied to themselves in the world regarding matters they asserted, such as claiming they were correct and their actions were not polytheism. The lie applies to the world, while the denial is negated in the Hereafter. The purpose of the verse is to show the contrast between the two states: in the world, they lied to themselves without restraint; in the Hereafter, they restrain themselves from lying, but their truthfulness is of no benefit. This summarizes the position chosen by Abū 'Alī al-Jubbā'ī.

View 2: The majority of commentators hold that the disbelievers do lie on the Day of Judgment.

Their proofs include:

1. Allah recounts them saying \text{{رَبَّنَا أَخْرِجْنَا مِنْهَا فَإِنْ عُدْنَا فَإِنَّا ظَالِمُونَ}} (Our Lord, remove us from it; if we should return [to sin], then indeed, we are wrongdoers) (Al-Mu'minūn: 107), even though Allah informed us \text{{وَلَوْ رُدُّوا لَعَادُوا لِمَا نُهُوا عَنْهُ}} (And if they were returned, they would return to that which they were forbidden) (Al-An'am: 28).
2. Allah says: \text{{يَوْمَ يَبْعَثُهُمُ اللَّهُ جَمِيعًا فَيَحْلِفُونَ لَهُ كَمَا يَحْلِفُونَ لَكُمْ وَيَحْسَبُونَ أَنَّهُمْ عَلَى شَيْءٍ أَلَا إِنَّهُمْ هُمُ الْكَاذِبُونَ}} (The Day He resurrects them all, they will swear to Him as they swear to you, and they will think that they are on something. Unquestionably, they are the liars) (Al-Mujadilah: 18), following the verse \text{{وَيَحْلِفُونَ عَلَى الْكَذِبِ}} (and they swear to falsehood) (Al-Mujadilah: 14), equating their lying in the Hereafter with their lying in the world.
3. Allah recounts them saying: \text{{قَالَ قَائِلٌ مِّنْهُمْ كَمْ لَبِثْتُمْ ۖ قَالَوا لَبِثْنَا يَوْمًا أَوْ بَعْضَ يَوْمٍ}} (A speaker among them will say, "How long did you remain?" They will say, "We remained a day or part of a day") (Al-Kahf: 19). All these indicate they commit perjury at times.
4. Allah recounts them saying: \text{{وَنَادَوْا يَا مَالِكُ لِيَقْضِ عَلَيْنَا رَبُّكَ}} (And they will cry out, "O Mālik, let your Lord put an end to us") (Az-Zukhruf: 77), even though they know Allah will not decree their release.
5. In this specific verse, Allah recounts them saying \text{{وَاللَّهِ رَبَّنَا مَا كُنَّا مُشْرِكِينَ}}. Interpreting this as "We were not polytheists in our assumptions and beliefs" contradicts the apparent meaning. Furthermore, interpreting the subsequent phrase \text{{انظُرْ كَيْفَ كَذَبُوا عَلَى أَنْفُسِهِمْ}} as referring to their lying in the world breaks the coherence of the verse, applying the first part to the Hereafter and the latter part to the world, which is highly improbable.

• Regarding the state of mind (rationality vs. irrationality): It is not impossible that when they witness the horrors of the Resurrection and the causes of intense fear, their minds become disordered, leading them to utter these words. As for the concern about divine wisdom in recounting what they said while disordered, this very recounting serves to instill intense fear in the listener in the world. Regarding the claim that the accountable must be rational on the Day of Judgment, the momentary disorder of their minds while speaking this specific phrase does not negate their rationality at other times.

This concludes the discussion on this issue.

Regarding the phrase: \text{{انظُرْ كَيْفَ كَذَبُوا عَلَى أَنْفُسِهِمْ}}

This means: "See how they denied their polytheism."

And \text{{وَضَلَّ عَنْهُمْ}} (And what they used to invent has gone astray from them) is connected to \text{{كَذَبُوا}} (they lied). The meaning is: "And how what they used to falsely attribute to their idols—worshipping them—has vanished from them, as those idols offered them no benefit, since they had hoped for their intercession and support."

Verse 27

\text{{وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَسْتَمِعُ إِلَيْكَ وَجَعَلْنَا عَلَى قُلُوبِهِمْ أَكِنَّةً أَنْ يَفْقَهُوهُ وَفِي آذَانِهِمْ وَقْرًا وَإِنْ يَرَوْا كُلَّ آيَةٍ لَا يُؤْمِنُوا بِهَا حَتَّى إِذَا جَاءُوكَ يُجَادِلُونَكَ يَقُولُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا إِنْ هَذَا إِلَّا أَسَاطِيرُ الْأَوَّلِينَ}}$

"And among them are those who listen to you, but We have placed over their hearts coverings, lest they understand it, and in their ears deafness. And if they see every sign, they will not believe in it until, when they come to argue with you, those who disbelieve say, 'This is not but legends of the former ones.'"