So because You have led me astray, I will surely sit in wait for them. This refers to his being tasked with what caused him to go astray, and it did not remain as the angels did, despite them being better than him and Adam in souls and ranks. [The saying 'and Adam in souls and ranks' is according to the Mu'tazila, but according to the Ahl al-Sunnah, Adam is better than them.] And from al-Asamm: You commanded me to prostrate, but pride led me to disobey You. The meaning is: So because I have fallen into error, I will strive to lead them astray. [Mahmoud said: 'The meaning is: So because of my falling into error, I will strive to lead them astray until they are corrupted because of me... etc.' Ahmad said: Under the words of al-Zamakhshari, there are two subtle points of Mu'tazila: One of them is his distortion of leading astray to being tasked, because he believes that Allah, the Exalted, did not lead him astray, meaning He did not create for him error based on the principle of good and evil, and what is good and better. His belief compels him to attribute leading astray to his being tasked with prostration, because it was the cause of his error. Often, the actions of Allah, the Exalted, are interpreted when attributed to His essence in reality as causation, and this is made a metaphor of causality, because the action has connections with the doer, the object, the time, the place, and the cause. Thus, attributing it to the doer is in reality, and attributing it to the rest is metaphorical, and the action is attributed to Allah, the Exalted, because He is its cause, not because He is its doer. This was previously evidenced by the saying of Malik ibn Dinar to a man he saw chained and imprisoned for wealth: 'These chains were placed on your feet,' and he pointed to a basket containing various foods he saw with the imprisoned man, meaning your care for these foods was the cause of squandering the wealth that led you to have chains on your feet. Therefore, he intends to carry this verse, meaning by the tasking that was the cause of creating error for myself, I will surely sit in wait, making Iblis the true doer. As for attributing the action to Allah, the Exalted, it is metaphorical. This is one of the two subtle points.

And the other: He made the obligation among the actions, because he claims that the words of Allah, glorified and exalted is He, are created among His actions, not a description of His attributes. And the obligation is from the words, so these are two errors that the Qadariyyah have combined. And Iblis, may Allah curse him, was not pleased with either of them, because he attributed the misguidance to Allah, glorified and exalted is He, as He is the Creator of all things. What do you think of a group that accepts for themselves a hidden form of polytheism that Iblis did not precede? We seek refuge in Allah from incurring His wrath. Until they corrupt because of me, just as they were corrupted because of them. If you say: What does the 'b' relate to? Its relation to 'I will certainly sit' is hindered by the 'lam' of the oath; you do not say: By Allah, I will certainly command Zayd? I say: It relates to the omitted action of the oath, its meaning being: 'By what You have misled me, I swear by Allah I will certainly sit.' That is, 'By reason of Your misguidance, I swear.' And it may be that the 'b' is for the oath, meaning: 'I swear by Your misguidance I will certainly sit.' And he swears by the misguidance because it was an obligation, and the obligation is one of the best actions of Allah, as it is a means to eternal happiness, so it is worthy of being sworn by. Among the lies of the Jabriyyah is what they reported about Ta'us that he was in the Sacred Mosque and a man from the great jurists came throwing blame, so he sat with him. Ta'us said to him: 'Will you stand or should I have you stand?' The man stood up, and it was said to him: 'Do you say this to a jurist?' He said: 'Iblis is more knowledgeable than him, saying: 'My Lord, by what You have misled me.' And this one says: 'I mislead myself.' What do you think of a people who have become so reckless in attributing evils to Allah, glorified and exalted is He, that they fabricated lies against the Messenger and the Companions and the Followers? Ta'us's words ended as they claim. Ahmad said: I only mentioned such a thing from his words even though it is not necessary to point out its corruption and its deviation from correct beliefs to clarify the argument in the necessity of responding to him and to assist him on the path that Allah has guided him to. And Ta'us, may Allah be pleased with him, spoke the truth. As for Al-Zamakhshari's statement about the Ahl al-Sunnah whom he called Jabriyyah, that they are reckless in attributing evils to Allah, glorified and exalted is He, its essence is: They affirm the oneness of Allah so that they do not believe in a creator other than Allah, and to refute His saying, praising Himself: 'Allah is the Creator of all things,' unlike the Qadariyyah who are reckless to the extent that they associate partners and distort the words from their places, interpreting the doer as the cause. So which of the two groups is more deserving of security if you know? And Allah is the Guide to what is right. It was said that 'what' is for questioning, as if it were said: 'By what have You misled me?' Then he began: 'I will certainly sit.' And the affirmation of the 'alif' when a preposition is added to 'what' interrogative is rare and unusual. The root of misguidance is corruption. Hence, 'the young camel went astray' means it became lost. And 'the loss' is corruption in the stomach. 'I will certainly sit for them on Your straight path' means I will obstruct them on the path of Islam just as an enemy obstructs the road to cut it off from travelers. Its position is as an adverb, as in the saying: ... 'Just as the fox obstructed the path.'

