Commentary
And when they saw that the one who caused them this evil was their skins, by bearing witness against them and their companions for misleading them, and animosity and hatred had occurred among all, each one wished for the other to increase in their punishment. The misery of their skins was their misery. They specifically sought revenge against their companions. So, Allah, glorified and exalted is He, narrated their saying with His words: ﴿And they said to their skins﴾ [Fussilat: 21]. Or according to what you may estimate: they then knew that they were in error due to their negligence in reflection and their imitation of others. ﴿And those who disbelieved said﴾, meaning they covered the lights of their minds, calling upon what, if they were to hear it, would be an increase in their punishment. And His narration to us is a reminder and a warning: ﴿Our Lord﴾, meaning O You who have never ceased Your kindness towards us, ﴿Show us﴾ the two types ﴿of those who misled us﴾ from the path that leads to the place of Your pleasure, ﴿from among jinn and men﴾, who adorned for us the committing of evil, secretly and openly. The congregation read with a kasra on the ra of 'Show us'. Ibn Kathir, Ibn Amir, Ya'qub, and Al-Suwasi read from Abu Amr, and Abu Bakr from Asim with a sukoon on the ra here specifically.
Al-Asbahani said: It is narrated from Al-Khalil that if you say: 'Show me your garment' - with a kasra, the meaning is make it clear to me. And if you say it with a sukoon, it is a request, meaning give me your garment. Its counterpart is the well-known request in the meaning of giving, and its origin is bringing forth - this has ended.
﴿We will make them under our feet﴾ (p-182) in the Fire, as humiliation for them, just as we made them under our command ﴿to be among the lowest﴾, meaning among the people of the lowest level and those who are beneath us, just as we made them so in this world in reality by following them in what they wanted for us, and in the Hereafter by this wealth. The apparent meaning is that everyone wishes to know who misled them from the two tribes so that they may do that to them if they are able.
Explore Other Scholars on This Verse
Compare different scholarly perspectives on Surah Fussilat verse 29