And when the matter was initially ambiguous in the days and made obligatory with a choice for the able, He specified it here and decisively stated it with His saying, the Most High: ﴿The month of Ramadan﴾ (p-54) because that is greater and more certain than specifying it from the beginning of the matter.

Al-Harali said: And the month is the crescent that is meant to revolve from the time it appears until it appears again, whether its days are twenty-nine or thirty. Both numbers are valid for the naming of the month. It is common in two distinct numbers with the completion of the count, as one of the two is named Ramadan. It is said: it is a name from the names of Allah, glorified and exalted is He, and its derivation is from ar-Ramda, which is the intensity of the heat of stones from the heat. As if this month was named due to its occurrence during the time of intense heat, arranged so that the sacred month is counted from the beginning of (p-55) the winter season, that is, for the beginning of the year to be the first beginning of creation by reviving the earth after its death. He said: And thus spring occurs in the previous earthly spring when the sun descends into Pisces and the subsequent celestial spring when the sun descends into Aries. And he said: When this nation had a fast like the fast of the People of the Book, as they were directed towards the qiblah initially with the direction of the People of the Book, it was raised to the ruling of the criterion specific to them. So he made their fasting fixed for them by the month because they are people of months looking at the crescents, not those who are engrossed in the calculation of the sun. So he made their fasting for the sighting of the month and made for them the month as one day, as if they were transferred from fasting a few numbered days to fasting one day that is not numbered for its singularity, because they are an unlettered nation. ﴿And We appointed for Musa thirty nights﴾ [Al-A'raf: 142] is the appointed time for the nation of Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him. ﴿And We completed it with ten﴾ [Al-A'raf: 142] is the appointed time for Musa, peace be upon him, and his nation and those after him from the nations to this nation - it has ended.

And when this was a speech of elevation, He praised Him, glorified and exalted is He, by sending down the remembrance in it (p-56) as a whole to the House of Glory, and it began from its descent to the earth.

Al-Harali said: And He manifested in it the purpose of fasting and its hidden wisdom that did not occur in the earlier scriptural books. He said: ﴿In which the Qur'an was revealed﴾, indicating that in fasting there is a good reception of its meaning and ease of its recitation. For this reason, He combined in it between the fasting of the day and the night prayer, which is a form of exaggeration from al-Qur' which encompasses the books, scrolls, and tablets - it has ended.

And in His praise for sending it down, there is praise for the Qur'an in it, as it indicates that one of the greatest objectives of its legislation (p-57) is the purification of thought for the sake of understanding the Qur'an, so that one may grasp the reality of what this follows with its attributes that affirm what it opened with, that it is "there is no doubt in it" and that it is "guidance" in a way that is more comprehensive than that first, for He said, glorified and exalted is He: ﴿A guidance for the people﴾.

Al-Harali said: In it is an indication that a group of people are elevated by fasting, meaning by preparing for contemplation and understanding, and the humbling of the soul to the rank of those who have believed and the believers. It raises them to the rank of the doers of good. It is guidance that nourishes the heart just as food nourishes the body. Therefore, all those who have experienced the actions of religion from those who call upon their Lord in the morning and the evening seeking His face agree that the key to guidance is indeed hunger. When the stomach and the limbs are weakened for the sake of Allah, Allah, glorified and exalted is He, illuminates the heart, purifies the soul, and strengthens the body so that the matter of faith appears in the heart of the habit, a new habit that is for His allies greater in strength and grace than their habit in this world for the majority of His creation. And in his indication are hints of what the fasting person experiences from the closing of the gates of Hell and the opening of the gates of Paradise and the chaining of the devils. All of this is due to the constriction of the pathways of the devil from the blood that fasting diminishes. Thus, in it is the key to all good. And when it guides the people, it is more guiding for those who have believed and it is a light for them, and for the believers it is even more illuminating. Likewise, it leads to the highest ranks of the fasting ones who are devoted and remember Allah much, those who have held fast to fasting from everything other than the companionship of the truth by His remembrance.

And in His saying: "And clear signs" is an announcement mentioning what the fasting person finds from the light of his heart, the humbling of his soul, and the preparation of his thought for understanding so that he witnesses those clear signs within himself and their being "of guidance" the most comprehensive and complete that encompasses all of creation, "and the criterion" the most complete. And in the attainment of the criterion from the blessing of fasting, which is the clarification of the ranks of what the truth has manifested in its ranks, there is an indication of what is given to the fasting person from the gathering that is from its name, the gathering that cannot be attained except after the realization of the criterion. For indeed, what is built upon the piety bestowed upon the fasting person in His saying in the earlier scriptures: "So that you may attain piety" [Al-Baqarah: 183] is a fasting that is based upon it, a piety upon which a criterion is established, as He, glorified and exalted is He, said: "If you attain piety, He will make for you a criterion" [Al-Anfal: 29]. It culminates in a gathering that indicates the transition of fasting from the number of days to the unity of the month - it has ended.

