Question:
May Allah and His Prophet (s) greet you,
Is there any tafsir you are acquainted with about the fragment:
وَجَعَلْنَاكُمْ شُعُوبًا وَقَبَائِلَ لِتَعَارَفُو
Answer:
May Allah, His Prophet (upon him blessings and peace) and all Prophets, Saints and Angels greet you,
Yes, what you said is mentioned by Imam al-Fakhr al-Razi in his Tafsir which is the magnum opus of all classical tafsirs.
It is literally supported by the qira’a (canonical reading) of Ibn `Abbas, Aban from `Asim, Ubay b. Ka`b, al-Dahhak, and Ibn Ya`mur which reads
{li-ta`rifu}
لِتَعْرِفُوا
i.e. as the mudari` form of `arafa, “for you to know” i.e. that the most honorable among you in the Divine sight etc., although it can also be said to have a suppressed direct object (maf`ul bihi mahdhuf), so that it can be glossed as “for you to know” in absolute terms, i.e. “for you to reach gnosis of Allah Most High.” Then the next part is a new statement, “Truly the most honorable among you in the Divine sight” etc.
And Allah knows best.
Hajj Gibril Haddad
