Inna Allaha la yastahyee an yadriba mathalan ma baAAoodatan fama fawqaha faamma allatheena amanoo fayaAAlamoona annahu alhaqqu min rabbihim waamma allatheena kafaroo fayaqooloona matha arada Allahu bihatha mathalan yudillu bihi katheeran wayahdee bihi katheeran wama yudillu bihi illa alfasiqeena
English
Ahmed Ali
God is not loath to advance the similitude of a gnat or a being more contemptible; and those who believe know whatever is from the Lord is true. But those who disbelieve say: "What does God mean by this parable?" He causes some to err this way, and some He guides; yet He turns away none but those who transgress,
26
Tafseer
'Abdullāh Ibn 'Abbās / Muḥammad al-Fīrūzabādī
تفسير : then allah mentioned the jews' objection to the qur'an's similes, saying: (lo! allah disdaineth not), he cannot abstain from coining similes, and how can he disdain mentioning something that if all created being were to join forces to create, they would not be able to do so. allah does not disdain (to coin the similitude) allah does not disdain explaining to people a similitude (even of a gnat), even regarding a gnat, (or what is above it) let alone a simile of something greater than a gnat such as a fly, or a spider. (those who believe) in muhammad and the qur'an (know that it), the simile, (is the truth from their lord; but those who disbelieve), in muhammad and the qur'an, (say: what doth allah wish (to teach) by such similitude?) say: o muhammad! what allah wishes by such simile is that (he misleadeth many thereby) of the jews from the true religion, (and he guideth many thereby) of the believers, (and he misleadeth thereby), by such similes, (only miscreants), the jews.
Jalāl al-Dīn al-Maḥallī
تفسير : god is not ashamed to strike, to make, a similitude (mathal: is the first direct object; mā either represents an indefinite noun described by what comes after it and constitutes a second direct object, meaning ‘whatever that similitude may be’; or it [the mā] is extra to emphasise the vileness [involved], so that what follows constitutes the second direct object); even of a gnat, (ba‘ūda is the singular of ba‘ūd), that is, small flies; or anything above it, that is, larger than it, so that this explanation is not affected [by the size of the creature] with regard to the judgement [god is making]; as for the believers, they know it, the similitude, is the truth, established and given in this instance, from their lord; but as for disbelievers, they say, ‘what did god desire by this for a similitude?’ (mathalan is a specification, meaning, ‘by this similitude’; mā is an interrogative of rejection and is the subject; dhā means alladhī, whose relative clause contains its predicate, in other words, ‘what use is there in it?’). god then responds to them saying: thereby, that is, by this similitude, he leads many astray, from the truth on account of their disbelieving in it, and thereby he guides many, believers on account of their belief in it; and thereby he leads none astray except the wicked, those that reject obedience to him.
Ali ibn Ahmad al-Wahidi
تفسير : (lo! allah disdaineth not to coin the similitude) [2:26].
ibn 'abbas said, according to the report of abu salih: “when allah, exalted is he, coined these two similitudes for the hypocrites - he means allah's sayings (their likeness is as the likeness of one who kindleth fire…) [2:17] and (or like a rainstorm from the sky….) [2:19] - they said: 'allah is too exalted and sublime to coin similitudes'. hence, allah revealed this verse”. al-hasan and qatadah said: “when allah mentioned gnats and spiders in his book and used them to coin similitudes for the disbelievers, the jews laughed and said: 'this does not resemble allah's speech', and so allah revealed this verse”.
ahmad ibn 'abd allah ibn ishaq al-hafiz in his epistle informed us> sulayman ibn ayyub al-tabarani> bakr ibn sahl> 'abd al-'aziz ibn sa'id> musa ibn 'abd al-rahman> ibn jurayj> 'ata'> ibn 'abbas who said regarding allah's saying (lo! allah disdaineth not to coin the similitude): “this is because allah mentioned the deities of the idolaters, saying: (and if the fly took something from them, they could not rescue it from him) [22:73]. he also mentioned the scheme of the deities and compared it to cobweb. upon hearing this, they said: 'see how allah mentions gnats and spiders in the qur'an revealed to muhammad; what is the use of this?' and so allah revealed this”.
