Sūrat al-Hadīd
In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful

[Sūrat al-Hadīd (57): Verse 27]
“Then We sent Our messengers in their footsteps, and followed them with Jesus, son of Mary, to whom We gave the Gospel. We placed compassion and mercy in the hearts of those who followed him. As for monasticism, they invented it—We did not prescribe it for them—only seeking Allah’s pleasure. Yet they did not observe it as it should have been observed. So We gave those among them who believed their reward, but many of them are defiantly disobedient.” (27)

The word “monasticism” is in the accusative, governed by “they invented it,” through the resumptive construction known as ishtighāl. According to the Kufan grammarians, it is governed by the stated verb itself; according to the Basran grammarians, it is governed by an omitted, implied verb explained by the stated verb. The sense is: “And they invented monasticism.” It is not accusative as an object of “We placed.” Thus, the complete pause falls after His words “and mercy,” and one then begins: “As for monasticism, they invented it.” That is, We neither instituted it for them nor prescribed it for them; rather, they invented it themselves.

There are three grammatical explanations for the accusative in His words, “except to seek Allah’s pleasure.”

The first is that it is an accusative of purpose, meaning: “We did not prescribe it for them except for the purpose of seeking Allah’s pleasure.”

This is untenable, for He, glorified be He, did not prescribe it for them. How could He have done so when He has stated that they themselves invented it? It is therefore an innovation, not something prescribed.