Then he followed them, those who had no matter between them and the kings. And he guided by them those who were between his two sides. He said: "And Isma'il and Al-Yasa'". This is if Al-Yasa' is the son of Akhtub ibn Al-Ajuz, the successor of Ilyas, as Al-Baghawi mentioned in Surah As-Saffat that Allah, glorified and exalted is He, sent to Ilyas - and he is from the tribe of Levi, from the lineage of Harun - peace be upon him - a horse of fire, and he rode it. Allah raised him and removed from him the pleasure of food and drink, and He clothed him in feathers. Thus, he became a human, royal, earthly, and heavenly being. And Allah caused an enemy to be sent against Ahab - meaning: the king who was sent against Ilyas - and he killed him. And Allah informed Al-Yasa' and sent him as a messenger to the Children of Israel. And he supported him, so the Children of Israel believed in him and honored him. And if Al-Yasa' is indeed Yusha' ibn Nun - as said by Zayd ibn Aslam - the connection between him and Isma'il - peace be upon them - is that each of them was truthful in their promise. For Yusha' was one of the two spies who fulfilled for Musa - peace be upon him - when he sent them to scout the lands of Bayt Al-Maqdis, as indicated in His saying, glorified and exalted is He: "And certainly Allah took the covenant from the Children of Israel, and We sent from them twelve leaders" [Al-Ma'idah: 12] and His saying: "Two men from those who feared what Allah had blessed them" [Al-Ma'idah: 23]. Also, each of them was a reason for the establishment of Allah's greatest land with monotheism. For Isma'il was the reason for the establishment of the honored Makkah, and Yusha' was the reason for the establishment of the holy land - as will come in Surah Yunus, if Allah, glorified and exalted is He, wills.

And when Isma'il and Al-Yasa' were among those whom Allah guided their people without punishment, he followed them with one whom Allah guided his people with punishment and saved them after the coming of his signs. He said: "And Yunus" meaning: We guided him. And when the descendants of Ibrahim - peace be upon him - came to an end, he concluded with the son of his brother whose people went astray and perished suddenly. Thus, between the stories of these two others is a contrast in terms of destruction and salvation, and a correspondence in that each of them was sent to a people other than their own. He said: "And Lut". Then he described them with what encompasses those before them, saying: "And all" meaning: from those we mentioned, "We preferred" meaning: with what we have of greatness through the completeness of knowledge and the comprehensiveness of power, "over the worlds". So all these prophets are among those whom Allah guided with His guidance and struggled in Allah's cause as He should be struggled for. And He began with Ibrahim - peace be upon him - and concluded with the son of his brother Lut - peace be upon him - on this good correspondence. And it is said that Allah, glorified and exalted is He, destroyed the people of Ibrahim - Nimrud and his soldiers - after his migration. If this is correct, the correspondence is completed in the destruction of each of the people of him and the people of his brother Lut after their prophet departed from them. Thus, there is a correspondence between them as there was a contrast between his story and the story of Yunus - peace be upon him.

Among the subtleties of their arrangement is also that Ismail - peace be upon him - parallels Nuh - peace be upon him - for he is the fourth in the count of this chain if you count him from its end, just as Nuh - peace be upon him - is his fourth if you count him from its beginning. The connection between them is that Nuh - peace be upon him - from him Allah spread humanity until among them was Ibrahim - peace be upon him - whom Allah made the father of the prophets and messengers. And Ismail - peace be upon him - from him Allah spread the Arabs who are the essence of creation until among them was Muhammad - blessings and peace be upon him - whom Allah made the seal of the prophets and messengers. This was the beginning and that was the end. And those mentioned before the offspring of Ibrahim - peace be upon him - and after it - they are Nuh and Lut - peace be upon them - Allah destroyed the people of each of them in general, and buried these in the solid earth just as He drowned those in the barrier of water. And He caused distress to each of their wives, clarifying that the messengers, as they may be a mercy to people, can also be a punishment upon a people. And there is no salvation or benefit from them except through good following. And the son of Imran shared with Ibrahim - peace be upon them - in that each of the kings of their times ordered the killing of the boys out of fear of one who would change his religion and take his kingdom. Just as Allah, the Exalted, saved Ibrahim - peace be upon him - and his nephew Lut - peace be upon him - from the king of their time who claimed divinity, so too did He save Musa and his brother Harun - peace be upon them - from the king of their time who claimed to be a god. And He saved the offspring of Ibrahim through them. So if you consider Ibrahim and his nephew Lut - due to his being a follower of him - as one, and Musa and his brother Harun as one for a similar reason, and you arranged the names of all these prophets in a pure chain: Lut with Ibrahim as Musa with Harun, then the four were the middle of a necklace. Between Ibrahim and Musa at that time are seven just as between Harun and Lut are seven. And if you include the one specifically intended who is addressed by these verses, commanded by His saying, 'So follow their guidance' [Al-An'am: 90], his position in the chain is between his cousin Lut and his father Ibrahim. And there will be nine before him and nine behind him. From Ibrahim to Musa are nine, and from Lut to Harun likewise. Thus, the Messenger of Allah - blessings and peace be upon him - is the middle of the necklace and the completer of the necklace, for he is the tenth from each side. Through him guidance is completed and the obligation of misguidance is established. And this is in accordance with his saying - blessings and peace be upon him - in what has been narrated by the two Shaykhs and others from Abu Huraira - may Allah be pleased with him -:

(My example and the example of the prophets before me is like the example of a man who built a house and made it good and beautiful, except for a place of one brick in a corner of it. The people began to walk around it and marvel at it, saying: 'Would that this brick were placed!' I am that brick, and I am the Seal of the Prophets.) And in Al-Bukhari there is something similar from Jabir. This is alongside its connection to the closest of those with determination in rank and lineage, the owner of the story, Ibrahim - peace be upon him. And if you consider Musa and Harun - peace be upon them - as one thing, they were an intermediary from the other side. If you count from the side of Ibrahim - peace be upon him - there were eight between him and them. And if you count from the side of Lut - peace be upon him - it was likewise.