Tafsir of Ash-Shu`ara' 26:96

"They will say while they are therein..."

It is possible that Allah will cause the idols to speak so that the arguing and disputing may truly occur. It is also possible that this will take place between the sinners and the devils.

The "criminals" who led them astray are their leaders and elders, as in His saying: "Our Lord, indeed we obeyed our masters and our dignitaries, and they led us astray from the [right] way" (Al-Aḥzāb: 67).

• Al-Suddī said: They are the predecessors whom we followed.
• Ibn Jurayj said: They are Iblīs and the son of Adam who committed murder, for he was the first to establish killing and various types of disobedience.

"So we have no intercessors" Just as they see the believers having intercessors among the angels and the prophets.

"Nor a close friend" Just as they see the believers having friends, for there is no true friendship in the Hereafter except among the believers. As for the people of the Fire, there is only enmity and hatred between them. Allah the Exalted said: "Close friends, that Day, will be enemies to each other, except for the righteous" (Al-Zukhruf: 67).

Alternatively, it means: "We have no intercessors nor a close friend" among those we used to count as such, because they believed their idols would intercede for them with Allah, and they had friends among the human devils. Or, they meant that they have fallen into a destruction where they realize that intercessors and friends cannot benefit them nor repel anything from them; thus, by negating them, they intend to negate the benefit associated with them, for that which does not benefit is treated as if it were non-existent.

• Al-Ḥamīm (close friend): Derived from ihtimām (concern), meaning the one who is concerned with what concerns you. Or, it is from al-ḥāmma, meaning the elite, i.e., the special friend.

If you ask: Why is "intercessor" (shāfiʿīn) plural and "friend" (ṣadīq) singular? I say: Because intercessors are usually numerous, while a true friend is rare. Do you not see that when a man is afflicted by the oppression of a tyrant, a large group of his townspeople rise to intercede for him out of mercy and seeking reward, even if he had no prior acquaintance with most of them? As for the ṣadīq—the one sincere in his affection who is concerned with what concerns you—he is rarer than the egg of the Anūq (a mythical bird). Some wise men, when asked about a friend, replied: "It is a name without a meaning." It is also possible that "friend" is intended as a collective noun.

"If only we had a return [to the world]"

• "If" (law): In this context, it carries the meaning of a wish (tamannī), as if it were said: "Would that we had a return." This is due to the convergence in meaning between law and layta (would that).
• It is also possible that it remains in its original sense, with the response omitted, meaning: "If we had a return, we would have done such and such."