Tafseer of The letter Qaaf · Qaaf · 50:27
His [devil] companion will say, "Our Lord, I did not make him transgress, but he [himself] was in extreme error."
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.
The exegesis of the saying of the Exalted: قَالَ قَرِينُهُ رَبَّنَا مَا أَطْغَيْتُهُ وَلَكِنْ كَانَ فِي ضَلالٍ بَعِيدٍ (His companion will say: Our Lord, I did not drive him to transgression, but he was in far error) (27).
The Exalted, whose mention is exalted, says: the companion of this unbelieving man, who withheld good, spoke — and that is his devil (shayṭān) who was entrusted to him in the worldly life.
As Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His saying ( قَالَ قَرِينُهُ رَبَّنَا مَا أَطْغَيْتُهُ ) (His companion will say: Our Lord, I did not drive him to transgression), he said: his companion is his devil.
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 — on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His saying ( قَالَ قَرِينُهُ ) (His companion will say), he said: the devil who was allotted to him.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His saying الَّذِي جَعَلَ مَعَ اللَّهِ إِلَهًا آخَرَ (who set up alongside Allah another god): that is the polytheist (mushrik). ( قَالَ قَرِينُهُ رَبَّنَا مَا أَطْغَيْتُهُ ) (His companion will say: Our Lord, I did not drive him to transgression), he said: his companion is the devil.
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda ( قَالَ قَرِينُهُ رَبَّنَا مَا أَطْغَيْتُهُ ) (His companion will say: Our Lord, I did not drive him to transgression), he said: his companion is the devil.
It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn, saying: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd informed us, saying: I heard aḍ-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning His saying ( قَالَ قَرِينُهُ رَبَّنَا مَا أَطْغَيْتُهُ ) (His companion will say: Our Lord, I did not drive him to transgression), he said: his companion is his devil.
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His saying ( قَالَ قَرِينُهُ رَبَّنَا مَا أَطْغَيْتُهُ ) (His companion will say: Our Lord, I did not drive him to transgression), he said: his companion among the jinn: our Lord, I did not drive him to transgression — he disassociated himself from him.
His saying ( رَبَّنَا مَا أَطْغَيْتُهُ ) (Our Lord, I did not drive him to transgression): He says: it is not I who made him rebellious and transgressing toward what does not befit him, and by that is meant disbelief in Allah ( وَلَكِنْ كَانَ فِي ضَلالٍ بَعِيدٍ ) (but he was in far error). He says: rather he was upon a path that deviated from the road of guidance, with a far straying. The Exalted, whose mention is exalted, conveyed this report — namely concerning the saying of the unbeliever's companion to him on the Day of Resurrection — only to inform His servants that on the Day of Resurrection they will disassociate themselves from one another.
As Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His saying ( رَبَّنَا مَا أَطْغَيْتُهُ ) (Our Lord, I did not drive him to transgression), he said: he disassociated himself from him.
In accordance with what we have said concerning this, the exegetes have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī Ziyād related to me, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī Bakr related to us, saying: Jaʿfar related to us, saying: I heard Abū ʿImrān say concerning His saying ( رَبَّنَا مَا أَطْغَيْتُهُ ) (Our Lord, I did not drive him to transgression): he disassociated himself from him.
