And when this is not distinguishing for the counted, and the wisdom in determining this count is not apparent, and this number is something that the obstinate one may increase in disbelief, [Allah, the Most High,] said, clarifying that: ﴿And We did not make﴾ meaning by what We have of greatness, even if the aspect of greatness in it is hidden from those whose hearts are blind, ﴿the companions of the Fire﴾ meaning its guardians ﴿except angels﴾ meaning they are not of the kind of those who are punished, so they would have compassion for them, and the punished would not be able to attempt against them or find rest with them, and they are the strongest of creation. And it has been repeated to you their mention, and you have learned their attributes, and that they are not like humans; rather, one of them can shout a single shout and destroy an entire city, as occurred with Thamud. So how about if each one of these guardians has under his command soldiers that only Allah, the Most High, can count? ﴿And We did not make﴾ based on what We have of greatness ﴿their number﴾ meaning mentioned and counted in what We have mentioned ﴿except as a trial﴾ meaning a state that is mixed, inclining, and transforming ﴿for those who disbelieved﴾ meaning they created this description, even if in the slightest of ways, for they belittle it and mock it [and they are obstinate] in various forms of obstinacy, to the extent that some of the foolish of Quraysh, namely Abu Jahl, said: "May your mothers lose you! I hear Ibn Abi Kabshah saying such and you are the most obstinate of them. Is every ten of you unable to seize one of them?" Abu al-Ashad ibn Usayd ibn Kildah al-Jumahi - who was strong - said: "I will take care of seven of you, so you take care of two of you." And all of this is in mockery, for they are denying the resurrection, which is one of its effects. And it was in the knowledge of the people of the Book that this number is their count, and that when the Arabs heard this count, it was a cause for doubt for most of them and a place for obstinacy. Therefore, He linked it with the trial or with "We made" His saying: ﴿So that those who were given the Scripture may be certain﴾ meaning certainty exists completely as if it is with the utmost desire ﴿of those who were given the Scripture﴾ He built it for the passive form because the absolute giving is sufficient in that without needing to specify the giver, although it is known that it is Allah. Al-Baghawi said: "It is written in the Torah and the Gospel that they are nineteen."

﴿And the believers will increase﴾ meaning they will find this truth even if in the slightest of ways to what they have of faith ﴿in faith﴾ by affirming what they do not know the aspect of its wisdom, especially with the trial of others with it and the abundance of their words about it. For indeed, faith in such a thing will be greater.