Lasa'ida bin Ju'iya describes a spear as being soft, its shaft shaking in the hand due to its shaking, so it does not wear out in it, just as 'Aasal means the fox shook on the road. The preposition was omitted from the second due to necessity, and it was tolerated in the first. In 'Aasal, there is a meaning of entering quickly. And al-Zujaj likened it to their saying: Zayd struck the back and the belly, meaning on the back and the belly. And from the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, 'Indeed, the devil sits for the son of Adam at the paths: he sat for him at the path of Islam and said to him: You abandon the religion of your forefathers. He disobeyed him and embraced Islam. Then he sat for him at the path of migration and said to him: You abandon your homes and go into exile. He disobeyed him and migrated. Then he sat for him at the path of jihad and said to him: You fight and get killed, your wealth will be divided and your wife will be married to another. He disobeyed him and fought.' [Narrated by al-Nasa'i, Ahmad, Ibn Hibban, Abu Ya'la, and al-Tabarani from the hadith of Samura bin al-Fakih and Ibn Abi al-Fakih with a more complete narration.] 'Two notes': One of them is his saying 'at the paths' which is correctly stated in al-Dala'il with a kasra on the ra, with a thaa and a dhamma on the ra. And the second note is his saying 'at the paths': it occurred in al-Taybi, narrated by al-Nasa'i from the hadith of Sirah bin Ma'bad. And this is an error.' Then I will surely come to them from the four directions from which the enemy usually comes. This is a metaphor for his whispering to them and his temptation as much as he can and is able, like His saying: 'And provoke with your voice whoever you can of them and gather against them with your cavalry and your infantry.' If you say: How was it said 'from in front of them and from behind them' with a preposition of beginning, and 'from their right and from their left' with a preposition of passing? I say: The object in it is treated as the action is treated towards the object, just as the prepositions differ in that, they differ in this. And it is a language that is taken and not measured. Rather, one searches for the correctness of its position only. When we heard them say: He sat to his right and on his right, and to his left and on his left, we said: The meaning of 'on his right' is that he was able from the right side as one who overcomes is able over the one who is overcome. And the meaning of 'to his right' is that he sat distancing himself from the owner of the right, turning away from him and not being close to him. Then it became common until it was used for the distanced and others, as we mentioned in 'the Most High.' And similarly for the object, they said: I shot from the bow, and on the bow, and from the saying, because the arrow moves away from it, and it rises above it when placed on its belly for shooting, and the shooting begins from it. Likewise, they said: He sat between his hands and behind him meaning in it, because they are two circumstances for the action. And from in front of him and from behind him: because the action occurs in one of the two directions, as you say: I came to him at night, meaning part of the night. And from Shuqayq: There is no morning except that the devil sits for me at four watchtowers: from in front of me, and from behind me, and from my right, and from my left: As for from in front of me, he says: Do not fear, for Allah is Forgiving and Merciful, so I recite: 'And indeed, I am Forgiving to whoever repents and believes and does righteous deeds.' And as for from behind me, he frightens me with loss over what I left behind, so I recite: 'And there is no creature on earth except that upon Allah is its provision.' And as for from my right, he comes to me from the direction of praise, so I recite: 'And the end is for the righteous.' And as for from my left, he comes to me from the direction of desires, so I recite: 'And a barrier was placed between them and what they desire.' And you will not find most of them grateful.' This was said as a supposition, evidenced by His saying: 'And indeed, Iblis confirmed his assumption about them.' And it is said: He heard it from the angels by Allah informing them.