His saying, exalted and majestic is He:

"And among the people are those who take besides Allah equals [to Him]. They love them as they should love Allah. But those who believe are stronger in love for Allah. And if only they who had wronged would consider, when they see the punishment, that all power belongs to Allah and that Allah is severe in punishment."

"When those who were followed disown those who followed [them], and they see the punishment, and all ties between them are severed."

"And those who followed will say, 'If only we had another chance to return, we would disown them as they have disowned us.' Thus Allah shows them their deeds as regrets for them, and they will not emerge from the Fire."

Allah, the Exalted, mentioned His oneness, then the verses indicating the Creator, who cannot be anything but One. Then He mentioned in this verse the deniers and the misguided, expressing astonishment at their severe misguidance despite the clear signs. The meaning is that in these matters are clear signs. "And among the people" - despite that clarity - "are those who take."

The word "takes" is singular in form according to the word "who," while the meaning is plural. The phrase "besides" gives the sense of something being excluded from the matter being discussed. The interpretation of "besides" as something other than or different from does not hold. The equal (nid) is the counterpart, the opponent, or the equivalent. If it opposes from one side, it is an equal from that side.

Mujahid and Qatadah said that the intended meaning of equals is the idols. The pronoun in "they love them" refers to those who have intellect, as worship has been placed at the level of those who have intellect. Ibn Abbas and Al-Suddi said that the intended meaning of equals is the leaders who are followed, who are obeyed in disobedience to Allah, the Exalted. The phrase "they love them" is in the accusative case as an attribute of equals, or as a condition of the implied subject in "takes," or it could be in the nominative case as an attribute of "who," provided that "who" is indefinite.

The "kaf" in "as the love" is in the accusative case as an attribute of a deleted source, and "love" is a source added to the object in the wording. It is understood as being added to the implied subject, with the estimation being: as His love for them. That is, they equate the love of Allah with the love of the idols.

Then He informed that the believers are stronger in love for Allah due to their sincerity and certainty of the truth.

And His saying, the Exalted: "And if only you could see those who wronged," Nafi and Ibn Amer read it with a 'ta' from above, and "that" with a fathah on the alif, and the other "that" likewise is a conjunction to the first. The estimation of that is: And if only you could see, O Muhammad, those who wronged in the state of their seeing the punishment, and their fear of it, and their horror of it, they would certainly acknowledge that all power belongs to Allah. The answer is implied in this manner of meaning, which is the agent for "that."

Another estimation is: And if only you could see, O Muhammad, those who wronged in the state of their seeing the punishment, and their fear of it, you would know that all power belongs to Allah. And the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, knew that, but he was addressed, and the intended audience is his nation, for among them are those who need to strengthen their knowledge by witnessing something like this.

And a third interpretation: If only you could see, O Muhammad, those who wronged when they see the punishment - for power belongs to Allah - you would surely know their extent of torment, and you would have been astonished by what has befallen them. The 'lam' is implied before 'an' so it is an object for it, and the response is omitted and estimated after that. The response to 'law' is omitted for emphasis, as you leave the listener to elevate their imagination with it. If you explained it to them, their souls would settle on what you explained.

Al-Hasan, Qatadah, Shaybah, and Abu Ja'far read: 'tara' with a 'taa' from above, and the hamzah of 'inna' is broken. The interpretation of that is: If only you could see those who wronged when they see the punishment, you would have been astonished by what has befallen them. Then the news begins with His saying: 'Indeed, power belongs to Allah.'

Another interpretation: If only you could see those who wronged when they see the punishment saying: 'Indeed, power belongs to Allah entirely,' you would have been astonished by their state.

Hamzah, Al-Kisai, Abu Amr, Asim, and Ibn Kathir read 'yara' with a 'yaa' from below and an open 'alif' from 'inna.' Its interpretation is: If only those who wronged could see in this world their state in the Hereafter when they see the punishment, they would know that power belongs to Allah.

Another interpretation, narrated from Al-Mubarrid and Al-Akhfash: If only those who wronged could see - meaning know - when they see the punishment, that power belongs to Allah entirely, they would have been astonished by what has befallen them. Thus, 'yara' is an agent for 'inna' and it suffices for the two objects.

