And when they directed for each of their actions a good intention, He clarified the corruption of their intention by His saying, condemning to the utmost degree of condemnation with the expression of 'stinginess,' which is the extreme in miserliness. It is miserliness regarding what is in hand and a matter for the unseen regarding miserliness, so it is miserliness leading to a foul, vile miserliness that is persistent in it, hastening towards it. 'Ashiḥḥa' means they act as previously mentioned, while each one of them is stingy towards you, meaning in obtaining benefit from them or from others, whether in soul or wealth.

And when the estimation is: in a state of safety, He followed it with a clarification of their state in fear, saying: 'So when fear comes,' meaning due to the arrival of its causes from war and its preliminaries. 'You see them,' meaning, O you who are addressed, 'looking.' He clarified their distance, both physically and meaningfully, with the particle of purpose, saying: 'towards you,' meaning while they are 'turning,' right and left, with the movement of the gaze. 'Their eyes' are wandering, trembling with fear and weakness. It was likened in the swiftness of its turning to an incorrect intention, so He said: 'like the one,' meaning like the turning of the eye of the one. He clarified the intensity of the concern by depicting that by making the object a pillar for the action built for it, saying: 'overwhelmed by it,' beginning his overwhelming 'from death,' the way of Allah that every one who deals with people with deceit is of little steadfastness at the time of confrontation. Then he mentioned another specific trait to clarify their cowardice, saying: 'So when fear departs,' meaning with the departure of its causes, 'they will attack you,' meaning they will seize you with a difficult seizing, boldly and audaciously, forgetting what occurred from them due to their proximity to cowardice and weakness. 'With sharp tongues,' cutting and eloquent after they were at the time of fear in the utmost stammering, unable to move due to the lack of saliva and the dryness of the lips. This is [for the sake of] seeking the fleeting gain from the spoils or otherwise. Then He clarified the intended meaning by His saying: 'Ashiḥḥa,' meaning a stinginess that is elevated 'over good,' meaning the wealth that they have, and in their belief that there is no good other than it, a stinginess that they do not want anything of it to reach you nor do they want anything of it to escape them. And this is [another way] that whoever is strong in ease is weak in hardship and at the time of confrontation. I have explained the stinginess in this way because its material, in its arrangement, revolves around the gathering that has ended, so it has approached corruption, from the grass and the fodder, which is the dung. It is a gathering that is usually followed by hardship and harm, and from the necessities of absolute gathering is strength, which follows it with rigidity. Perhaps harshness arises, and perhaps separation arises from gathering, so it necessitates weakness. From the troublesome gathering is stinginess, which is miserliness and greed, and the stinginess of the soul is its greed for what it possesses. Al-Qazzaz said: The gathering of the stingy in the least number is 'ashiḥḥa.' I have not heard other than it, and Abu Yusuf narrated: 'ashihā' - with elongation in the plural, and two men are 'yatashāḥān' regarding the matter - if each of them wants not to miss it. A stingy flame does not ignite, and a stingy water is a troublesome water that does not overflow - because it has intensified its gathering in its place, and its land has strengthened with the gathering of its parts, so it has become very firm and has been stingy with it.

And a stingy land: it is hard. Al-Qazzaz said: and by it the zund was likened. And the shashah: it is sharp and of bad character, and one who persists in speech or action, and one who is constant in something, because that is one of the necessities of the sharpness that arises from the strength that comes from gathering. Hence, it is said to the eloquent and brave speaker and the zealous one: shashah and shashah. And the shashah of the crows: it is loud, and of the donkeys: it is light, and of the quails: it is swift. And the shashah: it is tall - as if it has gathered two lengths. And the shashah of the camel in the hader - if it does not free itself, as if it has [gathered] to the hader what is not hader. And the shashah: the sound of the sparrow - due to its frequent connection, it returns to the sharpness that goes back to the strength that arises from gathering, and the repetition of the camel in the hader and the swift flight and caution, for it indicates the gathering of the heart and the holes of the mind. And a shashah woman - as if she is a man in her strength. And the mushashah - like the musalsal: it is of little good. And shahiha camels: they have little milk, and that is from the gathering and the hardness that arises from harshness and hardship. And the shahiha of the land is what flows from the slightest rain, due to its hardness and the strong gathering of some of it to some. And the shashah also of the land is what does not flow except from much rain, in contrast to the first, and that looks to its gathering for the view for its depth in it due to the separation in its parts that has been mentioned as one of the necessities of gathering. And from the absolute gathering: the vast wilderness - because it is a gathering for what is intended to be gathered. And the shihah: they are small valleys that push the water to the wadi, so they are by their extension a gathering, and by being small they are harsh and gathered in themselves. And from the gathering: the hay, which is the dry grass, and its origin is what has been gathered from it.

