And when the conclusion of these stories was the extraction of what He, glorified and exalted is He, intended as evidence of His wisdom and knowledge, and His distinction from the idols in His power and forbearance, He commanded His Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, to praise Him in gratitude for what He knows and to affirm to them the impotence of their idols, turning them away from ignorance by the clearest path and the closest means. He said: ﴿Say﴾ what has been produced from what has preceded in this surah, which is ﴿All praise﴾ meaning: the encompassing of the attributes of perfection ﴿to Allah﴾ meaning: specific to the One who possesses the most beautiful names and the highest attributes at the time of non-existence as He did at the time of creation. ﴿And peace﴾ meaning: safety, health, and permanence at this time and at all times, just as it was before this in the past years. He indicated that there is no reaching of destruction to them by the tool of elevation in His saying: ﴿upon﴾ and pointed to their honor in His saying: ﴿His servants﴾ by their addition to Him. He confirmed this with His saying: ﴿those whom He has chosen﴾ meaning: in every era and time, just as praise is for their deity eternally and perpetually without end, and destruction and anger upon those who disobey and oppose the messengers and refuse, as you see in the companions of these narratives. The meaning is that this continuous decree of the salvation of the messengers and their followers, and the destruction of the disbelievers and their supporters, is conclusive evidence that Allah's encompassing is in every matter. Abu Hayyan said: And this was the beginning of a sermon for what will be presented of the proofs indicating oneness, knowledge, and power. Among what should be noted is that there was no mention in the story of Lot, peace be upon him, more than his prohibition to them regarding this immorality. Their state does not lack two matters: either they did not associate anything with Allah, the Exalted, but when they innovated this dilemma and openly persisted in it, they were taken by punishment for that and for their disbelief in denying their messenger, as stated in the verse of the poets. Or they were polytheists, but when he, peace be upon him, saw them having sunk to the level of animality, he arranged their supplication from that to the level of humanity, then to the level of oneness. This second estimation is indicated by his saying, pointing out that Allah, the Exalted, destroyed them and all who disbelieved before them, and their deities did not avail them at all, by His saying: ﴿Is Allah﴾ meaning: the One who has majesty and honor ﴿better﴾ meaning: for His servants whom He has chosen and saved ﴿than what they associate﴾ O assembly of the Arabs, from the idols and others for their worshippers and lovers, for they do not avail you at all, just as they did not avail those who worshipped them from those whom We destroyed at all. And you will not seek refuge in their hardships except to Allah alone. This is based on the reading of the address to the group, and the estimation based on the reading of the unseen for the observers and Asim: Do the disbelievers generally associate anything, ancient and modern, with those whom they associate with? They could not avail them at the time of the calamity befalling them. And the superlative form is for the obligation of the argument and the warning of the appearance of their excessive error and their ignorance leading to a limit that does not require uncovering for its highest door.