And when they presented their matter to him in the form of doubt with certainty, he responded to them with something similar in the form of a premise, in fairness to them so that the address would not be unsuitable for the condition of the addressees. So, he began, glorified is He, to inform about it with his saying: "He said," meaning: Salih calling them to reflect on his matter gently, "O my people, have you considered?" meaning: inform me, "if I am on a clear proof from my Lord," meaning: the One who is gracious to me, there is no doubt in it, "and He has given me from Him a mercy," meaning: commands that are the cause of mercy. "So who will help me?" And he revealed the place of the implicit and expressed it with the greatest name due to the need of the situation for emphasis, saying: "from Allah," meaning: the greatest King. "If I disobey Him," meaning: your falling into doubt, as you claim, has led you to the state of refusal in engaging in their actions while they are perishing and dissolving, if they were present and you disobeyed them, you would not care about them. As for me, the One who commanded me to worship Him is alive and capable of rewarding those who obey Him or disobey Him. The least that would lead to His obedience is doubt in His punishment, and that is enough for the wise to refrain from danger. "So what?" meaning: thus, it resulted from your prohibition to me from calling to Him, glorified is He, that you do not increase me in my action with what you accuse me of turning away from Him by following you in your actions or refraining from you to become among those who are hoped for by you from those who have reason. "Not causing loss," meaning: causing me to be in loss on this estimation: do not hope for my leaving anything of your opposition as long as you are upon what you are upon. And the verse, as you see, refers to His saying, the Exalted: "So perhaps you will leave some of what is revealed to you." [Hud: 12]