The saying of Allah, the Exalted and Majestic:

"And We did not send before you except men to whom We revealed from among the people of the cities. So have they not traveled in the land and observed how was the end of those before them? And the home of the Hereafter is best for those who fear Allah. Will you not then understand?"

"Until when the messengers despaired and thought that they had been denied, Our victory came to them, and We saved whom We willed, and Our punishment is not repelled from the people who are criminals."

This verse contains a response to those who are astonished by the sending of messengers from among humans, like the group that said: "Has Allah sent a human being as a messenger?" [Al-Isra: 94], and like the group that requested a king, and others.

The majority read: "revealed to them" with a 'ya' and a fatḥah on the 'ḥā', which is the reading of ʿĀsim in the narration of Abū Bakr. In the narration of Ḥafṣ, it is read "We reveal" with a 'nūn' and a kasrah on the 'ḥā', which is the reading of Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān and Ṭalḥah.

"The cities": the towns, and it specifies them over the people who are the inhabitants of the desert, for they are in every nation the people of harshness and extreme ignorance. Ibn Zayd said: The people of the cities are more knowledgeable and more patient than the people of the desert.

Qāḍī Abū Muḥammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

For they are few in nobility, and Allah has never sent a messenger from them. Al-Ḥasan said: Allah has never sent a messenger from the inhabitants of the desert, nor from women, nor from the jinn.

Qāḍī Abū Muḥammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

And being in the desert is disliked except in times of trials and when fleeing for religion, as his saying, blessings and peace be upon him: "Soon the best wealth of a Muslim will be sheep." This was permitted by the Messenger of Allah ﷺ to Salamah ibn al-Akwāʿ.

And he said ﷺ: "There is no Arabism in Islam," and he said: "Whoever goes out will be harsh," and it was narrated from him by Muʿādh ibn Jabal, may Allah be pleased with him, that he said: "The devil is the wolf of man like the wolf of sheep, taking the stray sheep. So beware of the paths, and stick to the mosques, the congregations, and the common people."

Qāḍī Abū Muḥammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

This is objected to by the wandering of Yaʿqūb, and it is distinguished from that in two ways:

One of them is that this wandering was not among the people of the desert, but rather it was in settlements and abodes. The second is that he was only considered a wanderer in relation to Egypt, as the daughters of the towns are considered wanderers in relation to the towns.

Then he referred them to consider the previous nations in the regions of the earth that denied their messengers, so the punishment of Allah befell them. Then he urged them towards the Hereafter and preparation for it and to be cautious of the destructive things therein. Then he stopped them reproaching them with his saying: "Will you not then understand?"

And His saying: "And the home of the Hereafter" is an addition in describing His favor upon the believers, meaning: He punished the disbelievers and saved the believers, and the home of the Hereafter is better for them.

As for the addition of the home to the Hereafter, Al-Farrāʾ said: It is the addition of a thing to itself, as the poet said:

"If you were to settle in the dwellings of ʿAbas, you would know humiliation with certainty."

(p-163) And in one narration: "If the dwellings of 'Abs' were to become desolate" - and as it is said: "The mosque of the جامع" and similar to this. The Basri scholars said: This is due to an omitted addition, the estimation of which is: "And the abode of the Hereafter," or "the final duration."

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

And these names that refer to kinds, like mosque, garment, right, mountain, and similar to that - when the speaker pronounces them, it is not known what he intends by them; thus, they are added to a defining specification for the intended meaning. They may be added to another kind, as in your saying: "A garment of silk" and "A mountain of dirt." They may be added to a description, as in your saying: "The mosque of the جامع" and "The right of certainty." They may also be added to a proper name, as in your saying: "The mountain of Uhud" and similar to it.

And Al-Hasan, Al-A'mash, Al-A'raj, Ibn Kathir, Abu Amr, Asim, and Al-Qalabah read: "They comprehend" with a ي (yaa), and there is a difference reported from Al-A'mash. Abu Hatim said: The reading of the majority is: "Do you not comprehend?" with a ت (taa) from above.

And His saying: ﴿Did they not travel in the land and observe how was the end of those before them﴾ implies that the messengers whom Allah sent from the people of the towns called their nations, but they did not believe in them until the punishments befell them. They became among those whose end is considered. Therefore, it is appropriate that "until" be included in His saying: ﴿Until when the messengers despaired﴾.

(p-164) And Ibn Kathir, Nafi', Abu Amr, Ibn Amer, Al-Hasan, Aisha - with a difference - 'Isa, Qatadah, Muhammad ibn Kab, Al-A'raj, Abu Rajaa, and Ibn Abi Mulaykah read: "They were denied" with a strengthened ذال (dhaal) and a ضم (dhamma) on the كاف (kaaf). The others read: "They were lied to" with a ضم (dhamma) on the كاف (kaaf) and a كسر (kasra) on the ذال (dhaal) and its lightening. This is the reading of Ali ibn Abi Talib, Ubayy ibn Kab, Ibn Mas'ud, Ibn Abbas, Mujahid, Talhah, Al-A'mash, Ibn Jubair, Masruq, Al-Dahhak, Ibrahim, Abu Ja'far, and it was narrated by Shaiba ibn Nisah from Al-Qasim from Aisha. And Mujahid, Al-Dahhak, Ibn Abbas, and Abdullah ibn Al-Harith read - with a difference among them -: "They lied" with a فتح (fath) on the كاف (kaaf) and the ذال (dhaal).

