Commentary
And when he mentioned the matter of the Messenger ﷺ regarding what was given to him of the instincts of honor in the age of decline for others; he mentioned the reason for that; he said: "To warn"; meaning: the Messenger ﷺ; as indicated by what the context shows of the estimation; and it is supported by the wording in the reading of Nafi', Ibn 'Amir, and Ya'qub; with the address; indicating that no one understands it truly except him ﷺ.
And when this Qur'an is clear; and the Messenger ﷺ is characterized by it; it is his manifestation; and the form of his surah; thus his state necessitated that no living being should be left behind from faith; he said - making clear what was right in the first view to be implicit; providing for generality; clarifying that His ruling - glorified and exalted is He - prevented that; so the warned ones were divided into two categories: "Whoever was"; being firmly established; "alive"; meaning: a complete spiritual life; which would be a cause for eternal life; for he does not stop at that time from believing in him; out of fear of what he warns of from matters that there is no doubt directed towards them in any way; so good is hoped for him; for he is a believer in reality; even if it appeared upon him at the beginning of his matter the opposite of that; and he singled out the pronoun here on the wording; indicating the fewness of the happy ones; and he gathered in the second on the meaning; informing of the multitude of the wretched; "And it is due"; meaning: it is necessary; and it is established; "the saying"; meaning: of the punishment; "upon the disbelievers"; meaning: those deeply rooted in disbelief; for they are truly dead; even if you see them alive; for the verse is from the interplay: it omitted faith first; for what was indicated by its opposite secondly; and it omitted death secondly for what was indicated by its opposite first; thus it is established that the greatest contradiction of the Qur'an to poetry; and likewise to rhymed prose; is because it is all serious; so the focus of its styles is primarily on meanings; and the words are subordinate; and the poet; and the one who composes rhymes focus primarily on the rhyme; and the meter; and the pause; until that leads to the weakness of meaning and speech in a way that does not reflect reality; and it is necessary; as Al-Hassan ibn Thabit - may Allah be pleased with him - said; and his state is well known in eloquence; and the variety in styles of speech; and the truthfulness of expression; and the beauty of Islam; in the battle of Al-Ghabah; and its commander was Sa'd ibn Zayd Al-Ashhali - may Allah be pleased with him:
"Let the children of the foundling know that we are Peace in the morning of the knights of Al-Miqdad."
Sa'd became angry with Hassan - may Allah be pleased with both of them - and swore that he would never speak to him again. He said: 'He went to my horses and my knights and gave them to Al-Miqdad.' Hassan - may Allah be pleased with both of them - apologized to him and praised him with verses. He said: 'By Allah, I did not intend that; but the rhyme coincided with the name of Al-Miqdad, because the poem is in the form of a qasida. The Prophet - blessings and peace be upon him - never thinks of the intention of the words; for it is a matter of poetic rhythm. He - blessings and peace be upon him - is entirely serious; thus he does not deviate from it because it is measured; rather, it is because it does not convey the meaning. Just as the Arabs avoid incorrect pronunciation; they do not pronounce it well; nor do they adapt their tongues to it; because it is incorrect pronunciation, not because it is a movement. If something from the measured poetry coincides with the intended meaning for the sake of conveying the meaning, he would say it; as happens with many of the authors where the measured words occur, and what he did not intend. Just as much of the measured words from all the meters of poetry in the Qur'an occurs; and if it does not coincide with the meaning, he would not say it. And upon this, his saying - blessings and peace be upon him - is understood: 'I am the Prophet, no lie; I am the son of Abdul Muttalib.' If mankind and jinn were to conspire to bring forth what he conveyed of meaning in his words; or something similar without this structure; they would not be able to. And if you reflect on every line he exemplified and broke it; you will find that he only broke it for a great meaning; which cannot be achieved with the meter; or there would be no difference between conveying it measured and broken. And thus, the rhyme is the same. From this, it is known that the meaning is not that the meter does not suit; rather, the meaning is that deliberately using meter and rhyme is a deficiency that does not befit his high rank; because the poet is bound by meter, rhyme, and cadence. If the meaning obeys him along with what he is bound by, it is good; otherwise, he would resort to completing what he is bound by; even if the meaning is diminished. The one who uses rhyme is close to that; this is what Allah did not teach him; for he - blessings and peace be upon him - follows the meanings, truths, and wisdoms that benefit eternal life; because he is naturally prepared for that; not prepared for anything else from pretentiousness. And if you ponder the end of the verse; which is an explanation for what preceded it; you will realize that this is the intended meaning. It became clear, in the clearest way, that each of them is a deficiency; nothing from his noble character moves towards it; nor does he have any concern for it; and I have elaborated on this matter; and perfected it; in my book 'The Ascents of Vision for Oversight of the Objectives of the Surahs'; it serves as an introduction to this book - and Allah is the Granter of success to what is correct.
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