'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful'

Tafsir of Surah 'Al-A'raf'

And it is entirely Makki; this is said by Al-Dahhak and others. And Al-Muqatil said: It is Makki except for His saying - glorified and exalted is He -: ﴿And ask them about the town that was by the sea﴾ [Al-A'raf: 163]; up to His saying - glorified and exalted is He -: ﴿From their loins, their descendants﴾ [Al-A'raf: 172]; for these verses are Madani.

His saying - the Mighty and Majestic -:

﴿Alif Lam Meem﴾ ﴿A Book that has been sent down to you, so let there be no discomfort in your chest from it, that you may warn by it and a reminder for the believers﴾ ﴿Follow what has been sent down to you from your Lord and do not follow other than Him, allies. Little do you remember﴾.

The explanation of the disjointed letters that are at the beginnings of the surahs has been previously mentioned; and the mention of the disagreement of the interpreters regarding them. This place is specific - in addition to those sayings - to what Al-Suddi said: Indeed, 'Alif Lam Meem' is the spelling of the name of Allah - glorified and exalted is He -; it is: 'Al-Musawwir'; and by the saying of Zayd ibn Ali: Its meaning is: 'I am Allah, the Separator'.

And His saying - exalted is He - ﴿A Book that has been sent down to you﴾; the verse; Al-Farra' and others said: 'A Book' is raised as a subject for the letters; as if he said: 'These letters are a Book that has been sent down to you'; and Al-Zajjaj refuted this saying with what has no merit; and others said: 'A Book' is raised as a subject of an implied beginning; its estimation is: 'This is a Book'; and ﴿'that has been sent down to you'﴾ is in the position of a description for 'A Book'.

Then the Prophet - blessings and peace be upon him - was prohibited from being in a state of discomfort; or to take from this Book; or because of its causes; discomfort; and the wording of the prohibition is for the discomfort; and its meaning is for the Prophet - peace be upon him -; and the origin of 'discomfort' is: constriction; and from it is 'harajah': the intertwined trees that have become constricted; and discomfort - here - encompasses doubt; and fear; and worry; (p-510) and everything that constricts the chest; and according to the cause of discomfort, discomfort is interpreted here; and its interpretation as doubt is weak; and the pronoun in 'from it' refers back to the Book; meaning: because of its causes; and 'from' here is for the beginning of the goal; and it is said: it refers back to the conveying; which the meaning of the verse includes; and it is said: to the warning.

The judge Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: This specification has no basis; for the wording encompasses the aspects that are due to the Book and for its sake. That includes the conveying, the warning, the exposure of the polytheists, the denial of the deniers, and other than that. And His saying, glorified and exalted is He, "So let there be no discomfort in your heart from it"; is an objection in the midst of the speech. Therefore, some people said: Indeed, it contains a precedence and a delay. And His saying, glorified and exalted is He, "To warn"; the 'lam' is related to "was revealed". And His saying, glorified and exalted is He, "and a reminder"; its meaning is: a reminder and guidance. And "reminder" is in the position of raising, connected to His saying - glorified and exalted is He -: "a Book"; so the estimation is: "These letters are a Book and a reminder". And it was said: Its raising is in the context of conjunction to the description of the Book; so the estimation is: "These letters are a Book revealed to you and a reminder"; thus it is a conjunction to "revealed"; included in the description of the Book. And it was said: "and a reminder" is in the position of accusative with an implied verb; its estimation is: "to warn with it and to remind, a reminder for the believers". And it was said: Its accusative is on the source. And it was said: "and a reminder" is in a position of genitive; connected to His saying, glorified and exalted is He, "to warn"; meaning: "for your warning and a reminder".

And His saying, glorified and exalted is He, "Follow what has been revealed to you from your Lord"; the verse; Al-Tabari said; and he narrated: The estimation is: "Say, follow"; so the saying was omitted due to the indication of the prior warning mentioned. And a group said: His saying, glorified and exalted is He, "Follow"; is a command that includes the Prophet - blessings and peace be upon him - and his nation.

The judge Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: The apparent meaning is that it is a command for all people; meaning: "Follow the religion of Islam and the Qur'an".

And Al-Jahdari read: "Seek what has been revealed"; from "seeking". And Mujahid read: "And do not seek"; from "seeking" as well. And His saying, glorified and exalted is He, "allies"; means everything that is worshipped and followed besides Allah, glorified and exalted is He; such as idols, rabbis, priests, fire, stars, and other than that. And the pronoun in His saying, glorified and exalted is He, "besides Him"; refers back to "your Lord"; this is the most apparent of its meanings and the clearest. And it was said: It returns to "what"; from His saying: "Follow what"; and it was said: It returns to the Book mentioned earlier. And "little"; is an adjective for the source; it is in the accusative case with an implied verb. And Makki said: It is in the accusative case due to the verb that follows it. Al-Farisi said: And "what"; in His saying, glorified and exalted is He, "what you remember"; is relative to the verb; and it is a source. And Ibn Kathir, Nafi, Abu Amr, and Asim, in the narration of Abu Bakr - may Allah be pleased with him - read: "You remember"; with a doubling of the dhāl and the kāf. And Hamzah, Al-Kisai, and Asim, in the narration of Hafs, read: "You remember"; with a lightening of the dhāl and a doubling of the kāf. And Ibn Amer read: "They remember"; with a yā; as a reference to the unseen. And it was narrated from him that he read: "You remember"; with two tā's; addressing present listeners.