And when glorified is He prohibited His saying: ﴿Ra'ina﴾ [Al-Baqarah: 104] after it was permissible, and that was from the aspect of abrogation. He ended what relates to it with the description of great virtue after the specification, which necessitates the transfer of what may be of benefits from ownership, religion, power, or knowledge from one group of people to another. The Jews believed that their religion cannot be abrogated, so abrogation was one of their criticisms of this religion and of this book being guidance for the righteous. Because, according to their claim, it is not permissible concerning Allah, they said: Because it necessitates the appearance of the beginning - that is, by the opening of the singular form - which is that something appears after it was not there, and that is not permissible concerning Allah, the Exalted. This is despite the fact that abrogation exists in their book that is among them, for it contains that He, the Exalted, commanded them to enter the Sacred House after fighting the tyrants. When they refused, He prohibited them from entering it and prevented them from it and from fighting with capability and command, as you will see from the text of the Torah in Surah Al-Ma'idah, if Allah wills. And He commanded them with Friday, and they differed about it, as the Prophet said, and it will come in His saying, the Exalted: ﴿Indeed, the Sabbath was made obligatory upon those who differed concerning it﴾ [An-Nahl: 124]. They chose the Sabbath, so He made it obligatory upon them and imposed it upon them, and He made all meats and fats lawful for them. When they took the calf, He prohibited the fats for them; and greater than that was their taking abrogation without Allah's permission in their distortion of the words from their places, and the prohibition of the scholars and monks, and their making lawful for them whatever they wished of the rulings, of which a number were previously counted as principles and branches, as He, the Exalted, said: ﴿They took their scholars and monks as lords besides Allah﴾ [At-Tawbah: 31]. And when 'Adi ibn Hatim said to the Prophet: 'O Messenger of Allah! They did not worship them,' he said: 'Do they not make lawful for them and prohibit for them?' He said: 'Yes.' He said: 'Then that is their worship of them.' As is clarified in the biography regarding the delegation of 'Adi; and as they did in substituting stoning in adultery with burning and flogging; and in following what the devils recite, despite the fact that it contains much invalidation of their law; and in the rejection of a group of them of the Book of Allah; and in their saying: ﴿We have heard and disobeyed﴾ [Al-Baqarah: 93]; and in their taking the calf despite the prohibition of that - and all that is similar in many sections of the Torah - and in what is indicated by His saying: ﴿Do you believe in part of the Scripture and disbelieve in part?﴾ [Al-Baqarah: 85]. To other than that, when that was said, the Exalted said in response to their criticism, previously to Him in the manifestation of greatness, teaching that He had clothed the envied Arabs with what had been adorned by the people of the Book for ages, so they took it and defiled its appearance and degraded it and changed it and substituted it, indicating that envy, due to its being an objection to the Benefactor, can be a cause for clothing the envied with the garment of the envious: ﴿What We abrogate﴾. And abrogation, Al-Harali said, is the transfer of something from its effect or writing and the like from its place by a punishment that removes it, or by a citation that suffices for its absence. It is the apparent meaning in both meanings in the contexts of address; and the punishment in this is more apparent. It ended. And he mentioned it without conjunction due to its strong connection with what preceded it for our specification in order to proceed according to the interests of virtue and mercy. Because if the intended meaning is the abrogation of all previous laws by our Book, it is for what is in it of honor by being singled out for mention and not being subordinate and the alleviation of the burdens that were. And if the intended meaning is the abrogation of what was legislated for us, it is for the consideration of worldly and otherworldly interests according to what has occurred from the causes.

