Shaykh al-Islām, may Allah have mercy upon him, said:

Concerning His words, glorified be He:

“The arrogant chiefs among his people said, ‘We will surely expel you, O Shu‘ayb, and those who believe with you from our town, unless you return to our religion.’ He said, ‘Even if we are unwilling?’”

“We would have fabricated a lie against Allah if we returned to your religion after Allah has saved us from it. It is not for us to return to it unless Allah, our Lord, should will.”

The apparent meaning of this is evidence that Shu‘ayb and those who believed with him had followed their people’s religion. This is indicated by their words, “Unless you return to our religion,” and by Shu‘ayb’s words: “Are we to return to it, ‘even if we are unwilling?’” It is also indicated by his words, “We would have fabricated a lie against Allah if we returned to your religion,” which show that they had previously followed it.

Likewise, his words, “After Allah has saved us from it,” indicate that Allah saved them from it after they had been tainted by it. There are also his words: “It is not for us to return to it unless Allah, our Lord, should will.”

The pronoun cannot refer to his people alone, because he is explicitly addressed in the words, “We will surely expel you, O Shu‘ayb.” Moreover, it is he who addresses them with the words, “Even if we are unwilling?” and the remainder of the passage. This must include the speaker himself.

A similar passage occurs in Surah Ibrāhīm:

“Those who disbelieved said to their messengers, ‘We will surely expel you from our land, unless you return to our religion.’ Then their Lord revealed to them, ‘We will surely destroy the wrongdoers’”—to the end of the verse.