His saying - glorified and exalted is He -: "Say, 'To Allah belongs the decisive proof. If He had willed, He would have guided you all.'" "Say, 'Bring forth your witnesses who testify that Allah has forbidden this.' If they testify, do not testify with them. And do not follow the desires of those who have denied Our signs and who do not believe in the Hereafter, while they equate others with their Lord.'"

Then, the Most High followed His command to His Prophet - blessings and peace be upon him - by stopping the polytheists at the point of their inability. He commanded him - blessings and peace be upon him - to say, clarifying and explaining: "Say, 'To Allah belongs the decisive proof.'" He means: the decisive proof is the ultimate purpose in the matter in which one argues. Then know that if He had willed, He would have guided the entire world.

Qadi Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: This verse refutes the Mu'tazilites in their claim that guidance and faith are solely from the servant, not from Allah, the Most High. If they say: The meaning of "He would have guided you" is that He would have compelled you to guidance; this contradicts their belief that the faith which Allah, the Most High, desires from His servants and rewards them for is not that which the servant is compelled to, but rather that which occurs solely from the servant.

And "Halum" means: "Bring"; and at that time it is transitive. It can also mean: "Come"; and at that time it does not take an object. Some Arabs consider it a noun for the verb, like "Ruwaidaka"; thus, it can address one person, all, masculine, and feminine equally. Some Arabs consider it a verb, constructing it with pronouns, saying: "Halum, O Zayd"; and "Halumu, O people"; and "Halumi, O Hind"; and similar to this. Abu Ali mentioned both languages in "Al-Ighfal"; and Abu Ubaidah said: The first language is for the people of Al-Aliyah; and the second language is for the people of Najd. Sibawayh and Al-Khalil said: Its origin is "Halum"; and some of them said: Its origin is "Halumm"; and the alif was omitted due to the meeting of the two consonants; thus, it became "Halumm". The one who said its origin is "Halum" omitted it, and the one who said its origin is "Halumm" merged it without following the norm.

And the meaning of this verse is: "Say, 'Bring your witnesses regarding what you claim Allah has forbidden.'" Then Allah, the Most High, said to His Prophet - peace and blessings be upon him -: "If they testify"; meaning: "If someone fabricates for them a testimony or a report about prophethood or the like, then avoid that, and do not testify with them." And in His saying - the Most High -: "So do not testify with them"; there is a strong description of their testimony as being ultimately false. "And do not follow the desires"; He means: "Do not sink into the desires of the disbelievers and agree with their words." "And those who do not believe"; this is a conjunction of one description upon another, as you say: "Zayd, the generous and the wise, came to me." This is the view of most people. Al-Naqqash said: It was revealed regarding the materialists among the heretics. "And they equate others with their Lord"; meaning: they make equals to Him, even if it is among the heretics; their equity is not this.