So, on what I have said, the intended meaning of guidance is the true essence, and on what Al-Harali said, it is a metaphor whose relationship is causal, for fasting prepares for understanding and necessitates light.

"Guidance" defined by revelation is more comprehensive than the Book and the Sunnah or the Mother of the Book or otherwise. And on what Al-Harali said, it is correct that it refers to the Quran, which encompasses all the books, thus including the earlier books for the days, and the criterion is specific to the Arabs, which expressed the unity of the month.

And when he completed what was mentioned about the month from encouragement following the specification, he mentioned what is in it of obligation and concession, saying: "So whoever witnesses" meaning attends with a complete presence by a clear vision of the existence of the dawn without clouds or by completing the count of Sha'ban if there is cloudiness, and he is neither ill nor a traveler.

Al-Harali said: In its dissemination, there is an obligation for whoever saw the crescent alone to fast.

And His saying: ﴿From you﴾ is addressing the people and those above them when fasting was made obligatory for them. ﴿The month﴾ is what is witnessed, according to what the grammarians say, it is a direct object in the broad sense, due to the beauty of the announcement and conveying the meaning. Its meaning is clarified by His saying, the Exalted: ﴿So let him fast it﴾, thus making it applicable to the month, not applicable to a meaning in it, where it was not: So let him fast in it; and in informing him, the correctness of fasting a night becomes evident, so that what was in the first fast of the broadness between fasting and breaking the fast for the capable becomes applicable here between the fasting of the night and its breaking for whoever has been granted strength by a spirit from Allah, the Exalted - this has ended.

And when this abrogated what had passed regarding the choice, he returned to what pertains to the sick and the traveler (p-61) so that it would not be thought to have been abrogated. He said: ﴿And whoever is sick﴾ meaning whether he witnessed it at first ﴿or on a journey﴾ meaning whether he was sick or healthy, and this is clear that what is meant is witnessing it in the land of residence ﴿then a number﴾.

Al-Harali said: The return of this address is from the content of its beginning, and its meaning is: So his fasting is a number, as he did not mention in this address the books, so that the return of every address would proceed according to the limit of its beginning.

And in His saying: ﴿From other days﴾ is an indication that the making up has not occurred solely in the month due to the specificity of the unit with the month of Ramadan and the ruling of its making up being in the position of the first fast, and in its number and its generality is an indication of the correctness of its occurrence consecutively and non-consecutively - this has ended.

And when He permitted that, He justified it by His saying: ﴿Allah intends﴾ meaning the One whom no one can truly measure. (p-62) ﴿For you ease﴾ meaning He legislated ease by permitting for the sick and the traveler and by limiting fasting to a month ﴿and does not intend for you hardship﴾ in making it an obligation upon everyone and increasing it beyond a month.

Al-Harali said: Ease is an action that does not burden the soul nor weigh down the body, and hardship is what burdens the soul and harms the body. And he said: In it is an indication of Allah's gentleness towards the bodies that He has made easy for them by breaking the fast, and within this apparent meaning is an indication for the strong that ease is in their fasting and that hardship is in the breaking of the fast for the one who breaks it, so that the apparent proceeds according to His wisdom in the appearances and the hidden proceeds according to His wisdom in the hidden, for every verse has an apparent and a hidden meaning. Therefore, and Allah, glorified and exalted is He, knows: 'The Prophet ﷺ used to fast in Ramadan while traveling and would command breaking the fast.' And the strong among the scholars would fast and would not deny breaking the fast - this has ended.

Al-Shabi said: If two matters differ for you, then the easier of them is closer to the truth according to this verse.

And when the reason for the confirmed facilitation is the negation of hardship, the meaning is: so that you may be able to do what He has commanded you, and His matter may be made easy for you. He then added His saying: ﴿And so that you may complete﴾, from completion, which is reaching something to the limits of its extent, whether in quantity or number, physically or meaningfully. ﴿the number﴾, meaning the number of days of Ramadan until the sighting of the crescent moon, if you see it, and until the end of thirty, which cannot be increased beyond it if it is obscured from you by the presence of clouds, so you do not witness it. For if He had obligated you to more than this, or if its obligation were upon every condition, it would have been appropriate for you to decrease from its days, either by reducing its number or by the description of eating during it, as the Christians do, which would lead to its complete nullification.

And Al-Harali said: The meaning is: so that you may fulfill the fast by the sighting, and so that you may complete it if it is obscured from you. In this address, there is a balance in mentioning the clarity at the beginning with His saying: ﴿Witnessed﴾ and mentioning the clouds at the end with the completion - it has ended.

And in it, there is an indication of interdependence, for the mention of witnessing first indicates its absence second, and the mention of completion due to the clouds second indicates clarity first.

