Tafsir of Surat al-Saffat-03a

They said, meaning the followers among them to those who were followed, from the direction from which we trusted you, because you swore that you were upon the truth, so we believed you and followed you. The meaning is that you led us astray. Some of them began to ask others; the followers ask those who were followed, and those who were followed ask the followers, and all of them ask one another because they fell into confusion. Some of them say to others, and they are the followers saying: The address is to those who followed, to those who were followed. You used to come to us in the worldly life, meaning in your speech to us and your calling of us, from the right. “From” here is for transgression, meaning you came to us with a coming that originated from the right. So what is meant by the right? It was said that the right means the oath, due to the saying of Allah the Exalted: which is the plural of right hand, so the meaning of “from the right” is from the oath, meaning that those who were followed swear to the followers that they are upon the truth. This is like the saying of Allah the Exalted regarding Satan: [Al-A'raf: 21]. It was also said that the right means good from the bestowal, which is optimism, meaning that you promise us good and say, “Follow us, for if you follow us, you will attain honor and dominance.” You promise us good, and you are lying to us. It was also said that the right means strength, as in the saying of Allah the Exalted: “So he turned to them striking with the right,” meaning with strength. It was also said it means the right hand. In any case, so regarding the right, there are three opinions:
The first opinion is the oath, the second is good, and the third is strength. The reality is that all these aspects occurred from those who were followed. They swear to the followers that they are upon the truth, and they speak to them through strength because they are followed, and they also promise them good, saying, “Follow us, and you will have honor and dominance,” and the like. So the verse encompasses these three aspects. That is, the followers say to those who were followed: “You used to come to us from this direction: the right, the oath, or strength, or good.” The author, may Allah have mercy on him, says in his tafsir: “From the direction from which we trusted you.” His statement is valid for the three aspects, because people trust when they are sworn to, they trust when they are promised good, and they trust when they are strong, because it is the norm that the weak one sees the strong one as being upon the truth and that he reached this position and rank because he is truthful. Allah the Exalted said: “They said.” Who are the followers?
The student: Those who were followed.

The Shaykh : In your view, those who were followed. In any case, “those who were followed” is the clearest expression. “Those who were followed” is clearer than “the followers” because a person reads “al-muttabi'un” as “al-muttabi'in,” meaning the followers. The reality is that he said, “They said,” meaning those who were followed, to them. Rather, you were not believers. The truth of our leading you astray would only be if you were believers and then you returned from faith to us. That is, he said, “They said,” meaning those who were followed, to these followers: “Rather, you were not believers.” The negation here is to invalidate what they claimed in their saying: meaning, rather, we did not come to you from the right, but you were not believers. If you had been believers, your statement that we led you astray would have been true. But since you were not believers from the start, the crime is from us upon you, and not from you upon yourselves? Or are you not with us? Those who were followed said: “Rather, you were not believers,” because the followers claimed that these who were followed are the ones who led them astray by strength, or by the promise of good, or by the oath, or the like.