And the [mihash] is the place abundant with grass and goodness. Because gathering may sometimes lead to gentleness. The abundance of grass necessitates gentleness with its fodder for the animals. Its land is good. And whoever [hashsha] the grass: he cut it. And [fulan]: he improved his condition. And [al-mal]: he increased it. And [Zayd] a camel or with a camel: he gave it to him. And [hash] - with a fathah: the exit. And [mihashah]: the rear. And [hash]: the garden with clustered palms. It was named [khala] because the Arabs used to relieve themselves in it. And [hash] of [talhah] and [hash] of [kawkab]: two places in Medina. And the child [hashsha] in the womb: he dried up. And the woman [ahhashat] and she is [mihash] - if the child dried up in her belly. And [hush] - with a dammah: the dead child in the womb. And I [hashasht] the horse: I gathered grass for it. And I [ahhashasht] the man: I helped him gather grass. And [hishash] are the bundles in which the grass is. And the grass [ahhasha]: it became possible to be cut. And the [mustahashah] of the she-camels which have thickened or have become swollen, meaning what is above their wrist to their leg. And that is due to their size and the abundance of their fat. And the branch [istahhasha]: it grew long - as if it gathered two lengths, or it became such that it gathers much foliage. The thing with the thing. And [hash] of the [wadi] from the palms: it dried up. And from gathering: [hash] the game: he gathered it from both sides. And the horse: he threw grass for it. The [qazzaz] said: it is the dry grass. And its origin is what is gathered. And from it: [ahshuka] and [taruthuni] - it is said for one who has wronged someone who has done good to him. And the camels passed [tahush] the land. Meaning they gather the grass. And it was said: it is from the speed of their passing. And in it, with the abundance of gathering for the steps by their closeness, there is a meaning of sharpness. And from it, the horse [hashsha]: it hastened. And from the oversight of corruption: [hash] - with a fathah, it is the short, incomplete palm that is neither irrigated nor cultivated. And [hushasha]: the remnant of the soul. It is said: there remains of [fulan] except a little remnant by which he lives. And the expression of the dictionary, and [hushash] and [hushasha], is the remaining spirit in the sick and wounded. This is evident in the oversight of corruption as previously mentioned. And it is also from the separation that may necessitate gathering. And from it, [tahashhashu] meaning they dispersed. And from it, the scarcity of [istihshash], which is the fewness of the people. And from the sharpness that arises from the strength that arises from gathering: I [hashasht] the fire, meaning I kindled it and gathered the firewood to it. And everything that is strengthened by something has [hash] with it. And the [mihash] is an iron tool with which the fire is kindled, meaning it is moved. And the brave, the [qazzaz] said, is a [mihash] of war - if he ignites it with his bravery. And [hash] [fulan] the war - if he stirred it up. And from it, [tahashhashu] meaning they moved. And from the absolute sharpness: I [ahhashasht] him from his need: I hastened him from it. And from gathering and strength: he [hash] his arrow with [qudhadh] - if he smeared it and stuck it from its sides. And [hashashak] that you do such and such, meaning your utmost, meaning the limit of your gathering for everything by which you gain strength. And [hashasha] of everything: its two sides. And [hushah] - with a dammah: the great dome, due to the abundance of its gathering and the strength of its compactness.

And when He described them, glorified and exalted is He, with these lowly traits.

He informed that its foundation and origin, from which it arose, is the lack of trust in Allah due to the lack of faith. He said: ﴿Those﴾ meaning the hated and distant ones, whose matter is settled in this world ﴿did not believe﴾ meaning there was no faith found in their hearts, even if their tongues acknowledged it.

And since action is not valid without faith, this caused his saying: ﴿So Allah nullified﴾ meaning by His majesty and His uniqueness in His greatness and perfection ﴿their deeds﴾ meaning He invalidated their souls, so they became bodies without souls, and there is no benefit for them from anything of it because it was in this world mere forms devoid of the souls which are the righteous intentions. For they had no intention with it except to attain worldly interests. This is a declaration that whoever has this world as his greatest concern is not a believer, and that he will be cowardly in times of turmoil, inclined towards the baseness of desires and instincts.

And since whoever performs an action that no one else can nullify its benefit except with a severe price, Allah, the Exalted, said: ﴿And that﴾ meaning the great nullification along with what they have of audacity in seeking and insistence [when asking] and lack of respect ﴿towards Allah﴾ due to His attributes of greatness, which cause voices to humble and tongues to be silenced. ﴿Easily﴾ because there is no benefit [except from Him] (p-321) and He is the One, the Subduer. As for others, it is indeed difficult for them, because the benefit from others - even if it is truly from them - is subdued by others through intercessions and the presence of hardship or otherwise upon them. It is as if when they went, they continued submissive, not releasing their tongues nor raising their words. So Allah informed, confirming His previous statement about their cowardice, that the barrier He mentioned has always been with them due to their extreme cowardice. He said, confirming that and responding to whoever might say: The fear has gone, so what is it that they have spoken?