And when the Almighty, when His matter is made easy, it is more deserving of being magnified, He said: ﴿And so that you may glorify﴾, and glorification is the elevation of the extent or measure, whether physically or meaningfully - as Al-Harali said. And He coupled it with the greatest name due to the necessity of the occasion for it, saying: ﴿Allah﴾, meaning the One before whom minds fall short of His majesty, and necks humble themselves before the abundance of His beauty, so that you may acknowledge His greatness in your hearts and mention it with your tongues during the festival and otherwise, so that this may be more likely to ensure the continuity of submission from the hearts.

Al-Harali said: And in it, there is an indication of what the fasting person attains through the purity of his inner self from witnessing what the effect of his fasting illuminates for him, from the crescent of his high light. Just as he glorified at the beginning of the month for the sighting of the crescent, he glorifies at its end for the sighting of his inner self, a vision from the crescent of the light of his Lord. Thus, the action of this is the prayer of the forenoon on the day of the festival, and it was announced therein with glorification and repeated for that reason, and it was made in an open area of spacious land for the purpose of glorification, for the glorification of Allah, glorified and exalted is He, is indeed by what is magnificent among His creations. Therefore, in its wording, there is an indication of what the Sunnah has revealed about the prayer of the festival, specifically its glorification in the two units and the public declaration for the purpose of aligning with the meaning of glorification, which is indeed to be done publicly - it has ended.

And among its greatest secrets is that when the festival is a place of joy and happiness, and it is of the nature of the soul to exceed limits due to what it is created with from greed, sometimes in heedlessness and sometimes in oppression, He commanded in it to remove its heedlessness and to break its arrogance. And when the odd number has a great effect in reminding of the One, the Eternal, the Unique, and when the seven of it have a significant entrance in the legislation, He made the takbir of his prayer an odd number and made it seven in the first for that reason, and a reminder of the seven acts of Hajj from the Tawaf, the Sa'i, and the stones, enticing towards it because the sight of the greater festival is more, and a reminder of the Creator of this existence by reflecting on His known actions from the creation of the seven heavens and the seven earths and what is in them in the seven days, because He created them in six and created Adam on the seventh day, the day of Friday. And when the habit of the legislator is to be gentle with this nation, and among it is the easing of the second upon the first, and the five is closer as an odd number to the seven than the others, He made the takbir of the second five for that reason. And when the greatness of the Creator was brought to mind by the first indication for the knowledge that He is the Unique in greatness, might, and dominion over all matters, the hearts turned to Him and the aspirations were confined to Him. The takbir of the second was indicated towards His worship in Islam, which is based on the five pillars, especially on its greatest pillar, the five prayers - and Allah, glorified and exalted is He, is the Guide.

And when guidance is sometimes released merely on the statement and sometimes it is with the requirement to adhere to what is clarified, and the easing of what is commanded and its facilitation is a help to adhere to it, He said: "Upon" meaning praising Him for "what He has guided you" meaning He has made easy for you from the laws of this religion, so He prepared you to adhere to them and to continue holding onto their ties. And perhaps this is the secret of the concern for fasting from the specific and the general, until hardly anyone among the Muslims neglects it except rarely - and Allah, glorified and exalted is He, is the Guide.

And Al-Harali said: Indeed, guidance is an indication of that presence which the fasting person finds and what Allah witnesses from His blessings from the vision of the Night of Decree with a special unveiling for the people of seclusion, or clear verses for the people of insight, or with an evident sign for the people of vigilance, each according to the ruling he finds from the immersion of his connection and seclusion and the immersion of his remembrance in his fasting. So the greatest guidance is the guidance of a person to let his body wither and his soul perish and his essence vanish in the truth of his Lord, as he says: "He leaves his food and drink for My sake." So every action is a deed and a permanence except for fasting, for it is an obliteration and a loss. Thus, it is appropriate to realize what Islam and piety are from casting aside the outward grace and the strength of the inward - it has ended.

And when gratitude is the turning of what the Benefactor has bestowed upon Him in obedience, and when the action, if it lightens, is closer to the adherence to obedience by its adherence, and if it were to become heavy, it would almost lead to disobedience by abandoning it. He said: "And perhaps you will be grateful," meaning that you may be in a state in which adherence to obedience and avoidance of disobedience is hoped for.

And al-Harali said: In it is a classification in gratitude at the end, just as there was a classification for piety at the beginning, as He said: "Perhaps you will attain piety" [Al-Baqarah: 183]. So whoever's piety is valid at the beginning, his gratitude is valid at the end; and in its implication is an indication of the manifestation of Allah's blessing and the gratitude for the kindness, which is the obligation of the Zakat al-Fitr for every fasting person and for whom the fasting person feeds. Thus, in gratitude, it is to give his Fitr at the conclusion of his fasting and to receive his Fitr by the command of his Lord and to show his gratitude for what He has granted him from feeding his dependents. Therefore, it has been established for those who fast and for those whom the fasting person supports.