And when the one addressed by this ﷺ had lived among those sent to him for a long time, for a period of forty years, and he was the highest among them in rank, the purest in character, the most intelligent among them, the wisest in opinion, the most compassionate, and the most elevated above the impurities of disgrace, with the most virtuous soul, such that he was only called among them by the trustworthy, and nothing had occurred to him that would justify them describing him with the madness that leads to straying from the mentioned objectives at the end of the kingdom in His saying: ﴿So you will surely know who is in clear error﴾ [Al-Mulk: 29], except for the blessing that no one has ever attained anything like it in any age of ages or era of eras. He responded to this great oath, refuting them with the clearest of what could be and indicating the intended meaning to comfort him ﷺ from what their fabrication had caused him of estrangement and to ease his heart and calm his secret: ﴿What are you﴾ meaning, O highest among those qualified for our address, ﴿by the blessing﴾ meaning, because of the favor of ﴿your Lord﴾ who nurtures you with such high aspirations and complete qualities, by having chosen you with the Qur'an, which encompasses all knowledge and wisdom. And he affirmed the negation as an increase in his honor ﷺ by saying: ﴿by a madman﴾ meaning, [rather] the one who described you with this is the one truly deserving of the name of madness, and its meaning is apart from the misguidance that he repeated at the end of that between you and them in it, following the path of fairness, so that they may look into that with evidence and know their misguidance and your guidance with the conclusive evidence by considering the manifest signs of that to the utmost clarity. Thus, he ﷺ negated the misery caused by [the corruption of the mind, and established the happiness that was caused by] the soundness of the mind and the blessing of the Lord upon him.

Imam Abu Ja'far ibn al-Zubayr said: Due to what Surah Al-Mulk contains of great proofs that baffle the minds in fulfilling the consideration of some of it, like the consideration of the creation of the heavens in His saying, the Most High, "He who created seven heavens in layers" [Al-Mulk: 3]. This means that some of them correspond to one another, like the layers of a shoe when it is patched layer upon layer. One feels that they are equal in the area of their diameters and the quantities of their masses - and Allah knows best. The occurrence of the description (p-288) with the source indicates the firmness of the correspondence of some to others, as a revelation from Him, glorified and exalted is He, that due to the greatness of their masses and the distance of their diameters, some correspond to one another without increase or decrease. "You see no in the creation of the Most Merciful any inconsistency" [Al-Mulk: 3], meaning no difference or disturbance in the creation or contradiction; rather, they are equal and straight. The apparent meaning in His saying, the Most High, "You see no in the creation of the Most Merciful any inconsistency" [Al-Mulk: 3], and He did not say: 'What you see in it of inconsistency' - to indicate that all creatures are in accordance with this; every shape corresponds to its shape, there is no inconsistency in any of that nor disturbance. Thus, He provided the apparent meaning of generality that would not be given by the implicit, just as the specificity of the name of the Most Merciful indicates what is in these extensive proofs of mercy for the creatures for whoever is granted consideration. Then, the Most High pointed out what removes doubt and clears up the ambiguity in that, saying: "So return your vision" [Al-Mulk: 3], meaning return to consideration and reflect on what you observe of these creatures until what you have informed of by direct observation is confirmed for you, and no doubt remains with you in that.

﴿Do you see any fissures?﴾ [Al-Mulk: 3] means [of -] cracks and splits. Then, the Most High commanded to repeat the sight in them, browsing and enjoying, to see if you find any flaw or defect. ﴿Your sight will return to you humbled﴾ [Al-Mulk: 4] means that if you do this, your sight will return far from the target, as if it is repelling from that repulsion (p-289) due to weakness, fatigue, and exhaustion from the length of the response and repetition. And He commanded to return the sight so that in that there is its refreshment and readiness, so that it does not fall in the first return [which -] may contain [heedlessness and -] distraction until your sight is exhausted from the length of [the repeated observation, as the meaning of the dual in His saying 'two times' is the repetition, as they say: 'Here I am, and I am at your service,' and the sight will be exhausted from the length of -] the repetition and will not find anything of fissures. If the surah did not encompass anything other than what has occurred from its beginning to here, it would have been the greatest consideration and the clearest evidence for those who seek insight. This consideration, based on what has been mentioned of its generality, applies to all creatures, and only a few of the wise can independently understand its implications after prompting and awakening. His testimony to the prophethood of the one who brought it is clear and evident. Then, there have been repeated indications in the surah, such as His saying ﴿And We have certainly beautified the nearest heaven with stars﴾ [Al-Mulk: 5] and His saying ﴿Does He not know who created while He is the Subtle, the Acquainted?﴾ [Al-Mulk: 14], the verses until the end of the surah. The least of them is sufficient for consideration. How can some issue from one characterized by some of what they mocked in their saying: 'A madman [and] a magician and a poet and a liar,'

﴿No! Rather, a stain has covered their hearts because of what they used to earn.﴾ [Al-Mutaffifin: 14] Due to the greatness of what the Surah of Al-Mulk contains of proofs, I have followed with the purification of what Muhammad ﷺ has been accused of by the falsifiers, swearing by that as an increase in glorification, and as an emphasis in admonition and reiteration. So He, the Exalted, said: ﴿N. By the pen and what they inscribe.﴾ [Al-Qalam: 1] ﴿And you are not, by the favor of your Lord, a madman.﴾ And how can it be correct [from a madman -] to conceive some of those proofs, when the perceptions of the wise have been cut off from them? How then, with their elaboration and clarification in a concise arrangement, and an astonishing composition, and a harmony that dazzles the minds, and a phrase that surpasses every saying, known but not comprehended, and whose paths are clarified but cannot be traversed? ﴿Say: If the mankind and the jinn gathered to bring the like of this Qur'an, they would not bring the like of it.﴾ [Al-Isra: 88] So His saying, glorified and exalted is He: ﴿And you are not, by the favor of your Lord, a madman,﴾ is a response to His saying, the Exalted, [at the end of the Surah]: Indeed, he is a madman. The response preceded by negating their saying and purifying him from it, according to the narration of their words, so that it would be more eloquent in his glorification ﷺ and lighter in impact upon him, and simpler for his condition in receiving that from them. For this reason, he preceded his praise ﷺ with what he specifically mentioned of the great creation. This was more impactful in glorification than presenting their words and then refuting them, as he broke the Surah of that vile statement by the introduction of purification from it, which completed the purpose and perfected it. And there is no place more suitable for mentioning his purification, upon him blessings and peace, and his description of noble character and generous gifts, with what he described of what followed that, as some of what the Surah of Al-Mulk contained, as previously indicated, is a decisive witness for every rational person characterized by the truth of his prophethood ﷺ and the greatness of his truthfulness.

﴿And if it had been from other than Allah, they would have found within it much contradiction.﴾ [An-Nisa: 82] Thus, the position of this Surah here has become clear, and the harmony of what follows from its verses will be mentioned in the tafsir - ended.