وَقيلِهِ يا رَبِّ إِنَّ هٰؤُلاءِ قَومٌ لا يُؤمِنونَ

And his plaint: ‘My Lord! Indeed, these are a people who will not have faith!’

EXEGESIS

The particle wa (and) is a conjunctive, used to indicate that this verse is conjoined to something mentioned previously. Most exegetes suggest that it is adjoined to and with Him is the knowledge of the hour in verse 85. As such, the verse should be read as: and with Him is the knowledge of the hour and the knowledge of his plaint.[1] Some have suggested that it is conjoined to an implicit ʿan ʿibādatihi wa ʿan at the end of the previous verse. The verses would then read: Then where do they stray [away from His worship and away from] his plaint.[2]

Alternatively, the particle wa could be resumptive (istiʾnāfī), indicating the start of a new sentence. Based on this, there is an implicit yaʿlamu (he knows) after the particle wa, making the verse read: And [He knows] his plaint.[3]

Qīlihi (his plaint) is composed of a noun and a possessive pronoun that refers to the Holy Prophet. The noun qīl (plaint) means the same as qawl, both of which refer to speech. Some consider it as an infinitive,[4] which is reflected in Arberry’s translation: ‘And for his saying, My Lord, surely these are a people who believe not,’ as well as Nasr’s translation: ‘And as for his saying, “O my Lord, truly these are a people who believe not,”’ whilst others seem to suggest it is a noun, as reflected in our translation from Qarai.[5] There are other ways of syntactically analysing the verse which we have omitted for the sake of brevity.[6] The overall purport of the verse is clear, regardless of how one was to analyse the syntax.

According to some exegetes, attributing the speech to the Prophet (his plaint) suggests that it was repeated by him and known by his Lord.[7]

Hāʾulāʾ qawmun (these are a people) instead of qawmī (my people) is meant to demean them and dissociate from them due to their wretched state.[8]

EXPOSITION

This verse presents a cry of the Prophet and is an expression of grief, sorrow, and lament over the disbelief of those people. The intent behind God’s declaration that He knows this is to warn and threaten them.[9] This verse is an instance of using a declarative statement to express grief or complaint – a statement that functions as a performative utterance, similar to God’s words, And the Apostle will say: ‘O my Lord! Indeed, my people consigned this Quran to oblivion’ (25:30).[10]

REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE

According to some exegetes, this verse is conjoined to verse 80, and put together the verses would read: Or do they suppose that We do not hear their secret thoughts and their secret talks … And his plaint … As such, this verse emphasises that just as God is aware of the secret talks of the polytheists, He is also aware of the pleas of His Prophet.[11]

Some exegetes opine that the particle wa is that of concomitance (al-maʿiyyah) and should thus be translated as ‘whilst’. In this case, the verse is read in line with the previous verse as saying: If you ask them: ‘Who created them?’ they will surely say: ‘Allah.’ Then where do they stray? … [This is] whilst his plaint … As such, where are these polytheists straying, given the idolatry they are entrenched in, and given what the Prophet foresees of their future state – that they are among those whose rectification is not hoped for, nor can their healing from this sickness they carry be expected?[12]

Zamakhsharī critiques all the opinions discussed and instead opines that there is an implicit oath letter (ḥarf al-qasam) at the start of the verse, with the phrase ‘my Lord’ as the object of the oath and the phrase ‘indeed these are …’ as the subject of the oath. As such, the verse can be read as: By his plaint [of:] ‘My Lord! Indeed, these are a people who will not have faith.’[13]

Based on this reading, Maududi understands the verse as declaring that these polytheists are so utterly deluded that although they themselves admit that Allah alone is their Creator and Creator of their gods, yet they abandon the Creator and persist in worshipping His creatures. The object of swearing by this plaint of the Holy Prophet is that the conduct of the people clearly shows that they are, in fact, stubborn, for the foolishness of their attitude is apparent from their own admission, and such an irrational attitude can be adopted only by such a person who is resolved not to believe. In other words, the oath implies: The Prophet has rightly said so: ‘Indeed, these people would not believe.’[14]

Some exegetes postulate that the pronoun in his plaint refers to Prophet Jesus (a).[15]

[1] Rahnama, 17/117; Tabari, 20/664.
[2] Amthal, 16/110.
[3] Tantawi, 13/108.
[4] Qamus, 6/45; Rahnama, 17/117; Tantawi, 13/108; Mizan, 18/127; Razi, 27/650.
[5] Bahrayn, 5/457; Ibn Ashur, 25/302.
[6] For further explanations, see Abu al-Futuh, 17/197; Alusi, 13/107-108; Qurtubi, 16/124.
[7] Ibn Ashur, 25/303.
[8] Alusi, 13/107.
[9] Alusi, 13/107.
[10] Ibn Ashur, 25/303.
[11] Tantawi, 13/108; Tabari, 20/663.
[12] Khatib, 13/175-176.
[13] Zamakhshari, 4/268.
[14] Maududi, https://islamicstudies.info/tafheem.php?sura=43&verse=68.
[15] Qurtubi, 16/124.