His saying - glorified and exalted is He -: "So if they deny you, then say, 'Your Lord is the Possessor of vast mercy, and His punishment cannot be repelled from the people who are criminals.'" "Those who associate others with Allah will say, 'If Allah had willed, we would not have associated anything, nor would our forefathers, nor would we have forbidden anything.' Thus did those before them deny until they tasted Our punishment. Say, 'Do you have any knowledge that you can produce for us? You follow nothing but assumption, and you are not but conjecturing.'" He means by saying: "So if they deny you regarding what Allah, the Exalted, has informed them that He has forbidden upon them; and they said: 'Allah has not forbidden anything upon us; rather, we have only forbidden what Israel forbade upon himself.'" - As reported by Al-Suddi: This was their statement. So say, O Muhammad, - in astonishment at their condition; and in magnification of their falsehood in denying you; while they know the truth of what you have said -: 'Your Lord is the Possessor of vast mercy'; for He does not hasten you with punishment; despite the severity of your crime." Al-Qadi Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: And this is like when you say - upon seeing a sin; or a despised matter -: "How forbearing is Allah, the Exalted!"; and you mean: "For His delaying upon such matters." So in His saying, the Exalted, "Your Lord is the Possessor of vast mercy"; there is a strong description of them with the utmost severity; and the intensity of tyranny. Then He followed this statement with a warning; in His saying, the Exalted, "And His punishment cannot be repelled from the people who are criminals"; as if He said: "And do not be deceived also by the vastness of His mercy, for He has a punishment that cannot be repelled from the criminals; either in this world or in the Hereafter." This verse; and those similar to it from the Meccan verses, have a ruling of fighting; and Allah - glorified and exalted is He - informed His Prophet - blessings and peace be upon him - that the polytheists will argue for the correctness of what they are upon; from their polytheism; and their religious observance in forbidding those things; by Allah's delaying; and His allowing their state; and that if He had willed otherwise, He would not have left them in that state. Al-Qadi Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: And it is clear that the polytheists have no proof in what they mentioned; for we say: "Indeed, Allah - glorified and exalted is He - if He had willed, they would not have associated." But He - glorified and exalted is He - willed their associating; and He enabled them to acquire polytheism; and sins; and love for it; and engagement with it; then He made the punishment; and reward contingent upon those things; and the acquisitions; and this is what the apparent meanings of the Qur'an require; in His saying, the Exalted, "A reward for what they used to earn." [At-Tawbah: 82]; and similar to that; and it is necessary for them in their argument that every way; and every sect; is correct; since all of them - if Allah, the Exalted, had willed - would not have existed. Al-Qadi Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: And some of the interpreters said: This statement of the polytheists is in the context of mockery; and this is weak. And the Mu'tazilah seized upon this verse; and said: Indeed, Allah, the Exalted, has condemned them for this statement; and He condemned it because their disbelief is not by the will of Allah, the Exalted; rather, it is a creation for them.

The judge Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: The matter is not as they said; rather, Allah, the Most High, condemned the assumption of the polytheists that whatever Allah, the Most High, wills does not incur punishment upon them. As for His condemnation of their saying: "If it were not for the will of Allah, we would not have disbelieved"; that is not the case.

Then He, the Most High, said: ﴿Thus did those before them deny﴾; and there is an omission in the speech that is indicated by the coherence of the words; as if He, the Most High, said: "The polytheists will say such and such; and there is no proof for them in that; nor anything that necessitates their denial; but thus did those before them deny with a similar doubt; from their assumption that Allah, the Most High, leaving them is a proof of His pleasure with their state.

And in His saying, the Most High, ﴿Until they tasted Our punishment﴾, there is a clear threat; and there is no explicit refutation of their saying: ﴿If Allah had willed, we would not have associated partners﴾ in the verse; rather, He left the refutation of them implied in the speech; due to its clarity; and His saying, the Most High, "nor our forefathers"; is connected to the pronoun in "we associated partners"; and the connection to the pronoun does not have a refutation by analogy; unlike the accusative; but Sibawayh has deemed the connection to the nominative pronoun as improper; and the reason for its impropriety is that when the verb is constructed, it becomes like a particle of the verb; thus the connection to it is deemed improper; due to its resemblance to a particle; and that is like your saying: "I stood and Zayd"; because its emphasis clarifies the meaning of the nominal; and removes from it the resemblance to the particle; and the connection is deemed proper by Sibawayh in His saying, the Most High, ﴿We did not associate partners, nor did our forefathers﴾; when the speech became lengthy; with "nor"; as if the meaning of the nominal became clear and necessitated "nor"; what is to be connected after it.

And His saying, the Most High, ﴿Say, do you have any knowledge﴾; the verse; the meaning is: "Say, O Muhammad, to the disbelievers: Do you have any knowledge from Allah, the Most High; that you can clarify; so that you can establish proof with it?"; and "from" in His saying, the Most High, "from knowledge"; is an additional confirming word; and its addition came because the question is included in what is not obligatory. ﴿You follow nothing but assumption﴾; meaning: you have nothing except assumption; and it is the most false of speech.

And the majority of people read: "You follow"; in the address form; and Ibrahim al-Nakha'i and Ibn Waththab read: "If they follow"; with a ya; as a narration about them.

The judge Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: And this is an odd reading; its weakness is supported by His saying, the Most High, ﴿And if you are﴾ and ﴿You estimate﴾; its meaning is: you estimate; and you assume; and you conjecture.