And when He, glorified and exalted is He, repeated the description of piety in this surah three times, and concluded it by stating that it is a cause for the intended purpose itself, which is the everlasting comfort through inheritance of the abode of eternity in the form of continuous residence, and the attribute of kingship in which there is no distress whatsoever and no deviation from the intended goal, He followed it with what comes after as a reference to what can be attained through piety, which is standing with the command, being observant of the matter regarding 'And with truth We have sent it down' [Al-Isra: 105]. This is because when knowledge is established that the entirety of Surah Al-Kahf explains two questions from the questions of Quraysh, and part of Surah Al-Sab' explains the third, and due to the length of the discourse, the story of Dhul-Qarnayn was prefaced with His saying 'And they ask you' [Al-Kahf: 83] to indicate its connection to the question of the soul which was prefaced similarly. Surah [Maryam] came as a revealing - reproaching the people of the Book who conceal the truth - about something stranger than those stories [and older in time -] and of greater significance than the news of the mentioned prophets and those who hastened to change after them by neglecting prayer and following desires. Thus, it was established that all of this is arranged to respond to their question and that it is certainly the words of Allah, for if it had been from the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, he would not have promised them the answer the next day unless he was capable of it, due to what is certainly known of his sound mind, abundant insight, and strong opinion. And if he were capable of that, he would not have left them speaking about him with what is easier than death, [due to what is known of him -] of nobility, pride, and distance from what resembles shame. It became clear through this that Allah, glorified and exalted is He, how beautiful the matter of the soul is (p-229) and He did not delay the response for fifteen nights or less or more out of inability or ignorance. And all of this was established along with what He clarified of His actions for the people of the cave and for Dhul-Qarnayn and in the births of Yahya and 'Isa and Ishaq, may peace and blessings be upon them, complete in His ability which necessitates the perfection of His knowledge. And the information about that was in accordance with the reality, some of which was established by authentic transmission and some by decisive rational evidence. The content of His saying, the Most High, 'And with truth We have sent it down and with truth it has descended' [Al-Isra: 105] was established, and that this book is upright with no deviation in it. So He related the answer to the saying of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, to Jibril, may peace and blessings be upon him, 'You have delayed upon me, O Jibril, until I had a bad opinion.' And similar to that which was mentioned in the reasons for revelation, He said on the tongue of Jibril, may peace and blessings be upon him: 'And We do not descend' meaning I nor anyone from the angels with the sending down of the book or anything else 'except by the command of your Lord' who is gracious to you in all matters in advancement and delay, so that there does not arise in some of the imaginations that it is true in itself, but rather it descended without His command, glorified and exalted is He. And the address occurred coupled with the description that implies further honor to soothe his heart, blessings and peace be upon him, and an indication that He is gracious to him. And the term 'descent' indicates honor, which is the repeated coming down time after time and at intervals, and it can only be for that reason, for the descent for punishment is resolved in the blink of an eye. And this was after mentioning the resurrection by mentioning Paradise as was the case with what was connected to it.

'When the promise of the Hereafter comes' [Al-Isra: 7] and 'just as' the conclusion of their matters is with the mention of the Hereafter in His saying 'When the promise of my Lord comes, He will make it dust' [Al-Kahf: 98] - until the end of the Surah, so that this may be a stronger affirmation of resurrection and a greater confirmation. And if you find this conjunction lengthy with the distance between the connected and that to which it is connected, and you find it astonishing and reject it for that reason and deem it improbable, then say: When this Surah revealed these strange stories, the obstinate ones might have said: We want this one who is being revealed to inform us of all the news of the ancients and the accounts of the past. He responded to that by saying: 'We did not reveal to you the news of these except by the command of your Lord, and we do not descend in what comes also except by the command of your Lord.' Then He explained that by saying: 'To Him belongs what is before us' meaning of place and time and what is in them, 'and what is behind us' of that, 'and what is between that' which is us and the place and time in which we are and what is above it and below it. And we know that and act according to what we know, so we do not act in His dominion except by His command. 'And what was' upon a determination of determinations 'your Lord forgetful' meaning forgetful of something from the matters, so He leaves the detail of the matter of the spirit, and delays the response from the time He promised them due to the concealment of something from that upon Him. And He does not forget what benefits you, so it needs a reminder for it, nor does He forget any of us, so it descends at the time of His forgetting of it; rather, He is always aware of our movements and stillness. So we are for Him in the utmost observation, and He, glorified and exalted is He, directs us according to wisdom at every time that His wisdom necessitates. There is nothing of that except at the time He has determined for it and desired it therein, and nothing of the matters escapes His will, even if it is subtle. And it may be said in the expression with the form of 'fa'il' that the servant cannot be absent from the master without his permission except in a way that he might be able to be heedless and his heedlessness may prolong and become great due to his being predisposed to it. Or that - when the revelation was delayed regarding the questions they asked about the spirit and what accompanied it for fifteen nights or more or less - according to the differences in narrations, that was misleading for the foolish to think it was forgetfulness. And such a thing would not be done except by one who forgets greatly. He negated this misconception by what the form necessitated and denied both little of that and much of it in the Surah that follows, combining the evidence of reason with His saying.

﴿My Lord does not err nor forget﴾ [Ta-Ha: 52] for what the context necessitated. Thus, it came in every style with what is appropriate to it, while fulfilling what is required of the right of belief. This verse, along with ﴿And with the truth We have sent it down﴾ [Al-Isra: 105] and ﴿Say, if the humans and the jinn gathered﴾ [Al-Isra: 88], is similar to ﴿Say, then bring ten surahs like it, fabricated﴾ [Hud: 13] - the two verses in [Surah Hud] peace be upon him, as I have previously explained. However, what was gathered there is detailed here at the beginning of the response to their questions with the verse ﴿Say, if the humans and the jinn gathered﴾ [Al-Isra: 88] and in the middle with the verse ﴿And with the truth We have sent it down﴾ [Al-Isra: 105] and at the end with this verse. So that the verses may be a connection to these answers and their consequences, and a regulation for them like the meteors and the strong guard in relation to the sky. No one should attempt to challenge it from any of its angles with deceit except that he is returned humiliated, and no one should cast aspersions upon it except that his casting is erroneous.