And when their request for the signs - meaning: the indicators of truth - was sometimes through mercy in sending down rivers and treasures and easing life, and sometimes through punishment by causing the sky to fall upon them in pieces and similar matters - it was not in his hands nor did he have a specific time for their descent. He was commanded here to clarify to them the distinction and to give them despair from the possibility of reconciliation as long as they were upon hypocrisy. He was commanded to inform them of what he was firmly established in regarding the light and what they were in regarding blindness by saying: ﴿Say, indeed,﴾ and he indicated his firm establishment in the evident proofs and overwhelming arguments by the particle of elevation, saying: ﴿upon clear evidence﴾ meaning: the enemy only reconciles with his enemy either due to lack of trust in victory over him and punishing him with his enmity, or due to lack of confidence that he is upon the truth. As for me, I am confident in both matters ﴿from my Lord﴾ meaning: the One who is gracious to me by sending me after the complete unveiling of the secret of the kingdom and the dominion, while you have “disbelieved in Him” meaning: my Lord, as you rejected His message. He will surely take vengeance upon you without a doubt.

And when this was said, it was assumed that the state of their hearts said: Bring us this evidence! He said: Indeed, my Lord is fully capable, so He does not fear loss and does not hurry. As for me, I am a servant ﴿what I have﴾ meaning: [in] my ability and capacity ﴿is not what you hasten for﴾ meaning: in your saying (Rain down upon us stones from the sky) and similar things until I judge among you according to what is required by the nature of humanity from hastiness. ﴿Indeed﴾ meaning: what ﴿is the judgment﴾ in anything from the matters, this and other than it ﴿except for Allah﴾ meaning: the One to whom belongs all command, so there is no equal to Him. Then he resumed his saying, clarifying that He, glorified and exalted is He, brings about the matter at the time He has determined for it in what is most suitable for Him, without anyone having the ability to advance or delay. He said: ﴿He narrates﴾ meaning: He details and executes with advancement and delay, and this is the meaning of the reading of the two Harami reciters and Asim (He narrates) meaning: He cuts the decree or the narrative ﴿the truth﴾ and makes it manifest, detailing it from falsehood and clarifying it, so that it may be followed by one whose decree is happiness, and he may turn away from it who has been judged with misery ﴿and He is the best of those who differentiate﴾ because when He intends that, He does not leave any ambiguity for one whom He intends to guide, and He made in that apparent a reason for one whom He intends to misguide.