Tafsir of Saba' 34:32

"Said those who were arrogant..."

The pronoun "we" (naḥnu) is preceded by the particle of denial (hamzat al-inkār). The purpose is to deny that they were the ones who hindered the others from faith, and to establish that the others hindered themselves by their own choice. It is as if they said: "Did we force you and stand between you and your ability to choose, after it had come to you?"—meaning, after you had resolved to enter into faith and your intentions to choose it were sound? Rather, you deprived yourselves of your own share, preferred misguidance over guidance, and obeyed the command of desire rather than the command of prohibition. Thus, you were criminals and disbelievers by your own choice, not because of our words or our enticements.

If you ask: Since idh (when/since) and idhā (when) are adverbs that require a following clause, how can idh be used as a noun to which something is added? I reply: Time has been granted a flexibility not found in other things. Therefore, time is added to sentences, as in your saying: "I came to you baʿda idh jāʾa Zayd (after the time when Zayd came)," and ḥīna-idhin (at that time), and yawma-idhin (on that day), and "That was awāna ḥajjāja amīr (the time when al-Hajjaj was commander)," and "at the time when Zayd went out."

When the arrogant denied being the cause of the weak ones' disbelief by saying, "Did we hinder you?", and asserted by saying, "Rather, you were criminals," that it was due to their own acquisition and choice, the weak ones retorted: "Rather, [it was your] plotting by night and day." They nullified [the arrogant ones' claim] with this iḍrāb (refutation/turning away), as if to say: "The criminality did not originate from us, but from your constant plotting against us, night and day, and your compelling us toward polytheism and the taking of rivals [to God]."

The meaning of "plotting of night and day" is your plotting during the night and day. The adverb is treated as a direct object to which the "plotting" is attributed. Alternatively, the night and day are made the plotters through metaphorical attribution. It is also read as bal makru-n laylun wa-nahārun (with tanwīn and the two adverbs in the accusative), and bal makru-l-layli wa-n-nahāri (with nominative and accusative). This means: you repeat the seduction as a constant plot, never flagging in it.

If you ask: What is the basis for the nominative and accusative [in the readings]? I reply: The nominative is a subject or predicate, meaning: "Rather, the cause of your plotting, or your plotting itself, is the reason for that." The accusative is based on: "Rather, you repeat the seduction [like] the plotting of night and day."

If you ask: Why is it said, "Said those who were arrogant," without a conjunction, while it is said, "And said those who were oppressed"? I reply: Because the speech of the oppressed had already passed previously, so the answer was brought without a conjunction by way of istiʾnāf (resumption). Then, another statement from the oppressed was brought, so it was conjoined to their first statement.

If you ask: Who is the owner of the pronoun in "And they will hide [their regret]"? I reply: The genus that includes both types—the arrogant and the oppressed. They are the "wrongdoers" in the verse: "When the wrongdoers are made to stand before their Lord" (Saba': 31). The arrogant will regret their misguidance and leading others astray, and the oppressed will regret their misguidance and following the misguiders.

"In the necks of those who disbelieved"—meaning in their necks. The explicit noun is used to emphasize their condemnation and to indicate what they deserved the shackles for. Qatadah said: "They hid the speech of that among themselves." It is also said: "They hid their regret," meaning they manifested it (it is one of the aḍdād—words with opposite meanings).

"And We did not send into a city any warner except that its affluent said, 'Indeed we, in that with which you have been sent, are disbelievers.' And they said, 'We are more [in] wealth and children, and we are not to be punished.'"