Tafsir of Fatir 35:8

"Is he, then, to whom the evil of his deed has been made attractive, so he considers it good..."

Having mentioned the two groups—those who disbelieved and those who believed—He said to His Prophet: "Is he, then, to whom the evil of his deed has been made attractive, so he considers it good..." meaning: Is he, from among these two groups, like one to whom it has not been made attractive? It is as if the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "No." So He said: "Then indeed Allah sends astray whom He wills and guides whom He wills, so do not let yourself perish in regret over them."

The meaning of "making the deed attractive" and "leading astray" is one and the same: it is for the sinner to be in a state where benefits are of no avail to him, until he deserves, by that, the abandonment of Allah (Exalted is He) and His leaving him to his own devices. At that point, he wanders aimlessly in misguidance, releases the reins of prohibition, and embraces the obedience of desire, until he sees the ugly as beautiful and the beautiful as ugly, as if his intellect has been overcome and his discernment stripped away. He settles under the saying of Abu Nuwas:

Give me to drink until you see me Finding the ugly to be beautiful.

When Allah abandons those who are determined upon disbelief and leaves them to their own devices, the Messenger must not concern himself with their affairs, nor pay heed to their mention, nor grieve or feel regret over them, following the way of Allah (Exalted is He) in abandoning them and leaving them to themselves.

Al-Zajjaj mentioned that the meaning is: "Is he to whom the evil of his deed has been made attractive [like one who is guided]?"—the answer being omitted due to the indication of "Then indeed Allah sends astray whom He wills and guides whom He wills."

"In regret" (ḥasarāt): An object for the sake of which (mafʿūl lahu), meaning: Do not destroy yourself for the sake of regrets. "Over them" (ʿalayhim) is connected to "perish" (tadhhab), just as you say: "He perished over him out of love," or "He died over him out of grief." Or, it is an explanation of that which is being grieved over. It is not permissible for it to be connected to "regrets," because a verbal noun (maṣdar) cannot be preceded by its connection.

It is also permissible for it to be a state (ḥāl), as if his entire self has become regrets due to the excess of grief, as Jarir said: The heat of the midday suns wore away their flesh during the night journey, Until they became [nothing but] chests and fronts. He means: They returned as chests and fronts, i.e., nothing remained but their chests and fronts. From this is His saying: So upon their tracks, my soul falls In regrets, and their memory is an illness to me.

It was recited: "Do not let your soul perish" (lā tudhhib nafsaka).

"Indeed, Allah is Knowing of what they do": A threat to them of punishment for the evil of their deeds.

"And it is Allah who sent the winds, and they stirred the clouds, and We drove them to a dead land and gave life thereby to the earth after its lifelessness. Thus is the Resurrection."