Tafsir for verse: 21:36
وَإِذَا رَءَاكَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوٓاْ إِن يَتَّخِذُونَكَ إِلَّا هُزُوًا أَهَٰذَا ٱلَّذِي يَذۡكُرُ ءَالِهَتَكُمۡ وَهُم بِذِكۡرِ ٱلرَّحۡمَٰنِ هُمۡ كَٰفِرُونَ ٣٦ ﴿36
36When disbelievers see you, they do nothing but take you in jest (saying to one another,) “Is this the one who talks of your gods?” - while they themselves reject even talking of the RaHmān (All-Merciful).
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Commentary

And when He, glorified and exalted is He, informed about their turning away from the Hour in denial, and He indicated that it is free from the unseen in the creation of this world and is exalted above all attributes of deficiency and is characterized by attributes of perfection, until He concluded that with something similar to what He began with in a clearer manner. In that, there was a warning to them about the trial. The trial is according to the measure of blessings. The greatest thing he was tried with was because there is no blessing greater than the blessing of him. And nothing is more evident than His signs. He referred to His saying, "And they kept secret their conversation" [Al-Anbiya: 3] and His saying: "And when he sees you" meaning, while you are the most honorable of creation, and all of you is dignity, majesty, greatness, and perfection. "Those who disbelieved" thus He made it clear that their oppression which necessitated that for them is disbelief, even if it is in the lowest rank, to make it appear ugly and to warn that it completely obliterates thought.

And when it was known that he, blessings and peace be upon him, is far removed from mockery, he indicated that they had deeply rooted themselves in disbelief until they reached the peak: "If" meaning what "they take you" meaning in the state of seeing. And soon those who remain from them will know that you are truly all seriousness, "except for mockery" meaning they made you, by carrying their souls, against what is believed, the very thing that is not in you at all. Then he clarified their mockery of him by saying that they say in denial and belittlement: "Is this the one who mentions your gods?" [meaning -] with evil. "Your gods" [Abu Hayyan said -]: and the mention can be with good or evil. [If the related one is not mentioned, the context indicates it - ] [it has ended -]. So if the context indicates one of the two, it is said: "And they" meaning while they were in a state that they were originally in mockery, which is that they are "with the mention of the Most Merciful" from whom there is no blessing upon them nor upon others except from Him. And He repeated the pronoun to emphasize what they brought forth of ugliness, saying: "They" meaning with their outward and inward states "are disbelievers" meaning they are concealing their knowledge of Him. So there is no wonder from one who is a subject of mockery for having denied the mention of one from whom there is no blessing nor punishment at all with evil, while he mentions one from whom every blessing is from Him with evil and mocks him.

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