And when he was commanded to convey these very difficult matters from the subject of this surah, it was known that none would bear that except whom Allah, the Most High, has guided. As for the hypocrites, they dislike that, and their turning away was indicative of their aversion. He made them aware that the matter required their motivations to love this caller to them, which necessitated their adherence to him and their distancing from what they do to him by turning away from him. And that his conditions calling them to his love are greater than the conditions of their fathers, which obligated them to love him and upon them from the rights what they are proud of being involved in and exaggerating in. And that all that is attained through this Qur'an of honor and dignity in this world is for everyone who believes in it, as He said: 'Indeed, a Messenger has come to you.'

And when the Messenger must be honored and served for the sake of his Sender, even if he were stripped of other than that description, he began to mention to them from his attributes what necessitates for them further honoring him. He said: 'From among yourselves,' meaning: you return with him to one soul in that you are for a close father. And that is closer to affection and quicker to understanding the argument, and further from estrangement and stubbornness. 'Mighty' means: very strong. 'Upon you is what troubles you.' And honor is: the refusal of a thing with what makes it impossible to attempt it with ability, or with scarcity, or with difficulty. And 'anxiety' is: the affliction that causes distress to the heart and does not guide to the way out of it. 'Eager' means: very eager. 'For you' means: for your benefit. And eagerness is: the intensity of seeking a thing with diligence in it. He placed the neighbor first to indicate specificity and said: 'Towards the believers,' meaning: those deeply rooted in this description entirely. And when he mentioned the attribute that necessitates steadfastness, he preceded what necessitates the connection to those who cause him to have what necessitates the connection. He said: 'Compassionate,' meaning: very merciful to those who have affection and connection with him, as previously indicated by the meaning of compassion.

And when the believer is metaphorically referred to as one from whom faith can be expected, I have connected it now not by action but by possibility. He means by saying this a generalization of His mercy, as is appropriate for the noble position and great character of him: ﴿Merciful﴾. And for the sake of such psychological purposes, glorified is He arranged these two descriptions in this manner. However, the meanings intended are sometimes revealed by Allah, the Exalted, to His servant as a gift and honor, and sometimes they are concealed to demonstrate his inability and deficiency, then He reveals them to him at another time if he is sincere in supplication and shows his neediness and humility, and continues to seek. Or for another who is lesser than him in knowledge and weaker in insight and understanding. And if you reflect on my book, it will become clear to you that many of the verses have been interpreted contrary to their intended meaning by the greatest scholars. Therefore, it is upon a person—if something is hidden from him—to say: I do not know, and he should not assume that anything in this noble book has been arranged for the sake of the connectors, for that is something unbefitting of the words of Allah, the Exalted. And the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, criticized rhymed prose; for the one who rhymes focuses on the words, thus he rotates the meanings around them and follows them. Perhaps the word fails to fulfill the meaning. Al-Bukhari narrated in the Book of Medicine and others from his Sahih, and Muslim in the Book of Blood Money, and Abu Dawood, and Al-Nasa'i, and others from Abu Huraira, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, ruled regarding the fetus killed in the belly of its mother with the blood money of a slave or a female slave. The one who was ruled against said: How can I compensate for one who neither drank nor ate, nor spoke nor cried out? Such a case should be dismissed. The Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, said: "This is among the brothers of the soothsayers." This is due to his rhymed prose that he recited. And in another narration, the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, said: "A rhyme like the rhyme of the Bedouins."

And that - and Allah knows best - if his gaze were towards the meaning and its correction, it would suffice from this rhymed prose to say: How can one be in debt for a life that is his? And if he intended the rhymed prose and the refinement of the meaning, he would have brought forth something that indicates the negation of the life which he made the focus of his matter; for what he has brought does not necessitate its negation. And if he had adhered to correctness, he would have sufficed with the negation of speech from the negation of the beginning. Thus, it is established that he is concerned with the improvement of the wording, whether the meaning is correct or not. It is clear to the mind of a rational person that the Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him) would criticize the rhymed prose while he brings it forth and intends it in the Qur'an or in the Sunnah. If that were the case, they would have hastened to respond to him. The companions of the conquests of the lands mentioned in the conquest of Mukran from the lands of Persia that when al-Hakam ibn Amr conquered it, he sent the fifths with Suhar al-Abdi. When he arrived at Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), he asked him about Mukran, and no one came to him except that he asked him about the direction from which he comes. He said: O Commander of the Believers! Its land is flat, its mountains are high, its water is stagnant, its fruits are dates, its enemies are strong, its good is little, and its evil is long-lasting. Much of it is little, and little of it is lost. What lies beyond it is worse than it. Umar said: Are you a rhymed prose poet or an informer? He said: No, rather I am an informer. He said: By Allah! No army will invade it as long as I am obeyed. Thus, al-Faruq made the rhymed prose a counterpart to the news; this indicates that adhering to it is a defect for its failure to provide benefit or for the completeness of the benefit. Perhaps it was only permitted for him to be an informer because he detached from the rhymed prose at the end of his speech and repeated the word 'little.' Thus, it was as he thought; for if he had wanted the rhymed prose, he could have said: And much of it is lowly, and little of it is lost like little. What lies beyond it is worse than it in the most correct saying. And indeed, He (glorified and exalted is He) has negated from this glorious Qur'an the consideration of the rhymed prose just as He has negated poetry from it. For He (the Most High) said: 'And it is not the saying of a poet; little do you believe' [Al-Haaqqa: 41] and 'Nor the saying of a soothsayer; little do you remember' [Al-Haaqqa: 42]. Just as the saying of the poet is the coming forth of speech in a measured form, so too is the saying of the soothsayer the coming forth of speech in a rhymed form. The Qur'an is neither of this nor of that. And if both of these matters occur in it, they are not intended nor relied upon; rather, it is because the meaning is arranged in the most complete forms that it is brought forth for that reason. Then it becomes clear that it is not intended by detaching from it in many places with evidence that has no counterparts in wording for the completeness of the intended meanings at that time, thus it is known with certainty that this is not originally intended; for such a thing would not be accepted by the least of the rhymed prose poets, rather they would see it as a failure and a limitation in completing the similarity and a deficiency - glorified is Allah above that in great exaltation. And among what necessitates for you the certainty that the arrangement of these two noble names in this manner without consideration of the pauses is His saying (the Most High) in Surah Al-Hadid: 'And We placed in the hearts of those who followed him compassion and mercy' [Al-Hadid: 27]. And it will come, if Allah wills, in Surah Ta-Ha about al-Fakhr al-Razi and al-Qadi Abu Bakr al-Baqillani's prohibition of considering the rhymed prose in the noble Book, transmitted from all of the Asharites. And if you reflect on the pauses in bringing them forth sometimes in abundance and sometimes in scarcity, and sometimes completely omitted, and in every verse a pause that does not correspond to the other, you will know that this doctrine is the correct one, especially the last Surah of 'Read.' And if you reflect on the books of the people of numbers, you will master the knowledge of this reference. And if you reflect on what I have said in this regard in my book 'The Ascents of Thought for the Noble on the Objectives of the Surahs,' there will remain no doubt in anything of this. So beware not to lean towards this saying lest you fall into a great matter while you are unaware.

And He, glorified and exalted is He, brought forth this verse as a gentle address that removes the doubts they have by means of an oath. It is as if He said: 'What is wrong with you that you turn away from His glorious presence and His exalted attributes! By Allah, indeed He has come to you - until the end of it.