And when he mentioned the destruction of the former ones, the reminder by the 'haseeb' was a reminder to Quraysh of what He had inflicted upon their enemy, the companions of the elephant, by sending upon them the flocks of birds as a warning to them if they persisted in their disbelief and did not submit to His gratitude. So the estimation was a confirmation of the increase of His power, the goodness of His management, and the gentleness of His nurturing, where He made the birds fly despite their weakness in flight to complete, by virtue of His all-encompassing mercy, the matter of their livelihood as a confirmation that the kingdom is in His hand and as a threat that no one could contest Him in His management, while the saying remains directed away from them, signaling the severity of their reckoning and the evil of their outcome and return. Did they not see our power over the destruction of the former ones and the annihilation of the deniers and the salvation of the believers? He then turned to his saying, turning away from them, increasing the warning of the 'haseeb' from the birds and others: 'Did they not see?' And all the readers have agreed on the reading here in the unseen because the context is a response to the deniers, contrary to what is in the bees.

He indicated the distance of the goal by the letter of the end, saying: 'to the birds,' which is the plural of 'bird.' And when the atmosphere was entirely permissible for flying, he removed the constraint and said: 'above them.' He clarified the state of the birds in their elevation by saying, describing it in the feminine form, indicating their weakness in themselves were it not for His strengthening of them: 'standing in rows,' meaning spreading their wings to the utmost extent, such that they become level with no deviation in them, while if there is a group of them, they are in rows or a single row in utmost order, following an imam among them.

And when he expressed the row by the noun because it is the established origin, he expressed the movement by the verb because flying in the expanse of the air is like swimming in the expanse of water. The origin in swimming is the extension of the limbs and their spreading, while contraction is incidental to spreading. He said: 'And they fold,' meaning they cause the folding of the wings and their spreading time after time for rest and to strengthen themselves for swimming in the air. And when this estimation was completed in this magnificent manner for the hearts, he translated it by saying: 'What holds them,' meaning in the air in the state of folding and spreading from falling contrary to what nature would necessitate.

And when this is from the precise planning that looks to the universality of mercy, He said: ﴿Except the Most Merciful﴾, meaning the King whose mercy is general for everything by having prepared them - after He bestowed upon them the mercy of existence - in various forms and distinct characteristics for movement in the air by what He has created for them of means and supports, and other forms that correspond to that. Likewise, the entire world, if He were to withhold from it even for the blink of an eye, it would be corrupted by the collapse of the heavens and the falling of the mountains and others. And He expressed in the context of the bees with the greatest name because its context is a response to the people of nature, who are the philosophers, and no one can respond to them except the one who is deeply versed in the knowledge of all the foundations of religion by knowing all the meanings of the beautiful names and the lofty attributes that are gathered in the name of the essence.

And when this is a marvelous matter for the intellect, yet due to the intensity of familiarity, one does not become aware of it except through prompting. And the ignorant might think that the estimation for flying is specific to birds. He, glorified is He, alerted to the greatness of what He has prepared for the birds and that He is capable of making that for others by His saying, affirming due to the shortcomings of some minds in believing that. And it included the association for the purpose of undermining the completeness of the ability, which includes undermining the completeness of knowledge: ﴿Indeed﴾, meaning the Most Merciful, glorified is He, ﴿is All-Aware of everything﴾, whether little or much, great or insignificant, apparent or hidden, ﴿All-Seeing﴾, profound in sight and knowledge of the apparent and the hidden aspects of things. So whatever He wills, He is and He creates wonders and brings forth marvels. He prepares whom He wills from among humans and others for such things.