His saying, exalted and majestic is He:

"The example of those who disbelieve in their Lord is like ashes that the wind blows away on a stormy day. They are unable to gain anything from what they earned. That is the far error."

"Did you not see that Allah created the heavens and the earth in truth? If He wills, He can remove you and bring forth a new creation."

"And that is not difficult for Allah."

There is a difference of opinion regarding the thing by which "example" is elevated. The view of Sibawayh is that the meaning is: in what is recited to you, or the example of those who disbelieve is told. The view of Al-Kisai and Al-Farra is that it is an initiation, and its news is "like ashes." Their estimation is that the example of those who disbelieve is like ashes. It has been reported from Al-Farra that he sees the cancellation of "example," and that the meaning is: those who disbelieve, their deeds are like ashes. It is said that it is an initiation, and "their deeds" is a second initiation, and "like ashes" is the news of the second. The sentence is the news of the first. This, in my opinion, is the most preferred of the statements. It is as if you said: the result in the soul of those who disbelieve, this mentioned sentence, which is: their deeds are like ashes. This is consistent in my estimation with the meaning of His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "the example of Paradise." The deeds of the disbelievers and their efforts - in their corruption at the time of need and their vanishing - are likened to ashes that the wind blows and scatters due to its intensity, until no trace remains, nor anything gathers from it. He described the day as stormy, which is a characteristic of the wind in reality when it is in the day. From this meaning is the saying of the poet:

"And you blamed us, O mother of Ghilaan, in the journey, And you slept while the night of the mounts was not sleeping."

And from it is the saying of another:

"Two cloudy days and a sunny day."

So the deeds of the disbelievers, due to their vanishing, they are unable to gain anything from them. Nafi' alone and Abu Ja'far read: "the winds," while the others read: "the wind" in the singular. This has been previously mentioned, and its meaning is fully covered, praise be to Allah.

And His saying: "That" is an indication of their being in this state, and upon such a deception. And "the far error" is that which its possessor has deeply immersed himself in and has distanced himself from the light of salvation. Ibn Abi Ishaq, Ibrahim Al-Nakha'i, and Ibn Abi Bakr read: "on a stormy day," adding "day" to "stormy." This is clear.

And Al-Sulami read: "Did you not see" with the ra' being silent, meaning: "Did you not know," from the vision of the heart. Ibn Kathir, Nafi', Abu Amr, Asim, and Ibn Amer read: "created the heavens," while Hamza and Al-Kisai read: "Creator of the heavens." The first view is that it is an action that has passed, so it was mentioned as such. The second view is that it is like "the Originator of the heavens and the earth" [Ibrahim: 10] and "the Splitter of the dawn" [Al-An'am: 96]. And His saying: "in truth" means: with what is rightful in its existence from the perspective of the interests of His servants, and the execution of His previous decree, and to indicate it and His power. Then He warned, blessed and exalted is He, with His saying: "If He wills, He can remove you," meaning He can eliminate you and erase your traces. And His saying: "with a new creation" can mean: from the offspring of Adam, and it can mean otherwise. And His saying: "And that is not difficult for Allah" means: not impossible.