Tafsir of Al-Baqarah 2:165

"And among the people are those who..."

"Andads (equals/rivals)" They are like the idols. It is also said they are the leaders whom they followed, obeyed, and submitted to in their commands and prohibitions. This is evidenced by His saying: "When those who were followed disown those who followed them" (2:166).

"They love them" They revere them and submit to them with the reverence of a beloved.

"As the love of Allah" Like the reverence of Allah and submission to Him. That is, as Allah Almighty is loved—assuming it is a verbal noun derived from the passive voice. The mention of the one who loves Him is omitted because it is unambiguous. It is also said: "As they love Allah," meaning they equate them with Him in their love, for they used to acknowledge Allah and seek nearness to Him. When they boarded ships, they would call upon Allah, sincere to Him in religion.

"Stronger in love for Allah" Because they do not turn away from Him to another, unlike the polytheists. The polytheists turn away from their andads (rivals) toward Allah during times of hardship; they cry out to Him, submit to Him, and treat their idols as intermediaries between themselves and Him, saying, "These are our intercessors with Allah." They worship an idol for a time, then abandon it for another, or even eat it—just as the tribe of Bahila ate their god made of hays (a mixture of dates and clarified butter) during a year of famine.

"Those who have done wrong" A reference to those who take these andads. It means: If those who committed the great wrong of polytheism knew that all power belongs to Allah—over everything, regarding punishment and reward—and not to their andads, and if they knew the severity of His punishment for the wrongdoers when they witness the torment on the Day of Resurrection, they would experience such regret and sorrow, and such realization of their wrongdoing and misguidance, that it would defy description. The apodosis (the "then" clause) is omitted, as in the saying: "If you could see when they are made to stand..." (6:27), and the saying: "If you saw so-and-so while the lashes were striking him..."

It is read as law tara (if you could see) with a ta, addressing the Messenger or any listener; meaning, if you were to see that, you would see a momentous affair. It is also read as idh yurawna (when they are shown) in the passive voice. Idh (when) here refers to the future, as in His saying: "And the companions of Paradise will call out..." (7:44).

"When they disown" This is in apposition to "When they see the torment." That is, the followed—the leaders—disown the followers. Mujahid read the first (tabarra'a) as active and the second (tabarra'a) as passive, meaning: the followers disown the leaders.

"And they see the torment" The waw is for the state (hal); meaning, they disown them while they are seeing the torment.

"And severed are" Conjoined to tabarra'a.

"The ties" The connections that existed between them—of agreement upon one religion, of kinship, of affection, and of the relationship of following and being followed. As in His saying: "The ties between you have been severed" (6:94).

"If only" In the sense of a wish (tamanni). Therefore, it is answered with the fa (in fa-natabarra'a), which is used to answer a wish, as if it were said: "Would that we had a return, so we might disown them."

"Thus" Like that horrific showing.

"Allah will show them their deeds as regrets" Meaning, as sources of remorse and sorrow. It is the third object of ara (to show). Its meaning is that their deeds will turn into regrets for them, so they will see nothing but regrets in place of their deeds.

"And they will not be able to exit" They are in the position of the pronoun in the verse: "They spread the saddle-cloth, every swift mare..." in its indication of the intensity of their state regarding what is attributed to them, not for the sake of exclusivity.