And when he nullified all their doubts, and softened from their arrogance by warning them, they became worthy of accepting the admonition. [And among what they accused him of - may Allah be pleased with him - was madness and deliberate lying]. He commanded him to approach them with it gently, so that they would not turn away from its length. He said: ﴿Say﴾ and emphasized it further to draw them towards accepting it by saying: ﴿Indeed, I advise you with one thing﴾ meaning, listen and do not turn away for fear that I may bore you; then he resumed his words explaining it: ﴿That you stand﴾ meaning, direct your souls to recognizing the truth. He expressed standing as an indication of striving ﴿for Allah﴾ meaning, which is the greatest of it in terms of sincerity and presence of what He has of greatness with what He has with you of kindness. [Not for the intention of overpowering]. While you are ﴿two by two﴾ meaning, two by two, [and he presented it as an indication that most people are deficient in intellect]. ﴿And singly﴾ meaning, one by one, whoever has confidence in himself regarding the soundness of his intellect and the authenticity of his opinion stands alone to be purer for his secret and more helpful for the clarity of his thought. And whoever fears for it brings another to remind him if he forgets. And to correct him if he deviates. And since this category is more prevalent among people, he presented it and did not mention any other categories, indicating that if they were in these two states, it would be more fitting for them (p-530) to recognize the truth without any taint of a share of what occurs in a large gathering of debate and words that prevent the refinement of opinion, the cultivation of thought, and the purification of meanings.

And when what he requested from them was great and worthy of such attention, he indicated it with a tool of delay by saying: ﴿Then reflect﴾ meaning, strive after being calm and taking time to think about what you have attributed to your companion regarding madness. And when his distance from this is something that cannot be doubted, he resumed his words [specifying by the expression of the companion] confirming their denial and alerting to the emergence of the implication of this negation: ﴿There is nothing wrong with your companion﴾ meaning, the one who called you to Allah, and you have tested him as a child, a youth, and an adult, and he has immersed himself in the denial by saying: ﴿Of madness﴾ and specified it because it is something that can occur, and he did not touch upon lying because it is something that cannot happen with one who has lived among people for a long time and has accompanied them day and night, morning and evening, in secret and openly, in good times and bad, and he is the highest among them in ambition, the most trustworthy in nobility, the purest in character, and the most manifest in attributes, and the farthest from filth in the realm of absolute lying. So how about what contradicts their desires? How about what is attributed to Allah? So how about His words which are attributed to lying, which are miraculous in what they contain (p-531) of wisdoms and rulings, eloquence and meanings that have perplexed minds.

And when it was established by this, as an announcement and understanding of his innocence from all that they accused him of, he confined his matter to advising against destruction. He said, warning that this which he brought to them can only be claimed by one of two men: either a madman or a truthful one who is the most complete of men. The first has been negated, so the second is established: "Indeed, he is nothing but a warner for you," meaning his warning is specific, and his intention is your salvation. He made the matter of punishment terrifying by depicting it as the image of one who has a tool of force surrounding those he targets, and he said: "Before you comes a severe punishment, overpowering, from which there is no escape, if you do not return to Him, it will quickly befall you." Al-Bukhari narrated from Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, who said: "The Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, climbed Al-Safa one day and said: O morning! So the Quraysh gathered to him and said: What is wrong with you? He said: Do you see, if I were to inform you that the enemy would attack you in the morning or in the evening, would you not believe me? They said: Yes. He said: Indeed, I am a warner for you before a severe punishment. Abu Lahab said: May you perish! Is this why you gathered us? So Allah, the Exalted, revealed: 'May the hands of Abu Lahab perish, and may he perish.'"