Tafseer of Those drawn up in Ranks · As-Saaffaat · 37:91
Then he turned to their gods and said, "Do you not eat?
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.
His saying فَرَاغَ إِلَى آلِهَتِهِمْ ("Then he turned secretly to their gods"): He, the Exalted, whose mention is exalted, says: he inclined toward their gods after they had departed from him and turned away. I am of the opinion that the origin of this lies in their saying "rāgha fulān ʿan fulān," when he deviates away from someone; its meaning, if that is so, would then be: he deviated away from his people and from going out with them, toward their gods. As ʿAdī ibn Zayd said:
"When deviating (al-rawāgh) is of no avail, and nothing avails except the truthful, sharp-witted companion." (1)
By his saying "deviating is of no avail" he means: evasion. As for the people of interpretation (ahl al-taʾwīl), they have interpreted it in the sense of "he inclined."
* Mention of who said that:
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda فَرَاغَ إِلَى آلِهَتِهِمْ: that is, he inclined toward their gods; he said: he went.
Muḥammad related to us, saying: Aḥmad related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, concerning his saying فَرَاغَ إِلَى آلِهَتِهِمْ, he said: he went.
And His saying فَقَالَ أَلَا تَأْكُلُونَ مَا لَكُمْ لَا تَنْطِقُونَ ("Then he said: 'Do you not eat? What is the matter with you that you do not speak?'"): this is an announcement from Allah concerning what Ibrāhīm said to the gods. In the sentence something has been omitted, because the indication of the sentence suffices for that, namely: and he brought the food to them, but did not see them eating, so he said to them: أَلَا تَأْكُلُونَ ("Do you not eat?"). And when he did not see them eating, he said to them: what is the matter with you that you do not eat.
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The footnotes:
(1) The author attributes this verse to ʿAdī ibn Zayd al-ʿIbādī, but I have not found it in his biography in the Aghānī, nor in his poetic works among the poets of Christianity. Perhaps it belongs to his qaṣīda that begins with "Arwāḥu mudawwiʿin am bukūru." The author cites it in connection with His, the Exalted, saying: "Then he turned upon them, striking them with the right hand," in order to demonstrate that the meaning of "rāgha" is: he deviated. Some have interpreted it as "he inclined." In al-Lisān, [entry] "rawgh": "rāgha yarūghu rawghan wa rawaghānan" means: he deviated. And "rāgha ilā kadhā" means: he inclined toward it secretly and deviated.
And His, the Exalted, saying "Then he turned upon them striking" means: he inclined and came upon them. End. And in [al-Lisān, entry] "naḥr": al-niḥr (with kasra on the nūn) and al-niḥrīr is the skilled, expert, intelligent, experienced person. It has also been said: al-niḥrīr is the astute, sharp-witted, meticulous man with insight into all matters. Its plural is al-naḥārīr. End.
And al-Farrāʾ said in Maʿānī al-Qurʾān, 273: "Then he turned upon them, striking them with the right hand" means: he inclined toward them, striking them, and he took advantage of their being apart from the people of their religion. And in the reading of ʿAbd Allāh (that is, Ibn Masʿūd): "Then he turned upon them, striking [them] (ṣafqan) with the right hand."