As for the first, it may imply that the assumption is in the meaning of certainty, and the pronoun in "they assumed" and in "they denied" refers to the messengers. The deniers are the polytheists of those to whom they were sent, and the meaning is: And the messengers were certain that the polytheists denied them and were resolute upon that, and that there is no deviation from it. It is also possible that the assumption is on its own, and the two pronouns refer to the messengers, and the deniers are the believers of those to whom they were sent, meaning: When the promises became prolonged, the messengers thought that the believers had first denied them and doubted their words.

As for the second reading - which is the joining of the kaf and the kasra of the dhal and its lightening - it is possible that the meaning is: until when the messengers despaired of victory, or of the faith of their people - differing in the interpretations of the commentators regarding that - and the one sent to them thought that the messengers had lied to them in what they claimed of prophethood, or in what they warned them of punishment, when the delay had prolonged and relief had continued. So when the one sent to them - according to this interpretation - was denying, the action was built for the object in His saying: "They were lied to." This is the well-known saying of Ibn Abbas and Ibn Jubair. Al-Tabari reported that Muslim ibn Yasar said to Said ibn Jubair: O Abu Abdullah, a verse has reached me at every level, "Until when the messengers despaired and thought that they had been lied to." This is that the messengers think that they have been lied to lightly. Ibn Jubair said to him: "O Abu Abdur Rahman, the messengers despaired of their people responding to them, and their people thought that the messengers had lied to them, and then victory came." Muslim stood up to Said and embraced him and said: "You have relieved me, may Allah relieve you."

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: May Allah be pleased with them. How was their character in knowledge? And Ibn Mas'ud and Mujahid held this interpretation - in this reading - and Abu Ali al-Farisi preferred this interpretation and said: The return of the pronoun in "thought" and "were lied to" to the ones sent to them - even if there was no explicit mention of them before - is permissible for two reasons:

One of them is that the mention of the messengers necessitates the mention of the one sent to them.

The other is that their mention has been alluded to in His saying: "The consequence of those before them."

And this reading also allows for the pronoun in "thought" and "were lied to" to refer back to the messengers, and the meaning is: they were lied to by the one who informed them about Allah, and the thought is as it is. This interpretation has been narrated by a group from the people of knowledge, and the messengers are human, so they weakened and their thought was bad. This was said by Ibn Abbas, and Ibn Mas'ud also said, and Ibn Jubair said: "Were they not human?" And Ibn Mas'ud said to the one who asked him about this: "It is that which we dislike." Aisha, the Mother of the Believers, may Allah be pleased with her, and a group of the people of knowledge rejected this interpretation, and they deemed it great to describe the messengers with this. Abu Ali al-Farisi said: "This is not permissible for the messengers."

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: And this is the correct view, and where is the infallibility and knowledge?

As for the third reading, which is the opening of the kaf and the dhal, the pronoun in "thought" refers to the ones sent to them, and the pronoun in "were lied to" refers to the messengers. It is possible that both pronouns refer to the messengers, meaning: the messengers thought that they had been lied to in that they conveyed the lie, even if they did not intend it, and this interpretation returns to the rejected meaning that has been previously mentioned.

And His saying: "Our victory came to them" means: by punishing their disbelieving nations.

Then he described the state of the coming punishment in that it saves the messengers and their followers, who are those whom He wills to show mercy, and He unleashes His wrath upon the sinful disbelievers. Ibn Kathir, Nafi', Abu 'Amr, Hamzah, and Al-Kisai read: 'So We will save' with two نs, from أنجى. Al-Hasan read: 'So We will save' with the second ن open and the ج doubled, and it is from نجّى يُنَجِّي. Abu 'Amr also and Qatadah read: 'So We will save' with one ن and a doubled ج and a silent ي. A group said: It is like the first, the second ن was assimilated into the ج, and some prevented this from being a place of assimilation due to the incompatibility of ن and ج in characteristics, not in exits. And he said: The ن was only omitted in writing, not in pronunciation. This reading has been reported from Al-Kisai and Nafi'. 'Asim and Ibn 'Amir read: 'So We will save' with an open ي, in the form of فُعِّلَ. A group read: 'So We will save' with two نs and an open ي, narrated by Hubayrah from Hafs from 'Asim, and it is an error from Hubayrah. Ibn Muhaisin and Mujahid read: 'So he was saved', a past tense verb with a softened ج, and it is the reading of Nasr ibn 'Asim, Al-Hasan ibn Abi Al-Hasan, Ibn Al-Samif'ah, and Abu Haywah. Abu 'Amr Al-Dani said: 'And I read for Ibn Muhaisin: 'So he saved' with a doubled ج, meaning: the victory saved.'

And 'the wrath' is the punishment. Abu Haywah read: 'Who wills' with a ي. And the news came about the destruction of the disbelievers with His saying: 'And Our wrath is not to be repelled' (the verse), as in these words there is a clear threat and warning to the contemporaries of Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him. Al-Hasan read: 'His wrath' with a ه.