His saying, exalted and glorified is He:

"Is he who is [constantly] standing over every soul for what it has earned [like one who does not]? And they have made for Allah partners. Say, 'Name them. Or will you inform Him of that which He does not know in the earth? Or is it a manifest saying?' Rather, the plot of those who disbelieve has been made alluring, and they have been averted from the path. And whomever Allah leads astray - for him there is no guide." "For them is punishment in the worldly life, and surely the punishment of the Hereafter is more severe. And they will not have from Allah any protector." "The example of the Paradise which the righteous have been promised is that beneath it rivers flow, its fruits are everlasting, and its shade is. That is the outcome for those who have been conscious [of Allah]. And the outcome for the disbelievers is the Fire."

This verse in meaning refers back to His saying: "And they disbelieve in the Most Merciful" [Ar-Ra'd: 30]. The meaning is: Is he who is like this more deserving of worship than the inanimate objects which do not benefit or harm? This is an interpretation, and it appears that the saying is connected to His saying: "And they have made for Allah partners," as if the meaning is: Is he who has the power and oneness and is made to have a partner worthy of taking vengeance and punishing, or not? And "the souls" are from His creations, and He is standing over all (p-208), meaning encompassing them to bring the admonition closer to the listener's senses. Then He specified from the states of the souls their state of earning, so that a person may reflect when considering the verse on his actions and earnings.

And His saying: "Say, 'Name them'" means: Name those who have attributes by which they deserve divinity. Then He turned away from the saying and affirmed: Do you inform Allah of that which He does not know? Al-Hasan read: "Do you inform Him" with the noon being silent and the ba being lightened. And "or" is in the meaning of "rather," and the "alif of interrogation" - this is the view of Sibawayh, and it is like their saying: "Indeed, they are camels or sheep." Then He affirmed them afterward, do they intend to allow that by a manifest saying? Because the manifest saying has some ambiguity and a place of possibility, and what is not except by a manifest saying only has no doubt about it. And the majority read: "made alluring" in the passive form for the object "their plot" in the nominative. And Mujahid read: "made alluring" in the active form for the subject "their plot" in the accusative, meaning: Allah made it alluring. And "their plot" is a term that encompasses their words and actions which were in opposition to the Shari'ah. And 'Asim, Hamzah, and Al-Kisai read: "and they have been averted" with the letter 'sad' being pronounced with a dammah, and this is upon the transitive form of the verb. And the others read here and in "Ha-Mim Al-Mu'min" "and they were averted" with the letter 'sad' being pronounced with a fathah, and that could mean: they averted themselves or they averted others. And Yahya ibn Thab read: "and they were averted" with the letter 'sad' being pronounced with a kasrah.

And His saying, exalted and glorified is He: "For them is punishment" - this verse is a warning, meaning: for them is punishment in their worldly life by killing, captivity, drought, and calamities in their bodies and other than that which Allah has tested them with. Then for them is a punishment more severe than all of this, which is burning in the Fire. And "more severe" means harder, from the meaning of hardship, and "the protector" is that which covers in the sense of protection, from protection.

And His saying, exalted is He: "The example of Paradise". Some people said: "Example" means: description. This is like your saying: "I illustrated the thing" when you described it to someone and clarified for him the understanding of his matter. It is not a metaphor for it. It is like His saying, glorified and exalted is He: "And to Him belongs the highest example" [Ar-Rum: 27], meaning the highest description. It appears that the meaning that is obtained in the soul as an example of Paradise is the flowing of rivers and that its fruits are everlasting. And its raiser according to Sibawayh is implied, it was said: its implication is: in what is recited to you or is stated to you is the example of Paradise. And its raiser according to Al-Farra' is his saying: "flowing", meaning: the description of Paradise is that rivers flow beneath it. And similar to this is found in the speech of the Arabs. Some people interpreted that "example" is inserted, and that the implication is: the Paradise which the pious are promised.

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

And this is weak. Ali ibn Abi Talib and Ibn Mas'ud read: "the examples of Paradise". And the meaning of His saying: "flowing beneath it are rivers" has been explained several times.

And His saying: "its fruits" means: what is eaten in it. And "the end" and "the consequence" and "the outcome" are a state that follows another before it. And the rest of the verse is clear. And it was said: the implication at the beginning of the verse is: "The example of Paradise is a Paradise that flows", as said by Al-Zajjaj. So the verse, according to this, is a metaphor for the Paradise of bliss in the Hereafter.