﴿From an Ayah﴾ that is: we raise its ruling, or its recitation after its revelation, or we command that based on it being from the abrogation [according to] the reading of Ibn 'Amir, whether it was in the law of those before like facing the Sacred House or not; and in the form of 'we do' there is an indication that what preceded may have been abrogated without being compensated with something similar or better. Thus, there is an encouragement for those who have believed in their specific Book, and that they should have a good acceptance at the time of abrogation, rejoicing in something new or being pleased with what is better than the abrogated. Their condition at the time of the succession of the verses should be in contrast to the condition of the ancestors who adhered to the previous one, falling short of a subsequent good that they found. This was said by Al-Harali. 'Or we delay it' that is: we postpone it, meaning: we leave its revelation upon you altogether. Likewise, the meaning of ﴿Or we cause it to be forgotten﴾ from 'ansa' in the reading of others than Ibn Kathir and Abu 'Amr, that is: we command to leave its revelation. (p-94) ﴿We bring better than it or like it﴾ as we did in: ﴿Ra'ina﴾ [Al-Baqarah: 104] and others, or the meaning could be: ﴿What we abrogate from an Ayah﴾ so we bring down its ruling or wording immediately as we did in ﴿Ra'ina﴾ [Al-Baqarah: 104]. 'Or we delay it' by postponing its abrogation or leaving it according to the reading of 'we forget it' for a time, then we abrogate it like the Qiblah. ﴿We bring﴾ at the time of its abrogation ﴿better than it or like it﴾ and Al-Harali said: this is the truth, if Allah wills. And the term 'nas' refers to a delay from one time to another, so it has a relation between the previous and the subsequent, unlike abrogation, because abrogation follows the previous while delay circulates the postponed. It is a type of discourse that is subtle and hidden in its direction, its meaning is not clear to most scholars except for the Imams from the family of Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, due to the obscurity of the distinction between what is subject to punishment and what is subject to circulation. Among its examples is what occurred in the delay from the Prophet's prohibition of the meat of the sacrificial animals, which was accepted by those who believed as abrogation, while it was actually a postponement and delay of the ruling of (p-95) enjoyment of it after three days until the time of the departure of the herd that had come upon them from the desert. This was not conveyed to them from the Prophet until he explained it, saying: 'I only prohibited you for the sake of the herd.' Thus, in the vastness of his jurisprudence, there are rulings that are delayed, resembling abrogation from one aspect, then returned, opposing it from this aspect in that the wisdom of the abrogated is severed while the wisdom of the delayed is revisited. Among them is fighting the enemy when finding strength and power, and truce in times of weakness against resistance is from the rulings of the delayed. Everything that is meant to be prohibited at one time for a certain reason, then returns at another time when that reason is removed, is from the delayed which most observers have neglected its knowledge, and they may have attributed most of it to the type of abrogation due to the obscurity of the distinction between them. Indeed, this verse is among the comprehensive verses of the distinction, for this is the ruling of delay and postponement, and in knowledge, it is like the succession of chapters with what they include of the successive matters in the context of what is generally circulated.

I said: The essence of it is the delay of the lawful as mentioned, or the prohibition as in the mut'ah and similar matters to another time. This is the meaning of [UNTRANSLATED-LATIN:nas'] as the Arabs used to recognize it, as will be clarified in Surah Al-Bara'ah at ﴿Indeed, the nas' is an increase in disbelief﴾ [At-Tawbah: 37]. He said: As for forgetfulness and causing to forget, its meaning is more concealed than [UNTRANSLATED-LATIN:nas'], and it is what Allah (glorified and exalted is He) manifests of the clarifications as a means of introducing forgetfulness upon one who is not supposed to be forgotten, like the Sunnahs that the Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him) expressed about his forgetfulness, as has been reported from his saying: "Indeed, I am made to forget to establish [the Sunnah]." And he (blessings and peace be upon him) said in clarifying the matter: "It is a bad thing for any of you to say: I forgot, rather he was caused to forget." Among this is his standing for two units and his greeting for two units until Allah (glorified and exalted is He) manifested the Sunnah of that for his Ummah. And that prayer with its forgetfulness is not without forgetfulness, but it is like it or better; and similarly, his sleeping through the prayer until Allah (glorified and exalted is He) manifested the timing of the prayer through remembrance, just as He had previously manifested it through the time of the temporal. Thus, it has two times: a time of visible light from its orbit with the sun, and a time of inner light from its orbit with remembrance. And for the correctness of its occurrence for the two times, the one timed by remembrance is performed according to it, and made up according to the lapse of the temporal time. So Allah (glorified and exalted is He) has a great favor upon this Ummah in what He completes for it through the means of abrogation, and by way of [UNTRANSLATED-LATIN:nas'], and regarding the forgetfulness that is not due to delay or negligence, but rather it occurs forcibly with the consensus of determination. In all of that, there is an indication that what has occurred of the matter after this forgetfulness is better than the place of that matter which used to occur with consensus and care to equalize the conditions of this Ummah in all its fluctuations. All of that is from the specialty of His mercy and His great favor. It has ended. And He (glorified and exalted is He) indicated His coming with that by His power, and the comprehensive and complete power necessitates knowledge, meaning: and it is not like others among the kings, when he commands something, he fears the treachery of his followers and subjects in its abrogation. And He indicated His power by the fact that He possesses all of the dominion and that there is no matter for anyone with Him. The essence of that is that when He (glorified and exalted is He) mentioned this Book and confirmed His matter repeatedly, and it was abrogating the branches of their Shari'ah, especially what is in it from the burdens and shackles, He (glorified and exalted is He) pointed out that among the greatest of their misguidance and deviation is their claim that abrogation is not permissible upon Allah. So they prevented from: ﴿He will not be asked about what He does﴾ [Al-Anbiya: 23] from what is present in their Book as He commanded earlier, and from what they permitted for themselves through distortion and alteration. And it follows from that the denial of every Messenger who came to them with what their souls do not desire, and they acted contrary to the state of the believers who affirmed what was revealed to their Prophet and what was revealed to others. And this included their defect by disparaging the religion by commanding something today and prohibiting it tomorrow, and that if it were from Allah, it would not have changed because He is All-Knowing of the outcomes. And it cannot be that He either knows that the command of that thing is beneficial, so He does not prohibit it afterward, or that it is harmful, so He does not command it today. And their response to that is turning away from their address, hinting at their ignorance to the address of the Most Knowledgeable of creation with His saying: ﴿Do you not know that Allah﴾, meaning: the One who possesses all attributes of perfection.

