al-Ṣaffāt

قَالُوا إِنَّكُمْ كُنتُمْ تَأْتُونَنَا عَنِ الْيَـمِينِ

قَالُوا بَل لَمْ تَكُونُوا مُؤْمِنِينَ

28. “They will say: ‘Verily you used to come unto us, from the right side.”

29. “They answer: ‘Nay! you (yourselves) were not believers.”

One of the current styles of the leaders of the infidels and polytheists for beguiling others is using force or pretending to benediction. In this verse, the aberrant followers tell their perversive leaders that through the way of advice and benevolence and sympathy and as guidance, and leading, you came to us, but you had nothing except plot and delusion. The verse says:

Because of our nature, we were seeking for benevolence, purity, and happiness that we accepted your invitation. We were unaware that under your benevolent feature there is hidden a Satanic feature which drives us to the valley of wretchedness. Yes, all our sins originate from you. We had no capital save good intention and purity in heart, but you, the satans, the liars, had no means but deceit and illusion. The Arabic word /yamin/ which means ‘right hand’, or ‘right side’, is sometimes used ironically by Arabs in the sense of goodness, blessing, and advice. And Arabs, basically, used to whatever comes to them from the right side take as a ‘good omen’.

That is why, as we said in the above, many of the Islamic commentators have commented the Qur’anic sentence: /kuntum ta’tunana ‘anil yamin/ (you used to come unto us from the right side) ‘showing benediction and advice’. However, this is a common culture that the right limb and the right side is considered ‘honoured’, and the left side rather ‘dishonoured’, and this very thing has caused ‘right’ to be used in good things and charitable deeds. A group of commentators have mentioned here another interpretation and said that the purpose is that ‘you came to us by relying on your force’, since the right side is usually stronger. It is for this reason that most people do their important actions by their right hand, and therefore, this application has been ironically understood as power.

However, in the second verse it implies that their leaders will not be silent, either, and as the verse says:

If your innate state were not receptive of deviation and if you yourselves were not the seeker of vice and Satanic actions, how would you come to us? Why did you not answer to the invitation of the prophets, the sages, and the purified ones, and as soon as we hinted you hastened to us? Thus, it is certain that the fault is in you, yourselves. You must blame yourselves, and send all your curses to yourselves.