Tafsir for verses: 18:40, 18:41, 18:42, 18:43, 18:44
فَعَسَىٰ رَبِّيٓ أَن يُؤۡتِيَنِ خَيۡرٗا مِّن جَنَّتِكَ وَيُرۡسِلَ عَلَيۡهَا حُسۡبَانٗا مِّنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ فَتُصۡبِحَ صَعِيدٗا زَلَقًا ٤٠ ﴿40 أَوۡ يُصۡبِحَ مَآؤُهَا غَوۡرٗا فَلَن تَسۡتَطِيعَ لَهُۥ طَلَبٗا ٤١ ﴿41 وَأُحِيطَ بِثَمَرِهِۦ فَأَصۡبَحَ يُقَلِّبُ كَفَّيۡهِ عَلَىٰ مَآ أَنفَقَ فِيهَا وَهِيَ خَاوِيَةٌ عَلَىٰ عُرُوشِهَا وَيَقُولُ يَٰلَيۡتَنِي لَمۡ أُشۡرِكۡ بِرَبِّيٓ أَحَدٗا ٤٢ ﴿42 وَلَمۡ تَكُن لَّهُۥ فِئَةٞ يَنصُرُونَهُۥ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ وَمَا كَانَ مُنتَصِرًا ٤٣ ﴿43 هُنَالِكَ ٱلۡوَلَٰيَةُ لِلَّهِ ٱلۡحَقِّۚ هُوَ خَيۡرٞ ثَوَابٗا وَخَيۡرٌ عُقۡبٗا ٤٤ ﴿44
40then, it is likely that my Lord will give me (what is) better than your garden, and will send to it a punishment from the heavens, and it will become a barren land. 41Or, its water will sink deep in the earth, so that you will never be able to search it out.” 42And its produce was overwhelmed by calamities and he stood wringing his hands (in anguish) over what he had invested in it, while it was fallen down on its trellises and he was saying, “I wish I had not ascribed any partner to my Lord!” 43There were no supporters for him beside Allah, who could come to his help, nor was he able to defend himself. 44That is where the power of protection rests with Allah, the True God. He is the best in rewarding and best in requiting.
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Commentary

His saying, exalted and majestic is He:

﴿So perhaps my Lord will give me better than your garden and send upon it a punishment from the sky, so that it becomes a slippery plain﴾ ﴿Or its water becomes sunken, and you will never be able to seek it﴾ ﴿And his fruits were surrounded, and he began to wring his hands over what he had spent on it, while it was empty on its trellises. And he said, 'Oh, I wish I had not associated anyone with my Lord'﴾ ﴿And he had no group to help him besides Allah, nor was he one to be victorious﴾ ﴿There, the authority belongs to Allah, the Truth. He is the best in reward and the best in outcome﴾

This hope with

Ibn Kathir, Nafi, Ibn Amer, Asim, Abu Amr, Al-Hasan, Abu Ja'far, and Shaybah read: "And it was not" with a ت (taa) according to the wording of the group. Hamzah, Al-Kisai, Mujahid, and Ibn Wathab read: "And it was not" with a ي (yaa) according to the meaning. And "the group": is the assembly to which one resorts for support. Mujahid said: it is the tribe.

(p-612) The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: It is for me from فاء يفيء, its weight is فِعْلَةٌ "فِيئَةٌ" with the root letter removed for ease. Abu Ali and others said: it is from فَأوتُ and not from فاء, and what they said has entered into the morphology, and the first is more precise in meaning. Ibn Abi Abla read: "A group that supports him."

And His saying, the Exalted: "There" can be understood as a location for His saying: "victorious," and it can be understood that "the authority" is the subject and "there" is its predicate. Hamzah, Al-Kisai, Al-Amash, and Yahya Ibn Wathab read: "the authority" with a kasrah (the vowel mark) on the waw, and it means leadership and chieftaincy and similar. The others read: "the authority" with a fathah (the vowel mark) on the waw, and it means allegiance and connection and similar. It is reported from Abu Amr and Al-Asma'i that the kasrah on the waw here is incorrect; because (فِعالَةَ) only comes in what is a craft or a fixed meaning, and there is no assumption of authority here.

Abu Amr and Al-Kisai read: "the truth" in the nominative case as an attribute of "the authority." The others read: "the truth" in the genitive case as an attribute to Allah, the Mighty and Majestic. Abu Haywah read: "to Allah the truth" in the accusative case. The majority read: "after" with a dammah (the vowel mark) on the ‘ain and qaf. Asim, Hamzah, and Al-Hasan read: "after" with a dammah on the ‘ain and a sukoon (no vowel) on the qaf and with tanween on the baa. Asim also read: "after" with a yaa of femininity. Al-'uqb and Al-'uqba mean retribution.

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Ibn AtiyyahʿAbd al-Ḥaqq ibn Ghālib Ibn ʿAṭiyyah
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