And when the context guided to the fact that the estimation in establishing that He, glorified and exalted is He, is capable of retribution for whom He wills: Did they not see that We destroyed those before them, and they were stronger than them in strength and greater in number? He then turned to His saying: ﴿Did they not see that We﴾, meaning by what We have of greatness ﴿We bring the earth﴾ that these disbelievers are in. It is as if it was said: What kind of coming? It was said: The coming of punishment if We will, and mercy if We will ﴿We diminish it﴾. Diminishing is taking something from the whole so that it becomes less ﴿from its edges﴾ by what Allah opens for the Muslims, which increases their land by killing some of the disbelievers and the surrender of others until the people of it are eradicated according to what We know of wisdom in managing affairs and turning them from one state to another until it reaches its final resting place after reckoning in a house of reward or punishment. This is because the Muslims used to invade what was near the noble city from the outskirts of the lands of the disbelievers, as He, exalted is He, guided to it by His saying: ﴿Fight those who are near to you of the disbelievers﴾ [At-Tawbah: 123]. They would conquer it little by little until all the Arabs submitted willingly or unwillingly after the killing of the leaders and the humiliation of the commanders - and Allah prevails in His matter; and the edge is the end, which is a place of something from which there is nothing beyond it, and the edges of the earth are its sides. It was said: [the edges]: the abodes of the nobles, seeking closeness to the guests; then He established for Himself, exalted is He, a universal matter that includes this, saying, shifting the speech from the style of speaking with greatness to a greater absence which is the greatest of greatness by the greatest name: ﴿And Allah﴾, meaning the Most High King ﴿judges﴾ what He wills, for there is ﴿no one to reverse﴾, meaning no one to return, for the reversal is the return of something after its conclusion ﴿to His judgment﴾. And He has judged for Islam with victory and acceptance, and for disbelief with reversal and turning away. And whoever judges other than this description is not a judge, and that is sufficient in fearing the might of His power. ﴿And He﴾, with complete power, ﴿is swift in reckoning﴾. His recompense encompasses every action; it cannot be imagined that anything escapes Him, so there must be a meeting with His recompense. And everything that is coming is swift, and He, with that, counts for every action its recompense according to what wisdom necessitates of justice or favor at the time of its occurrence. He does not need a time to consider what its recompense is, nor: Did he act or not? Because nothing is hidden from Him; and swiftness is the action of something in a short period according to what wisdom dictates, while delay is its action in a long period outside of wisdom. Swiftness is praiseworthy, and haste is blameworthy. And He, exalted is He, is capable of the disbelievers even if they are (p-366) as if they are certain that they will prevail, due to their strength and multitude, along with the quality of opinions and sharpness of thoughts and ability with wealth. Even if their plotting intensifies, it will not avail them at all. They have plotted against you more than once, and I have not increased you except in elevation.