Tafsir of Al-Anbiya' 21:2

"There comes not to them..." He establishes their turning away from the warning of the warner and the awakening of the awakener: God renews the Reminder for them time after time, and brings forth for them sign after sign, and surah after surah, to repeat the warning and exhortation to their ears, that perhaps they might take heed. Yet, hearing the verses and surahs—with all the varieties of exhortations and insights they contain, which are the truest of truths and the most serious of matters—only increases them in play, diversion, and mockery.

"The Reminder" (al-dhikr) is the portion of the Qur’an that has been revealed. Ibn Abi ‘Abla read muhdathin (newly revealed) in the nominative case, as an adjective based on the position of the word.

"While they play, their hearts distracted" These are two synonymous or overlapping circumstantial qualifiers (hal). Whoever reads lahiyatun (distracted) in the nominative case, then there is only one circumstantial qualifier, because "their hearts are distracted" is a predicate following a predicate for the pronoun "they."

"Distracted" (lahiyah) comes from laha ‘anhu (to be distracted from something), meaning to be heedless and inattentive. It means that even if they are intelligent, their intelligence is of so little benefit that it is as if they were not intelligent at all; they remain fixed in their heedlessness and their failure to reflect or gain insight with their hearts.

"And they concealed their private conversation" If you ask: "Private conversation" (najwa)—which is a noun derived from tanaji (whispering together)—cannot be anything but secret, so what is the meaning of "they concealed"? I say: It means they exaggerated in keeping it hidden, or they arranged it so that no one would notice their whispering or know that they were whispering at all.

"Those who did wrong" is a substitute (badal) for the [implied] subject in "they concealed," signaling that they are the ones branded with flagrant injustice in what they concealed. Or, it follows the dialect of those who say "The fleas ate me" (akaluni al-baraghith). Or, it is in the accusative case as a form of censure. Or, it is an initial subject whose predicate is "they concealed the private conversation," placed before it. The meaning is: "And these people concealed the private conversation." The noun was used in place of the pronoun to record their action as an injustice.

"Is this anything but a human being like you? Will you then approach magic while you see?" This entire statement is in the accusative position as a substitute for "the private conversation," meaning: "And they concealed this discourse." It is also possible that it relates to an implied verb "they said." They believed that the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) could only be an angel, and that anyone who claimed messengership while being human and bringing a miracle was a magician, and his miracle was magic. Therefore, they said by way of denial: "Will you approach magic while you are witnessing and observing that it is magic?"

If you ask: "Why did they conceal this discourse and exaggerate in hiding it?" I say: It was like a consultation among them, a dialogue in seeking a way to undermine his cause, and a scheme to discourage people from him. It is the habit of those consulting on important matters not to let their enemies participate in their counsel, and to strive to keep their secret hidden from them as much as possible. From this is the saying of the people: "Seek help in your needs through secrecy," which is attributed to the Messenger of God (peace be upon him).

It is also possible that they concealed their private conversation regarding this, and then said to the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) and the believers: "If what you claim is true, then tell us what we have concealed."

"He said, 'My Lord knows the speech in the heaven and the earth, and He is the Hearing, the Knowing.'"