Tafsir of Fussilat 41:26

"And those who disbelieved said..."

"And do not listen to this Qur'an and speak noisily (wa-alghaw fīhi) during it..."

It is read as wa-alghaw (with a fatḥah on the ghayn) and wa-ulghū (with a ḍammah). It is said: laghā yalghā and laghā yalghū. It refers to speech that is dropped, having no benefit or substance. It is said: "From the laghā (vain talk) and the obscenity of speech."

The meaning is: Do not listen to it when it is recited, and occupy yourselves during its recitation by raising your voices with myths, delirium, shouting, and the like, so that you may confuse the reciter, disturb him, and overcome his recitation. The Quraysh used to advise one another to do this.

"Then We will surely make those who disbelieved taste..."

It is permissible that by "those who disbelieved," he means specifically these people who engage in vain talk and those who command them to do so. It is also possible that he mentions "those who disbelieved" in a general sense so that they are included under that mention. We have already mentioned the addition of "the worst" in a way that makes repeating it unnecessary.

From Ibn Abbas: "A severe punishment" on the day of Badr.

"...the worst of what they used to do."

In the Hereafter. "That" is a reference to "the worst." The estimation must be: "The worst [is the] recompense for what they used to do," so that this reference is correct. "The Fire" is an explanatory apposition (ʿaṭf bayān) for the recompense, or the predicate of an omitted subject.

If you ask: What is the meaning of His saying, Exalted is He: "For them therein is the home of eternity"?

I say: Its meaning is that the Fire itself is the home of eternity, just as His saying, Exalted is He: "There has certainly been for you in the Messenger of Allah an excellent pattern" (Al-Aḥzāb: 21). The meaning is: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) is an excellent pattern. You say: "You have in this house a house of joy," meaning the house itself.

"The recompense of the enemies of Allah is the Fire; for them therein..."

Meaning: A recompense for what they used to engage in of vain talk therein. Thus, he mentions the denial (juḥūd) which was the cause of the vain talk.

"And those who disbelieved will say, 'Our Lord, show us those who misled us of the jinn and mankind [so that] we may place them under our feet so they will be among the lowest.'"