Abu Ali said: The vision in this verse is the vision of sight, and the estimation in the reading of the 'yaa' is: If only those who wronged could see that power belongs to Allah entirely, and the response to 'law' is omitted for emphasis. The apparent action works in 'inna,' and it is more likely than the agent in it being estimated.

And 'idh' has entered, which is for what has passed in the midst of these near futures, to approximate the matter and to confirm its occurrence, just as the past takes the place of the future in His saying: 'And the companions of the Fire called to the companions of Paradise' [Al-A'raf: 50] and 'The command of Allah has come' [An-Nahl: 1]. Among them is the saying of Al-Ashtar Al-Nakha'i:

I preserved myself and turned away from greatness, and I met my guests with a frowning face.

And a group read 'yara' with a 'yaa' from below, and the open 'alif' from 'inna,' and that is either based on the omission of the response and the beginning of the news, or based on the estimation: they would say: 'Indeed, power belongs to Allah entirely.'

Ibn Amer alone read 'yarawn' with a dammah on the 'yaa,' while the others read it with a fathah. The text of this verse confirms that power belongs to Allah, contrary to the statement of the Mu'tazilah, in their denial of the meanings of the eternal attributes.

A group said: 'Those who were followed' refers to everyone who worshipped other than Allah. Qatadah said: They are the misleading devils, and Al-Rabi' and 'Ata said: They are their leaders. The wording of the verse encompasses all of this.

And 'idh' may be related to 'severe punishment,' and it may be that the agent in it is 'mention.'

And "those who were followed" with a فتح الباء - they are the worshippers of others than Allah, and the misguided who imitate their leaders or the devils. Their justification is that they said: Indeed, we did not mislead these; rather, they disbelieved by their own will. The punishment is attached to the followers due to their disbelief, and what they attempted to do in attributing their sins to the misleaders did not succeed. Mujahid read by advancing the verb attributed to the followers of the leaders, and delaying the attribution to the followed.

And the term 'cause' in the language means: the connecting rope that leads to something. It is said about everything that one holds onto as a link between two things. Ibn Abbas said: The causes here are the kinships. Mujahid said: They are the covenants, and it was said: the affections, and it was said: the abodes that they had in this world. Ibn Zayd and Al-Suddi said: They are the deeds, as the deeds of the believers are like the cause for their enjoyment, while the deeds of the wrongdoers were cut off.

And His saying, the Exalted: "And those who were followed said" - the meaning is that the followers who were disavowed said: If we were returned to the world so that we could do righteous deeds and disavow them. The return is the return to a state that had existed, and from this is the saying of Jarir:

And we have indeed turned towards Fazarah with a turn like the return of the generous, and we roamed then a roaming.

And the generous here is one of the arrows from the arrows of chance, and that is because when it comes out from the rababah, it returns immediately because there is no obligation in it, nor ruling about it.

And the 'kaf' in His saying: "as" is in a state of نصب as a description, either for a source or for a situation whose estimation is: disavowing as, and the 'kaf' in His saying: "Thus He shows them" - it was said: It is in a state of رفع as a news of a beginning whose estimation is: the matter is thus, and it was said: It is a mere comparative 'kaf', and the reference to that is to their state at the time they wished for the return.

And the vision in the verse is from the vision of sight, and it is possible that it is from the vision of the heart.

And "their deeds" - Al-Rabi and Ibn Zayd said: the meaning is: the corrupt deeds which they committed, for which the Fire became obligatory for them. Ibn Mas'ud and Al-Suddi said: the meaning is: the righteous deeds which they left, thus paradise was missed by them. This saying has been narrated in hadiths. These deeds were attributed to them in that they were commanded with them, while the attribution of the corrupt deeds is from the perspective of their having done them.

And "regrets" is a state that may be that the vision is sight-related, and a noun if it is heart-related. Regret is the highest degree of remorse and concern for what has passed, and it is derived from something that is exhausted which has been cut off and its strength has gone, like the camel and sight. It was said: It is from حسر if it reveals, and from this is the saying of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him: "The Euphrates will uncover a mountain of gold."