And when He established for each of the ignorant and the knowledgeable what He established, He confirmed it by negating its opposite, clarifying for the trial. He said: ﴿And let there be no doubt﴾, meaning to doubt a doubt that occurs intentionally and out of gain. ﴿Those who were given the Book﴾, for what they have of the knowledge that corresponds to that. Ibn Burjan said: And Jabir ibn Abdullah, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated: "Indeed, a group from the people of the Book came to him regarding a matter - in which there was length, and in which they asked him about the keepers of Hellfire. The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, said with his hand like this and like that, in one instance ten and in another instance nine. They said: May Allah bless you, O Abu al-Qasim. Then he asked them: What are the keepers of Paradise? They fell silent out of awe. [Then -] they said: A handful, O Abu al-Qasim. The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, said: A handful of dirhams." ﴿And the believers﴾, meaning those who do not doubt, those whose faith is firmly established due to what they have seen of the signs that made them in the like of daylight. ﴿And let those﴾ who have settled ﴿in their hearts a disease﴾, meaning doubt or hypocrisy, even if it is little. The revelation of this surah before the existence of the hypocrites is a sign of prophethood. And it is not denied that Allah, glorified and exalted is He, has made some matters a cause for the benefit of some people and the corruption of others. For He is not questioned about what He does, as the cause may be intended for something in the primary intention, then something else may be arranged upon it that is intended in the secondary intention. You say: [I left -] from the town to oppose the majority and fear the evil, it does not relate to the purpose. ﴿And the disbelievers﴾, meaning those who are firmly rooted in disbelief, certain in denial, openly declaring it, concealing what the evidence indicates of the truth. ﴿What﴾, meaning what thing ﴿did Allah intend﴾, meaning the King who has all majesty ﴿by this﴾, meaning this small number in comparison to His greatness ﴿as an example﴾, meaning from the perspective that it has become by that an astonishing thing, an astonishment of the like, or that this indicates that what is intended by it is not its apparent meaning, but it is an example for something they did not understand. They understood that between its gathering of greatness and this number there is obstinacy, and they did not know that the small in terms of number may be greater in its strength than the large number, and may be more indicative of the gathering of greatness. And when the determination was: He intended by this to mislead whom He misleads and He does not care, and to guide whom He guides and He does not care, it was as if it was said: Will He do like this in other than this? So the answer was: ﴿Thus﴾, meaning like this mentioned of misguidance and guidance ﴿Allah misleads﴾, meaning He who has the totality of greatness and the sources of honor ﴿whom He wills﴾ by any words He wills ﴿and guides﴾ by His complete power ﴿whom He wills﴾ by the same words or by other than them. And this is from the wisdom of making the keepers nineteen and informing about them with that number. For the presentation of rulings in a vague manner is among the greatest of destroyers and helpers, for the deviant nature searches for its causes with a stubborn search. So if it becomes obscure to him, he concludes with the invalidity of those rulings or doubts, and perhaps he refuses to submit. And that is the reason for the disbelief of Iblis, and the straight-minded person searches with submission. If the matter becomes clear to him, he increases in submission, and if not, he says: I believe in that all from our Lord - and he was in the utmost of what can be from the completeness of submission to what he knows of its secret. May Allah grant us submission to His command and assist us in remembering Him and thanking Him.

And when this is something that suggests the fewness of His soldiers, the Exalted, He followed it up with what removes that by saying: "And what" meaning, while it is that He "knows the soldiers of your Lord" meaning the Benefactor towards you with types of kindness, the One managing your affairs with utmost precision, by creating the Fire and its keepers and placing them in this number and other than that. So you do not know their number due to their multitude and their departure from the realm of creation and what they possess of attributes in bodies and meanings "except He" meaning the Greatest King, the One encompassing the attributes of perfection. If He had wanted to make the keepers more than that, it has been narrated that "the Bayt al-Ma'mur is entered by seventy thousand angels every day, who do not return to it again." It has also been reported that the earth in the sky is like a ring thrown in a desert, and every sky above it is likewise. It has been reported in the news: "The sky has creaked, and it is right for it to creak, for there is no place for a foot in it except that there is an angel standing praying."

This number is specified for wisdoms that only He knows, and whoever He wishes to inform of that from His servants, while sufficiency occurs without that. Indeed, among the angels are those who uprooted the cities of the people of Lut, which are seven, and "raised them" to the height of the sky. Everything in man from the jewels and the attributes is among the soldiers of Allah. If something from his own self were to be unleashed upon him, it would destroy him: if a dormant vein were to move, or a moving one were to cease, or a hollow one were to become blocked, or a blocked one were to become hollow, he would perish.

And when he mentioned something of the secrets of conveying news about it in an obscure manner, and that was from the mercy of the servants to open for them a door to submission to what is obscure from their reminder of their King, for the incapable cannot encompass in walking according to the law of wisdom except submission to the Able, otherwise he would destroy himself and harm others. He specified the matter in the reminder, emphasizing the notification as a reminder of the blessing due to what is prevalent among most of the addressees of the crookedness of natures, which necessitates denial and rejection, necessitating the conveyance of the words in the form of emphasis. So he said: "And what is it" meaning the Fire which is among the greatest of His soldiers, glorified and exalted is He: "except a reminder for mankind" meaning a great reminder for everyone who is manifestly human, for his body is the most receptive to being affected by it due to what they know of it in their worldly life. Otherwise, He, glorified and exalted is He, is capable of bringing forth what is more severe than it, greater and more painful than what the creatures do not know.