His saying, exalted and majestic is He:

"For those who do not believe in the Hereafter, the example of evil is theirs. And for Allah is the highest example, and He is the Mighty, the Wise." "And if Allah were to take people to task for their wrongdoing, He would not leave upon it any creature. But He delays them until a specified term. And when their term comes, they will not delay it an hour, nor will they advance it." "And they assign to Allah what they dislike, and their tongues describe the lie that for them is the best. No doubt, for them is the Fire, and they are to be forsaken."

A group said: "Example" here means attribute, that is: for these people is the attribute of evil, and for Allah is the highest description. And this is not necessary; for it is a departure from the wording. Rather, His saying: "Example" is in its state, and that is because when they say: "Indeed, the daughters are for Allah," they have made for Him an example. For the daughters are from humans, and the abundance of daughters among them is a despicable thing. So it is the evil example that Allah, exalted is He, has informed that it is for them, not only in the daughters, but for what they have made in the daughters, He has made it for them in every evil, and there is no limit after the punishment of the Fire.

And His saying: "And for Allah is the highest example" is also in the absolute, meaning: the established perfection. And Qatadah said: the highest example is: there is no deity except Allah. And the rest of the verse is clear.

And His saying, exalted is He: "And if Allah were to take people to task" the verse. "He takes to task" is a form of mutual action from took, as if one of those taken to task takes from the other a taking, as it is in the right of Allah, exalted is He, or by way of the creatures, so the other takes from the first by punishment and recompense. And there are two forms: wa'khadha and a'khadha, and "He takes to task" can be correct from akhidh, and as for it being from wa'khadha, it is clear. And the pronoun in "upon it" returns to the earth, and this can be, even though it has not been mentioned for its fame, and it can be indicated as Labid said about the sun:

Until when it casts a hand into the disbeliever, and the darkness of the lands conceals its nakedness.

And from it is His saying, the Most High: ﴿Until it was hidden by the veil﴾ [Sad: 32], and there is no mention of the sun. And His saying: ﴿From a creature﴾, 'who' has entered for the inclusion of the type. The apparent meaning of the verse is that Allah, the Most High, has informed that if He were to take the people to account for the punishment they deserve due to their wrongdoing in their disbelief and sins, that punishment would destroy all that crawls on the earth from animals. It is as if it is by drought or by something that befalls them from Allah, the Most High. Based on this interpretation, some scholars said: The beetle was nearly destroyed by the sins of the children of Adam. This was mentioned by Al-Tabari, and it was narrated from the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, that he said: "Indeed, Allah, the Most High, causes the fish in the water and the birds in the air to tremble because of the sins of the disobedient." Abu Huraira heard a man say: "Indeed, the oppressor does not destroy except himself." Abu Huraira said: "Indeed, Allah causes the bustard in its nest to tremble because of the sins of the oppressors." The Shari'ah has stated in its reports that Allah has destroyed nations, both the righteous and the sinful among them, because of the sins of the disobedient. A group said: His saying: ﴿From a creature﴾ means: only from those oppressors, and this specification indicates that Allah, the Most High, does not punish anyone for the sin of another. They argued with His saying, the Most High: ﴿And no bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another﴾ [Al-An'am: 164]. And all of this has no proof in it; that is because Allah, the Most High, does not make the punishment target anyone because of the sins of others. However, if He sends punishment upon a sinful nation, the innocent are not allowed to escape from that punishment. Thus, the punishment befalls them not because they are being recompensed. This is similar to His saying: ﴿And fear a trial which will not strike those who have wronged among you specifically﴾ [Al-Anfal: 25]. And it was said to the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him: "Will we be destroyed while among us are the righteous?" He said: "Yes, when evil becomes abundant." Then there must be some connection of wrongdoing to the innocent; and that is by neglecting to change and by being lenient with the people of wrongdoing and by continuously living among them. And the 'appointed term' in this verse is according to a specific person. And in the meaning of the verse, there are many implications that I have left for brevity and conciseness.

And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿what they dislike﴾ refers to daughters. The word "what" in this context applies to those who have understanding, as it is a type. Al-Hasan read: "their tongues lie" with the noon being silent, fearing the succession of movements. The majority read: "the lie" with a kasra on the dhāl and a fatha on the bāʾ, so "that" is a substitute for it. Mu'adh ibn Jabal, may Allah be pleased with him, and some of the people of the Levant read with a damma on the kāf, the dhāl, and the bāʾ, in the manner of tongues, and "that" is a verbal noun with "describing." Al-Husna, Mujahid and Qatadah said, refers to the males among children, which is the more apparent meaning of the verse. A group said: it refers to Paradise, and this is supported by His saying: ﴿Certainly, for them is the Fire﴾. The meaning of the verse according to this interpretation is: they attribute to Allah what is disliked and claim at the same time that they will enter Paradise, just as you would say to a man: you disobey Allah, and yet you say - with that - that you will be saved. That is indeed far-fetched with this. Then they were judged after that with the Fire. The statement regarding "certainly" has already been mentioned. The majority read: "that they have" with a fatha on the hamza, and its grammatical case depends on the interpretation of "certainly." So, whoever interpreted it with "the earning of their deeds" has it in the accusative, and whoever interpreted it with "it is obligatory" has it in the nominative. Al-Hasan and 'Isa ibn 'Umar read: "Indeed" with a kasra on the hamza. The seven reciters, except for Nafi', read: "they are brought forth" with a fatha on the rāʾ and lightly pronounced, and its meaning is: they are brought forward to the Fire and punishment. This is the reading of Al-Hasan, Al-A'raj, and the companions of Ibn Abbas. It has also been narrated from Nafi', and it is derived from "the forerunner of water," referring to those who advance to the waters to fix the buckets and ropes. From this is the saying of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him: "I am your forerunner at the basin," and from this is the saying of Al-Qattami:

And they hastened us while they were of our companions ∗∗∗ ∗∗∗ just as the forerunners hastened to the water.

A group said: "they are brought forth" means: they are left behind, abandoned in the Fire, forgotten in it. This was said by Sa'id ibn Jubayr, Mujahid, and Ibn Hind. Others said: "they are brought forth" means: they are distanced in the Fire, and this is close to the previous meaning. Abu Ja'far ibn al-Qaqa' read: "they are negligent" with a kasra on the rāʾ, emphasizing it, and a fatha on the fāʾ, and its meaning is: they are deficient in the obedience of Allah, glorified and exalted is He. It has been narrated from him that the rāʾ is opened and emphasized. Nafi' alone read: "they are negligent" with a kasra on the rāʾ and lightly pronounced, and this is the reading of Ibn Mas'ud, Ibn Abbas, Abu Raja, and Shaybah ibn Nisaah, and most of the people of Medina, meaning: they exceed the limit in disobedience to Allah.