Tafsir of Saba' 34:20

"And Iblis found his conjecture about them to be true..."

It is recited as ṣaddaqa (with a shadda) and ṣadaqa (without a shadda).

Regarding the reading where Iblis is in the nominative case (marfu‘) and ẓann (conjecture) is in the accusative (manṣub):

• If recited with shadda (ṣaddaqa): It means he confirmed his conjecture about them, or found it to be true.
• If recited without shadda (ṣadaqa): It means he was truthful in his conjecture, or he conjectured a conjecture (like saying "I did it with your effort").

Regarding the reading where Iblis is in the accusative (manṣub) and ẓann is in the nominative (marfu‘):

• If recited with shadda (ṣaddaqa): It means his conjecture found him (Iblis) to be truthful.
• If recited without shadda (ṣadaqa): It means his conjecture told him the truth when it imagined their seduction to him. People say, "Your conjecture told you the truth."

If both are recited in the nominative case, it means: "The conjecture of Iblis was true regarding them." If both were recited with shadda, it would be for emphasis, like saying, "My conjectures about them were proven true."

The Meaning: When he found Adam to be weak in resolve and inclined toward his whispering, he said: "His descendants are weaker in resolve than he is." Thus, he conjectured that they would follow him and said: "I will surely mislead them; I will surely seduce them." It is also said that he conjectured this when Allah informed the angels that He would place upon the earth one who would cause corruption therein.

The pronoun in "upon them" (‘alayhim) and "followed him" (ittaba‘uhu) refers either to the people of Saba or to the children of Adam.

He minimized the number of believers by saying, "except a party of the believers," because they are few in comparison to the disbelievers, as He said: "I will surely master his descendants, except a few" (Al-Isra: 62), and "You will not find most of them grateful" (Al-A‘raf: 17).

"And he had no authority over them..." He had no power of domination or mastery through whispering and seduction except for a valid purpose and clear wisdom: to distinguish the one who believes in the Hereafter from the one who is in doubt about it.

He justified this authority by "knowledge," meaning that which knowledge relates to. It is also recited as li-yu‘lama (passive voice: "so that it may be known").

"And your Lord is, over all things, a Guardian (ḥafīẓ)." Meaning: One who preserves them. Fa‘īl and mufā‘il are synonymous.

"Say, 'Call upon those you claim [as deities] besides Allah. They do not possess [even] an atom's weight in the heavens or on the earth, and they do not have therein any partnership [with Him], nor is there for Him from among them any assistant.'"