And when he informed about their multitude and strength and their signs indicating [their capability], he caused the explanation of their condition, which led to their destruction and demise. He said, clarifying what he meant by saying: ﴿So when their messengers came to them﴾, meaning: those whom We sent to them, and they are from among them, knowing their truthfulness and trustworthiness ﴿with clear proofs﴾, meaning: indicating their truthfulness without a doubt. ﴿They rejoiced﴾, meaning: the people described ﴿with what they had of knowledge﴾, which they used to produce those effects on the earth, such as the emergence of water, the carrying of burdens, the engineering of buildings, the knowledge of regions, and the observation of the stars for the purpose of understanding the conditions of livelihood, and other manifestations of knowledge leading to pride, arrogance, and abundance, standing with illusion, and being bound by the present of [the drawing] from the knowledge of the apparent life of this world and being content with the transient, as the one before it said: ﴿Then when We granted him a blessing from Us, he said: 'I have been given it only because of knowledge I possess'﴾ [Az-Zumar: 49]. And as Qarun said when it was said to him: ﴿And do good as Allah has done good to you﴾ [Al-Qasas: 77], he said: ﴿I have been given it only because of knowledge I have﴾ [Al-Qasas: 78]. And he made them happy with it (p-128) because it led them to expand in this world and to enjoy it, and they mocked what the messengers brought them of the inner knowledge that calls for turning away from the transient and turning towards the everlasting, and the fear of what comes after death from the unseen matters and the coming horrors and the great hidden realities behind the veil of this [worldly] life, despite what is in it of essences, meanings, conditions, and ages, and calamities. What moved them to rejoice in what they had [was] what they were in of the bloom, along with what they saw of the diminishing of the messengers and their followers from this world, the hastening of calamities towards them, and the abundance of what they suffered from worries and troubles, and what they endured from rivals and adversaries. So their mockery intensified against them and against what they brought, after that, as impossible, false, and misguided. They would not cease from acting with arrogant joy, laughing and swaying, as Allah, the Exalted, said: ﴿So when Our verses came to them, they laughed at them﴾ [Az-Zukhruf: 47]. And they set traps for the messengers and their followers, and surrounded them with plots and deceit, and they intended to seize them, but We saved Our messengers and those who believed with them from them and gave them what removed their joy and prolonged their grief and sorrow. ﴿And it surrounded﴾, meaning: it encompassed them with the face of severity ﴿what they used to﴾, meaning: a continuous habit.

And when their mockery of the truth was truly great, he counted their mockery of others as nothing. He indicated this by presenting the situation, saying: ﴿They mock at it﴾ from the warning that they were certain of its falsehood. He knew with certainty that he only rejoices in the knowledge that includes salvation and eternal happiness. The flow of the speech is thus filled with mockery of them and ridicule of them because they established the capable world [the speaking one], which, if his opponent overcomes him, silences him and puts a stone in his mouth, rendering him mute and speechless with clear evidence and a sound argument. Joy appeared over him, and happiness overcame him. If his opponent persisted and stood with his delusion, he mocked him and laughed at him. This is alongside the ignorance they possess, which they cannot deny with the evidence of the confession of those to whom this noble prophet was sent, that the people of the Book are more knowledgeable than them. They would direct their riders to the Jews, asking them about [their matter], and his matter [is that] he came to them with that which elevates their status over the people of the Book, making them the chosen ones for leadership throughout the ages. They refuse to argue with him with falsehood except in a manner of degradation and turning away from the truth, and retreating and declining. The verse indicates that no one learns except the one who believes himself to be deficient. For this reason, the most receptive to knowledge are the young. The verse, in terms of implication: the affirmation of joy first is evidence for the omission of its opposite second, and the affirmation of mockery second is evidence for the omission of something similar first.

And when this surah was about the statement of the might that is the result of the perfection of knowledge and the comprehensiveness of power, and the greatness of might is according to the greatness of that which is taken by it, opposing it, He repeated the mention of debate in this surah repeatedly, having permitted that. He said at the beginning of it, "No one argues in the verses of Allah except those who disbelieve" [Ghafir: 4]. Then He indicated that they are taken without their debate benefiting them, which has resulted in their misguidance. And on the consequences of that, He encouraged and warned until He said, "He is the One who shows you His signs" [Ghafir: 13]. He mentioned some of what they became intensely familiar with until its strangeness fell away from them. So He alerted them to what is in it to stop them from debating and to make them content with it instead of proposing something else. Then He mentioned the story of Musa, blessings and peace be upon him, reminding them of what happened to the torment of the deniers who debated after the occurrence of what they proposed of the signs by saying, "Then bring a sign if you are among the truthful" [Ash-Shu'ara: 154]. And He continued to remind, warn, and caution in those methods which are sharper than swords and clearer than the sun in the daylight without an eclipse, until He said, "Those who argue in the verses of Allah without any authority that has come to them, it is great hatred in the sight of Allah and in the sight of those who believe" [Ghafir: 35]. Then He began to complete the story of Musa, blessings and peace be upon him, until He said, "Indeed, those who argue in the verses of Allah without any authority that has come to them, in their chests is nothing but arrogance which they will never attain" [Ghafir: 56]. Then He began to enumerate the great signs which, due to their clarity, reject the argument of the debater and the misguidance of the one who is obstinate. Were it not that the intensity of their familiarity has brought them out from the realm of strangeness of the creation of the heavens and the rolling of the two colors, and the spreading of the earth and the raising of the sky and the formation of man and what is in it of great significance, it would have unveiled its veils and clarified its indications and manifestations. And He turned the speech to the threat to the debaters by saying, denying them, "Have you not seen those who argue in the verses of Allah, how they are turned away?" [Ghafir: 69]. This is in accordance with the habit of the eloquent, that when one of them silences his opponent with what is from his arguments as the sun is in brightness and appearance, he denies with the questioning which is a matter of the impact of arrows.