'On everything He is All-Powerful.' This is in the form of a question that includes denial and a statement referring to threat and warning. He creates, by His power, from the causes what makes a thing beneficial at one time and harmful at another, for wisdoms and interests that He has arranged for the passing of this world. This universe is governed by His comprehensive knowledge of all that has preceded and all that will come after. And if He had willed, He would have made the matter on a single path and the people like a single heart. 'And if your Lord had willed, all who are on earth would have believed together.' [Yunus: 99] 'He would have made the people one nation.' [Hud: 118] But He is the Owner of the Kingdom and the King of the heavens and the earth, acting according to what He wills. There is no repelling of His command and no one to reverse His judgment. It is not permissible to object to Him in any way. Can a servant, who is perpetually in bondage, object to the master who possesses true authority, claiming that nothing is required of him, so he is not bound by matters according to interests? Then he followed that with what is like evidence of the comprehensiveness of His power, saying: 'Do you not know that Allah,' the One who encompasses all types of greatness, 'to Him belongs the Kingdom of the heavens and the earth'? He does in their essences and conditions what He wills. Al-Harali said: 'He is, by His being All-Powerful over everything, the One who details the signs. And by His being the King of the heavens and the earth, He manages the affairs.' This has concluded. And when He, glorified and exalted is He, completed what He intended of manifesting His power, the vastness of His kingdom, and His greatness by the proper name that is greater than the manifestation of greatness, we erase and delay by turning to the address of those who do not know this as it truly is, except for others. So the hearts of the listeners were prepared, and they inclined to the address in fear, indicating a desire. He said: 'And what is [the matter] with you, (p-100) that you do not attribute to Allah,' who is characterized by all attributes of greatness?

﴿From a guardian﴾ who takes care of your affairs, and he is from the guardianship. Al-Harali said: it is the act of managing the matter from a connection that is linked. ﴿And no supporter﴾ so turn to Him with all your hearts and do not divert them from Him. In this is an indication of warning for those who have believed but have not reached the rank of the believers regarding opposing His command when He judges them by what He wills, whatever it may be, so that their inner selves are not taught by the Jews something similar to what their outward tongues have been taught. That is, to hold on to the previous criterion so that they become reluctant to accept its successor and completer. This would be a consequence of the multitude of the people of the Book in their refusal to abrogate what has been changed of the rulings of their Book. Al-Harali has pointed this out and said: it is, in reality, a comprehensive address detailing what comes from abrogation in the details of rulings and conditions, akin to the earlier address at the beginning of the Surah which includes a comprehensive type of parables in His saying, ﴿Indeed, Allah does not shy away from striking a parable﴾ [Al-Baqarah: 26]. This is because this Surah is the canopy of the Qur'an, encompassing all that has been detailed therein; it is the peak of the Qur'an, and the peak of a thing is its highest point; it is the mistress of the Surahs of the Qur'an. Therefore, it contains comprehensive elements that are interconnected, affecting its details throughout its peak meanings and the superiority of its address, similar to the arrangement of the verses of Surah Al-Fatihah, which are organized without detail occurring within them, so that there is a resemblance between the encompassing entirety and the comprehensive beginning.