Al-A'raf: (196 - 198) Indeed, my protector is Allah...

Verse 196

Know that after having established in the preceding verses that these idols possess no power to benefit or harm, this verse asserts that it is incumbent upon every rational person to worship Allah Almighty, for He is the one who manages the attainment of benefits in both religion and worldly life. The attainment of religious benefits is due to the revelation of the Book, while the attainment of worldly benefits is what is meant by His statement: {And He takes care of the righteous}.

Al-Wahidi (may Allah have mercy on him) stated that the reciters read Waliyyi (وليي) with three Yā’s:

1. The first Yā’ is the Yā’ of the fa'īl pattern, which is quiescent (sākin).
2. The second is the Lām of the verb form, which is vocalized with a kasra. The first Yā’ is assimilated into it, resulting in a geminated (shaddah) Yā’.
3. The third is the Yā’ of possession (Yā’ al-iḍāfah).

It is narrated from Abu 'Amr that he recited Walliyyu Allāh (ولي الله) with a geminated Yā’. The justification for this is that he omitted the Yā’ that is the Lām of the fa'īl pattern, similar to the omission of the Lām in the phrase fa'amālayta bihi fa-lāh (فاماليت به فاله). Then, the Yā’ of the fa'īl pattern was assimilated into the Yā’ of possession, resulting in Walliyyu Allāh. The fatḥah on this word is the fatḥah of the Yā’ of possession. As for the rest of the reciters, they permitted the juxtaposition of three Yā’s. And Allah knows best.

{Indeed, my protector is Allah, who sent down the Book}: Meaning, the one who takes charge of protecting and supporting me is Allah, who revealed the Book containing these great, beneficial religious sciences.

{And He takes care of the righteous}: He supports them, so the enmity of those who oppose them does not harm them. In this, the Prophet (peace be upon him) is assured against the harm of the polytheists' plotting.

I heard that 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz used not to save anything for his children. When questioned about this, he replied: "My son will either be among the righteous or among the criminals. If he is among the righteous, then Allah is his protector, and one whom Allah protects has no need of my wealth. If he is among the criminals, then Allah Almighty has said: {And I will not be a helper to the criminals} (Al-Qasas: 17). And whoever Allah rejects, I will not busy myself with rectifying his affairs."

Verse 197

Regarding this verse, there are two opinions:

The First Opinion: That what is meant here is a description of the idols with these attributes.

If one asks: These matters have already been mentioned in the preceding verses, so what is the benefit of repeating them? We reply: Al-Wahidi said that this meaning was repeated because the first mention was in the context of reprimand, whereas this mention is in the context of distinguishing between whom worship is permissible for and whom it is not permissible for. It is as if He is saying: The deity worthy of worship must be one who takes care of the righteous, and these idols are not like that, so they are not fit for divinity.

The Second Opinion: That these mentioned conditions are attributes of the polytheists who call upon others besides Allah. That is, the disbelievers used to frighten the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and his Companions. So Allah Almighty said that they are incapable of anything. Rather, they have reached such a degree of ignorance and foolishness that if you called upon them and presented the greatest forms of argument and proof, they would absolutely not comprehend it with their intellects.

If one asks: The polytheists were not previously mentioned; only the idols were mentioned. How can what is stated be correct? We reply: They were previously mentioned in His statement: {Say: Call upon your partners, then plot against me} (Al-A'raf: 195).

Verse 198

If we apply these attributes to the idols, we say: The meaning of them looking (yanẓurūn) is that they are positioned facing the people—from the saying: "Two mountains are mutanāẓirān" (متناظران), meaning they face each other.

If we apply them to the polytheists, the meaning is: Even though they look at people, due to the intensity of their turning away from the truth, they do not benefit from that looking and seeing, so they become as if they were blind.

This verse indicates that looking (naẓar) is not the same as seeing (ibṣār), because Allah Almighty affirmed looking and negated seeing, which indicates a difference between the two. This inference has been refuted by saying: The meaning is, "You think they are looking at you, while in reality they are not looking," meaning, "You think they see you, while they do not perceive you." And seeing (ru'yah) in the sense of thinking (ḥisbān) is established, as in His saying: {And you see the people as intoxicated, while they are not intoxicated} (Al-Hajj: 2).

Verse 199