Tafseer of The Ant · An-Naml · 27:43
And that which she was worshipping other than Allah had averted her [from submission to Him]. Indeed, she was from a disbelieving people."
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
Allah, exalted is His remembrance, says: what kept this woman, the queen of Sabaʾ, from مَا كَانَتْ تَعْبُدُ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ ("what she used to worship besides Allah") — that was her worship of the sun — was that she would worship Allah.
In accordance with what we have said concerning this, the exegetes spoke.
*Mention of who said that:*
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us — both of them together — on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: وَصَدَّهَا مَا كَانَتْ تَعْبُدُ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ: he said: her unbelief regarding the decree of Allah and her worship of an idol kept her from recognizing the Truth.
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid: وَصَدَّهَا مَا كَانَتْ تَعْبُدُ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ: he said: her unbelief regarding the decree of Allah kept her from recognizing the Truth. And if one were to say that its meaning is: Sulaymān kept her from what she used to worship besides Allah, in the sense that he held her back and brought about a separation between her and that — then that would be a good interpretation. And if one were also to say that Allah kept her from that by favoring her with islām, then that too would be a valid interpretation.
His word إِنَّهَا كَانَتْ مِنْ قَوْمٍ كَافِرِينَ ("she belonged to a people of unbelievers"): He says: this woman was an unbeliever (kāfir) from a people of unbelievers. The alif of "inna" is read with kasra as a new beginning. And whoever chooses the interpretation that we have chosen for His word وَصَدَّهَا مَا كَانَتْ تَعْبُدُ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ, then "mā" in His word مَا كَانَتْ تَعْبُدُ stands in the position of the nominative as the subject of the keeping-back, because its meaning is: it was not her ignorance and the fact that she had no understanding that kept her from the worship of Allah, but rather her worship of the sun and the moon kept her from the worship of Allah — and that was the religion of her people and her forefathers, and she followed their tracks therein. And whoever interprets it according to the two other ways, "mā" stands in the position of the accusative.
