Commentary
And when these phrases concluded, raising their necks towards the buyer and Zuhal, receptive to whoever wants to work with laziness, and boredom in thought and weariness, and where is the Pleiades from the hand of the taker? And He, glorified and exalted is He, had informed in the beginning of the surah that the heard verses are guidance for a people and misguidance for others. It was strange that one thing could affect two opposing things. He followed that with what indicated that it is from profound wisdom in pleasing, bright, and illuminating aspects, but with delicate paths and subtle hints, until he concluded with the prohibition of arrogance and raising the voice beyond necessity, indicating that the doer of what is unnecessary is not wise. Arrogance over people and superiority over them are among the effects of virtue in blessings. The custom is that kings are subjected to it sometimes due to mere greatness, sometimes out of fear of its might, and sometimes in hope of its blessings. He, glorified and exalted is He, highlighted the unseen of what He described regarding the heard verses from the effect of the two opposites in one state in the witness of the seen verses in a way that indicates its entitlement, for what Luqman, peace be upon him, commanded regarding worship and humility, and that to Him is the return. He is All-Knowing of everything, capable of everything, and that everything you see He created as a reminder that the blessing is indeed from Him. So, it is not appropriate for anyone to boast about what has been given to him by another. If he were left to himself in this, he would not be able to achieve anything from it, warning against taking it away from the arrogant and giving it to the lowly and despised. He said: 'Did you not see?' meaning do you know knowledge that is in its appearance like witnessing, O you who buy the idle talk, the arrogant towards me, those who turn to Allah, those who abandon the world, to whom we said as a rejection of polytheism and distancing from desires and falsehood: 'This is the creation of Allah, so show me what those besides Him have created' [Luqman: 11]. 'That Allah,' meaning the possessor of all perfection, 'has subjected for you' meaning specifically, 'what is in the heavens' with light and darkness, heat and cold, and other forms of blessings. And He emphasized it by repeating the relative pronoun and the preposition, for the status is deserving of it, saying: 'And what is in the earth' with all that benefits you, so you know that all is His creation, and that no one among those besides Him has anything in it, and that He encompasses everything in power and knowledge. He is capable of making it difficult, so He informs you of what you used to do and brings it forth for you even if it is in the most hidden places. 'And He has bestowed' meaning prolonged, expanded, completed, and favored beyond the measure of need and perfected 'upon you' O you who are obligated, 'His blessings' [meaning] one that is suitable for this world, in the reading of the congregation with the 'ain' being silent and the 'ta' being feminine singular, marked with tanween of glorification, indicating that it has many types indeed, as indicated by the reading of the Medinans and Abu Amr and Hafs from Asim by making the 'ta' of femininity a pronoun for Him, glorified and exalted is He, with the opening of the 'ain' to be plural. 'Apparent' meaning what you see, remembering it, 'and hidden' meaning what is absent from you so that you do not perceive it, or you perceive it while it is hidden from you, you do not mention it except by remembrance, and each of you knows that in general. So worship Him for what the discourse of Luqman, peace be upon him, called for, to be among the doers of good, being cautious of the deprivation of His blessings and the obligation of His wrath. And it is permissible that the verse is a proof of His saying, glorified and exalted is He: 'He created the heavens without pillars that you see' [Luqman: 10].
And when the decree was: And with each of you, O creation, knowing that this is a blessing from Him, glorified and exalted is He alone, among the people are those who submit, repent, and surrender to all that His wise Book calls to through the tongue of His noble Messenger, blessings and peace be upon him. Thus, he is among the wise and the good-doers. He has been guided, and his saying indicates the position of the addressees, as the people refer to: ﴿And among the people﴾, meaning those who are worthy of confusion. It may be a state from ﴿Did you not see﴾, and ﴿Did you not see﴾ could be a proof for the beginning of the Surah, meaning it refers to the verses while they are guidance for those who remember. Meanwhile, there are among the people those who buy diversion. Did you not see a proof that among the people are those who are obstinate after the proof has become clear that Allah has subjected to you all of creation and has bestowed upon you what He has bestowed? Meanwhile, among the people are ﴿those who argue﴾. There is no diversion greater than their argument, nor arrogance like their arrogance, nor misguidance like their misguidance. He has made clear the severity of this arguer, indicating the ugliness of arguing without regard to the blessings. So He said, glorified and exalted is He: ﴿In Allah﴾, the One who encompasses all things with knowledge and power.
And when He, glorified is He, is manifest in His existence and attributes in a way that cannot be hidden in any manner, and the arguer may be understanding, He said: ﴿Without﴾, meaning with words that are characterized as being without ﴿knowledge﴾, rather with expressions that are weak in their meanings due to their lack of reliance on sensory perception or reason, akin to the sounds of mute animals. Thus, he is by that a donkey following desires.
And when the meaning may appear to some of the limited ones, due to its being expressed by the tongue of one who is not considered, if it is added to a great one, it is hoped for, and he does not hasten to refute it due to its greatness, it becomes apparent over the length of his perception. He said, expressing with the tool of negation the truth of it, because the place is for it, and he first deviated from it so that it would not be thought that the blameworthy is only the arguer if he is not characterized by knowledge (and if his argument is characterized by knowledge): ﴿And no guidance﴾, meaning coming from one who is known for the correctness of words and actions by what he has shown of miracles and clear signs. Thus, it is necessary to accept his words as established even if their meaning does not appear.
And when the saying may be accepted due to its reliance on Allah, the Most High, even if it is not originally rational, He said: ﴿And no Book﴾, meaning from Allah; and His description with what is necessary for it does not cease from it. He said: ﴿Illuminating﴾, meaning clear to the utmost clarity, clarifying for others in the manner of Allah's usual clarification, glorified and exalted is He, or it may be that the description intended is the miracle to demonstrate certainly that it is from Allah, for not every Book of Allah is like that.
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