Commentary
And when the Book is the straight path that saves from destruction; and their saying is a deterrent from it; then, despite being misguidance, it is also misleading; and it is known that whoever goes astray has upon him the sin of his misguidance; and whoever misleads has upon him the burden of his misleading; this is not hidden from anyone with sound intellect; so when this is clear; and they claim that they are the most insightful of people regarding hidden matters; then how about the evident matters; his saying: ﴿Let them bear﴾ is very appropriate; for they know that this is certainly necessary for them; even if they say otherwise with their tongues; or it could be said that it was said because, although ignorance is more fitting for them than this, it is the lightest of their conditions; for they either know that they have done with this slander what is not theirs; or they do not; so in the second case, they are the most ignorant of people; and in the first case, either they think they will be taken to account for it; or they do not; so in the second case, creation would be in vain; and this is not from wisdom in anything; so believing this is from great ignorance; and in the first case, they witness many of the oppressors who are not punished in this world; so it necessitates for them, in wisdom, the belief in the Hereafter; to be rewarded therein the good-doer and the wrongdoer; and this is the lightest of the previous conditions; and it is not hidden what is in the act of taking such a step from foolishness that contradicts their claim that they are the most insightful of people; for the matter has come to mockery of them; because they are attributed to knowledge; ignorance is better than it; ﴿their burdens﴾; which they have incurred; due to their turning away from the truth out of arrogance; not out of doubt.
And when Allah, out of His grace, expiates the minor sins of the people of faith through good deeds; and by avoiding the major sins; then the expiation is conditional upon faith; and these have certainly disbelieved by denying the Book; He, the Exalted, said: ﴿Complete﴾; nothing is diminished from it of the burden of anything they have concealed; nor of what they have declared; due to obscurity; nor forgetfulness in expiation; nor anything else; without any flaw in a description of the descriptions; for it is more eloquent than 'complete'; because completeness may exist in quantity with a flaw in some description; ﴿On the Day of Resurrection﴾; which there is no doubt about; and there is no escape from its coming; 'and'; let them bear; 'from'; like; ﴿the burdens of﴾ the ignorant weak; ﴿who mislead them﴾; so they go astray with them; as those who have gone astray have been clarified; ﴿without knowledge﴾; they bear from their burdens without having to incur them; due to their being the cause in it; without diminishing anything from the burdens of those who are misled by them; even if they are ignorant; for they have minds that are such that they guide to asking the people of knowledge; and innate dispositions that recoil from falsehood; the first time it is presented to them; so they wasted it; then He began to alert them (p-137) to the great harm that they incur from their actions; and a warning for them; so He, the Exalted, said: ﴿Indeed, evil is what they bear﴾; so He included the letter of denial on the letter of negation; thus it became an affirmation in the most eloquent manner.
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