Tafsir of Al-Furqan 25:44

"Or" (Am): This is munqati‘ah (disjunctive). Its meaning is: "Nay, do you think?" It is as if this censure is more severe than the one preceding it, such that it warrants turning away from the former to this one. This refers to their being devoid of hearing and intellect, for they do not lend an ear to hear the truth, nor an intellect to contemplate it. They are likened to cattle, which are the archetype of heedlessness and misguidance, and then [are described as] even more astray than them.

If you ask: Why did He place "his desire" (hawahu) after [the verb], when the original construction would be "he took desire as a god" (ittakhadha al-hawa ilahan)? I say: It is merely the advancement of the second object over the first for the sake of emphasis (‘inayah), just as you say: "I knew as departing, Zayd," because of your greater concern for the "departing."

If you ask: What is the meaning of mentioning "the majority" (aktharahum)? I say: Among them were those who were prevented from Islam by only one ailment: the love of leadership, and that is sufficient as an incurable disease.

If you ask: How were they made more astray than cattle? I say: Because cattle submit to their masters who feed and tend to them; they recognize who treats them well and who treats them poorly; they seek what benefits them and avoid what harms them; and they are guided to their pastures and watering places. These people, however, do not submit to their Lord, nor do they recognize His benevolence toward them as opposed to the malice of Satan—who is their enemy. They do not seek the reward which is the greatest of benefits, nor do they fear the punishment which is the most severe of harms and perils, nor are they guided to the truth, which is the wholesome path and the sweet, quenching water.

{ Have you not seen your Lord, how He extended the shadow? And if He had willed, He could have made it stationary. Then We made the sun an indication for it. Then We withdrew it to Us, a gradual withdrawal. }