that have been proposed are set out in their respective places; consult them there.
As for the third question—why the verbs are repeated in the future-tense form when he speaks of himself, but in the past-tense form when he speaks of them—there is a subtle point here. This alludes to Allah’s protection of His Prophet from deviating or turning away from worshipping his Lord, or replacing Him with another. The true One whom he worships remains forever the same, now and hereafter: he accepts no substitute for Him and seeks no change. The disbelievers, by contrast, worship their own whims and pursue their desires and personal aims in religion. They are liable to worship one deity today and another tomorrow. Thus he says, “I do not worship what you worship,” meaning now, and “Nor are you worshippers of what I worship,” likewise meaning now.
He then says, “Nor am I a worshipper of what you have worshipped,” meaning: neither will I, in the future, worship anything that you disbelievers have worshipped. Here mā (“what”) carries a hint of conditional meaning. Hence the verb following it takes the past-tense form while referring to the future, as happens after a conditional particle. It is as though he were saying: Whatever you may worship, I will not worship it.
If it is asked: How can it have a conditional meaning when it is governed by the verb, has no answering clause, and is a relative pronoun? Surely it is far removed from a conditional!
We reply: We did not say that it is itself conditional, but that it carries a hint of that meaning, since it refers to no particular object of worship, leaves its identity unspecified, and encompasses all such objects. Once you appreciate the meaning of these words, you will find their conditional sense plainly apparent. If you say to someone whose every action you oppose, “I do not do what you do,” do you not see the conditional meaning present in both your words and your intention? The spirit of the statement is: Whatever you do, I will not do it.
Consider this also in the words of the Most High: “They said, ‘How can we speak to one who is a child in the cradle?’” Do you see the conditional meaning here? The verb following man (“one who”) accordingly takes the past-tense form, although the future is intended. The meaning is: “Whoever is a child in the cradle