فَليَدعُ نادِيَهُ

Let him summon his cohorts.

EXEGESIS

The word nādī (translated here as cohorts) has as its root letters the trilateral n-d-w.^{‎[1]Arabic-English Dictionary of Qur’anic Usage, p. 924.} The root letters have the meaning of to call, to seek assistance, to call together, to get together, to assemble, an assemblage, and to consult.^{‎[2]Arabic-English Dictionary of Qur’anic Usage, p. 924.} The word nādī itself literally means the place of congregation where a group gathers in order to confer and consult,^{‎[3]Arabic-English Dictionary of Qur’anic Usage, p. 924; Zamakhshari, 4/778; al-Aṣfā fī al-Tafsīr, 2/1460; Kashif, 7/589; Amthal, 20/334.} and a council or an assembly such as in 29:29.^{‎[4]Arabic-English Dictionary of Qur’anic Usage, p. 925.} The term is also applied to the place where people gather in order to enjoy and make merry since they call on each other there. Again, 29:29 aptly conveys such meaning.^{‎[5]Amthal, 20/334.} Ṭabarī explicitly identifies the word by writing: ‘It is the place of sitting down; the place of gathering.’^{‎[6]Tabari, 30/165; Mizan, 20/327.} The term nadwah also shares the same root letters and is a place where people gather to consult on various issues. The dār al-nadwah was a well-known consultation place of the Quraysh.^{‎[7]Amthal, 20/334.} It can also mean supporters, i.e. those whom one calls for support and assistance. Such a meaning comes across clearly in this verse and thus the word nādī in this verse refers to ahl al-nādī;^{‎[8]Tabrisi.J, 4/515; Mizan, 20/327.} these are the people who gather at a particular place of congregation. Hence the word nādī in this verse is understood to be part of a possessive construct, which is ahl al-nādī (the people of the assembly), where its noun is deemed elided and therefore implicit, while its genitive occurs explicitly.^{‎[9]Kashif, 7/585.}

EXPOSITION

Since the word nādī in the verse refers to the ahl al-nādī,^{‎[10] Tabrisi.J, 4/515; Mizan, 20/327.} a reference to the people who gather at a particular place of congregation such that the word nādī is understood to be part of a possessive construct (ahl al-nādī (the people of the assembly)), where its noun is deemed elided and therefore implicit while its genitive occurs explicitly,^{‎[11] Kashif, 7/585.} the verse therefore intends the group or gang of people on whom individuals such as Abū Jahl would rely from among family members, friends, and acquaintances.^{‎[12] Amthal, 20/334.} Consequently, Quran commentators give various synonyms to explain the word, such as al-Farrāʾ, who adds the word qawmahu – his people – in explanation,^{‎[13] Maʿānī al-Qurʾān, 3/279.} while Tustarī explains it as ʿashīratahu – his kinsfolk, clan, and tribe.^{‎[14] Tustari, 1/200.} Muqātil explains the word nādiyahu (his cohorts) to mean the Banī Makhzūm, Abū Jahl’s tribe, writing that it means ‘his helpers’,^{‎[15] Tafsīr Muqātil ibn Sulaymān, 4/763.} while Ṭabarī mentions all these synonyms, writing that the verse means: Let Abū Jahl call upon the people of his gathering (ahla majlisihi),^{‎[16] Majāz al-Qurʾān, 2/304.} his helpers (anṣārahu) from his family/tribe and people (min ʿashīratihi wa qawmihi).^{‎[17] Tabari, 30/165.}

Verse 17, which resembles 17:56 as well as verse 18 of this surah, is in the form of a threatening response to the person identified in the extra-Quranic literature as Abū Jahl. Indeed, al-Wāḥidī explicitly identifies this verse with Abū Jahl in his famous work on the reasons or occasions of revelations titled Asbāb al-Nuzūl.^{‎[18] Wahidi, p. 164.} The extra-Quranic literature suggests that when Abū Jahl harangued the Prophet for continuing to say his prayers at the Kaaba in the manner in which his faith prescribed, the Prophet reproached and answered him back in a fearless and threatening manner. This surprised Abū Jahl who responded that if the Prophet was trying to threaten him then he should know that he, Abū Jahl, had access to a larger group of helpers whom he could call for aid.^{‎[19] Tabrisi.J, 4/515; al-Aṣfā fī al-Tafsīr, 2/1460.} Thus this verse and the next respond to him. Verse 17 is an imperative, meaning: So let him call his cohorts, We do not care. Therefore, the verse occurs as a concomitant to what Abū Jahl claimed to the Prophet, which was that he had a greater number of people whom he could call for aid.^{‎[20] Munyat al-Ṭālibīn fī Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-Mubīn, 30/516.}

[1] Arabic-English Dictionary of Qur’anic Usage, p. 924.
[2] Arabic-English Dictionary of Qur’anic Usage, p. 924.
[3] Arabic-English Dictionary of Qur’anic Usage, p. 924; Zamakhshari, 4/778; al-Aṣfā fī al-Tafsīr, 2/1460; Kashif, 7/589; Amthal, 20/334.
[4] Arabic-English Dictionary of Qur’anic Usage, p. 925.
[5] Amthal, 20/334.
[6] Tabari, 30/165; Mizan, 20/327.
[7] Amthal, 20/334.
[8] Tabrisi.J, 4/515; Mizan, 20/327.
[9] Kashif, 7/585.
[10] Tabrisi.J, 4/515; Mizan, 20/327.
[11] Kashif, 7/585.
[12] Amthal, 20/334.
[13] Maʿānī al-Qurʾān, 3/279.
[14] Tustari, 1/200.
[15] Tafsīr Muqātil ibn Sulaymān, 4/763.
[16] Majāz al-Qurʾān, 2/304.
[17] Tabari, 30/165.
[18] Wahidi, p. 164.
[19] Tabrisi.J, 4/515; al-Aṣfā fī al-Tafsīr, 2/1460.
[20] Munyat al-Ṭālibīn fī Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-Mubīn, 30/516.