'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' His saying, the Exalted and Majestic: "And Allah has struck a parable of a town that was secure and at peace. Its provision came to it abundantly from every place. But it denied the favors of Allah, so Allah made it taste the garment of hunger and fear because of what they used to do." "And certainly a messenger came to them from among themselves, but they denied him, so the punishment seized them while they were wrongdoers." "So eat from what Allah has provided for you, that which is lawful and good, and be grateful for the favor of Allah if it is Him that you worship." Ibn Abbas, Mujahid, Ibn Zayd, and Qatadah said: The town referred to in the parable is Mecca. It had the characteristics mentioned by Allah; for it was not invaded nor did anyone raid it. Provisions were brought to it, and Allah favored it with His Messenger, blessings and peace be upon him. The intended meaning of all these pronouns is the people of the town. They denied the favors of Allah in that and in the entirety of the Sharia and guidance. So they were afflicted with years of famine and fear and the other campaigns of the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him. This is if the verse is Medinan. If it is Meccan, then the hunger of the years and the fear of the punishment from Allah is according to their denial. The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: And if it is the one that was struck as a parable, it was struck for others that come after it so that they may beware of falling into what it fell into. Al-Tabari narrated from Hafsah, the Mother of the Believers, may Allah be pleased with her, that she used to ask during the siege of Uthman ibn Affan, may Allah be pleased with him: What have the people done? And she was coming back from the pilgrimage from Mecca. It was said to her: He was killed. She said: By the One in Whose Hand is my soul, it is the town - meaning Medina - that Allah mentioned in it: "And Allah has struck a parable." The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: Al-Tabari included this on the basis that Hafsah said: The verse was revealed in Medina and that it is the one that was struck as a parable. However, in my view, it is not like that. Rather, she meant that Medina has fallen into the peril of the parable, and what happened to it has happened to that which was made a parable. Likewise, it is directed in my view in the verse that it was intended by it a town that is not specified, made a parable, but it is for the purpose of warning its people and others from the towns until the Day of Resurrection. And "abundantly" is in the accusative case as an adverb, and "favors" is the plural of favor, like "strengths" and "strong ones," as Sibawayh said. And Qutrub said: "Favors" is the plural of "blessings," and it means luxury. It is said: These are days of blessings and food. And His saying, the Exalted and Majestic: "So Allah made it taste the garment of hunger and fear" is a metaphor. That is, when that befalls them, it becomes like a garment. This is like the saying of Al-A'sha: If the bedfellow bends her neck, it bends towards him and becomes a garment. And similarly is His saying, the Exalted and Majestic: "They are a garment for you and you are a garment for them." And from it is the saying of the poet: And she wore after Al-Zubayr the garments that had menstruated and did not wash the blood. As if disgrace, when it befell them and was attached to them, made them wear it. His saying: "He made it taste" is similar to His saying: "Taste, indeed you are the Mighty, the Honorable." And similar is the saying of the poet: Take what you have harvested, so beware and taste.

The majority read: "and fear" as an addition to "hunger," while Abu Amr read differently: "and the fear" as an addition to his saying "a garment." In the Mushaf of Ubayy ibn Ka'b, may Allah be pleased with him, it is: "the garment of fear and hunger." Ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him, read: "So Allah made them taste fear and hunger," and "a garment" is not mentioned.

The pronoun in "came to them" refers to the people of Mecca, and the Messenger Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, and "the punishment": hunger and the matter of Badr and similar things if the representation is by Mecca and the verse is Medinan. If it is Meccan, then it is only hunger. Al-Tabari mentioned that it is the killing at Badr, and this implies that the verse was revealed in Medina. If the representation is of an ancient city that is not specified, it is possible that the pronoun in "came to them" refers to the people of that city, and this could be something that occurred in it, like the city of Shu'ayb and others. It is also possible that the mentioned pronoun refers to the people of Mecca, so reflect.

And His saying, the Exalted: "So eat from what Allah has provided you" is the beginning of another speech and the meaning of a ruling. The "so" in His saying: "So eat" is for the connection of the speech and the coherence of the sentences. It moves from mentioning the disbelievers and the example against them to the command of the believers with a law, so the speech is connected by "so," and the meanings are not connected. This is one opinion, and what I have is that the speech is connected in meaning, that is: And you, O believers, are not like this village, so eat and thank Allah for the difference in your state from the state of the disbelievers. This verse is because the disbelievers had established certain practices regarding livestock, permitting some and prohibiting others. So Allah commanded the believers to eat all the livestock that Allah has provided for His servants.

The scholars differed regarding His saying: "pure." The correct view is that it means "pleasant" after His saying: "lawful." The text here indicates the pleasantness since it shows the abundance of blessings, which is the greatness of blessings. Although the lawful may not be pleasant, it is possible that "pure" means lawful, and He repeated it for emphasis and confirmation, and the rest of the verse is clear.

And His saying: "If you worship Him" is a statement to establish the souls, as if you say to a man: If you are among men, do such and such, meaning to establish his own self. Al-Tabari narrated that some people said: This verse was revealed as a speech to the disbelievers about food that the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, sent to them in their hunger, and Al-Tabari criticized this saying, and it is also invalid from various angles.