Tafseer of The Pen · Al-Qalam · 68:40
Ask them which of them, for that [claim], is responsible.
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 statement concerning the explanation of His word, the Exalted: سَلْهُمْ أَيُّهُمْ بِذَلِكَ زَعِيمٌ (40) ("Ask them: which of them will vouch for that (40)").
The Exalted, whose praise is mentioned, says to His Prophet Muḥammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace: ask — O Muḥammad — these polytheists (mushrikīn): which of them vouches for it, that they have binding oaths from Us guaranteeing them, until the Day of Resurrection, whatever they decide according to their own judgment; زَعِيمٌ ("a guarantor") means: a surety for that. And al-zaʿīm, among the Arabs, means: the guarantor and the spokesman on behalf of the people.
As Muḥammad ibn Saʿd told me, he said: my father told me, he said: my uncle told me, he said: my father told me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning his word أَيُّهُمْ بِذَلِكَ زَعِيمٌ ("which of them will vouch for that"); he says: which of them is a guarantor for that.
Bishr told us, he said: Yazīd told us, he said: Saʿīd told us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning his word سَلْهُمْ أَيُّهُمْ بِذَلِكَ زَعِيمٌ ("Ask them: which of them will vouch for that"); he says: which of them is a guarantor for that.
