Tafsir of Al-Qasas 28:41-42

"And We made them leaders inviting to the Fire..."

If you ask: What is the meaning of His saying: {And We made them leaders inviting to the Fire}?

I say: Its meaning is: We called them leaders inviting to the Fire, and we said: "They are leaders inviting to the Fire," just as the successors of truth are called leaders inviting to Paradise. This is like your saying, "He made him a miser or a transgressor," meaning he called him such and said: "He is a miser or a transgressor." Linguists say in explaining the phrase "he made him a transgressor or a miser": he called him so. From this is the Almighty’s saying: {And they made the angels, who are servants of the Most Merciful, females} (Az-Zukhruf: 19).

The meaning of their "inviting to the Fire" is their inviting [people] to the causes of it, namely disbelief and disobedience. {And on the Day of Resurrection they will not be helped}, just as the leaders who invite to Paradise are helped.

It is also permissible [to interpret it as]: We abandoned them (left them to themselves) until they became leaders of disbelief. The meaning of "abandonment" (khidhlan) is the withholding of divine graces (altaf). These are only withheld from one whom God knows will not benefit from them—the one who is determined upon disbelief, for whom signs and warnings are of no avail. This follows the path of metonymy, because the withholding of graces follows [the state of] determination, and the purpose of mentioning it is the determination itself. It is as if it were said: They were determined upon disbelief until they became leaders in it, inviting to it and to its evil consequence.

If you ask: What is the benefit in leaving out the "followed" (al-marduf—the determination) in favor of the "follower" (ar-radifah—the withholding of graces)?

I say: Mentioning the follower indicates the existence of the followed. Thus, the existence of the followed is known through the evidence that testifies to it, making it stronger in establishing it than merely mentioning it directly. Do you not see that you say: "Were he not determined upon disbelief, his affair settled, and his judgment fixed, the graces would not have been withheld from him"? By mentioning the withholding of graces, knowledge of the determination upon disbelief is attained, and more: it serves as proof of its existence.

This interpretation is supported by His saying: {And on the Day of Resurrection they will not be helped}. It is as if it were said: We abandoned them in this world, and on the Day of Resurrection they will be abandoned, just as He said: {And We caused a curse to follow them in this world}—meaning expulsion and distance from mercy—{and on the Day of Resurrection they will be among the disgraced}, meaning among the expelled and distanced.

"And We certainly gave Moses the Scripture after We had destroyed the former generations as enlightenment for the people and guidance and mercy that they might remember."