Allah, the Exalted, says: "Perhaps your Lord will have mercy on you, and if you return, We will return, and We have made Hell a prison for the disbelievers." "Indeed, this Qur'an guides to that which is most upright and gives good tidings to the believers who do righteous deeds that they will have a great reward." "And that those who do not believe in the Hereafter, We have prepared for them a painful punishment." "And man calls upon evil as he calls upon good, and man is ever hasty."

Allah, the Exalted, is saying to the remnant of the Children of Israel: "Perhaps your Lord will have mercy on you" if you obey in yourselves and remain steadfast. "Perhaps" is a hope for them, and this promise is not about the return of a state, but rather that He will have mercy on the obedient among them. Their obedience was in following Jesus, peace be upon him, and Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, but they did not do so and returned to disbelief and disobedience. Thus, the punishment of Allah, the Exalted, returned, and He imposed humiliation upon them and killed them, and He disgraced them by the hand of every nation. Here, Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said: He appointed three kings over them.

And "the prison" is derived from confinement, meaning it confines them. Mujahid, Qatadah, and others interpreted it this way. It is also said that "the prison" refers to the confinement for the king. From this is the saying of Labid:

"And the standing of the strong at the necks is as if they are jinn at the door of the prison standing."

It is said for the sides of a person: "prison" because they confine him. From this is the saying of Al-Tirmidhi:

"A little you will fulfill a need, then it will be elevated upon every trellis of the two prisons."

And Al-Hasan said: "The prison" in this verse refers to what is spread out and laid down like the known prison among the people.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: And that prison is taken from confinement.

And His saying, the Exalted: "Indeed, this Qur'an guides" in this verse. "Guides" in this verse means: it directs, and it is directed that it means: it calls. And "that which is most upright" refers to the state and the way. A group said: "to that which is most upright" is that there is no deity except Allah.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: And the first is more general, and the word of sincerity and other sayings and actions are included in the state that is most upright of all states that can be placed alongside it. The abbreviation on "most upright" and not mentioning: "than this" is brevity, and the meaning is understood, meaning: to that which is most upright of all that differs from it. It is the ultimate in uprightness, and He has conditioned the believers with righteous deeds as it is the perfection of faith, even if it is not in itself. The individual believer in action has by his faith a share in righteous deeds, and "the great reward": Paradise. Likewise, wherever it occurs in the Book of Allah, the Exalted: "a great favor and a great reward"; it is Paradise.

(p-447) And His saying, glorified and exalted is He: "Indeed, the first 'An' is in the position of نصب with 'yubashir,' and the second 'Inna' is an addition to the first, and it is included in the statement of the glad tidings for the believers. The Qur'an has given them glad tidings of Paradise, and that the disbelievers will have a painful punishment. This is because the knowledge of the believers about this is a source of joy for them, and in this glad tidings is a warning for the disbelievers in meaning, and this is what the words of the verse necessitate. The majority read: 'yubashir' with a damm on the ya, a fatha on the ba, and a kasra on the sheen. Ibn Mas'ud, Yahya ibn Wathab, and Tulha read: 'yubashir' with a fatha on the ya, a sukoon on the ba, and a damm on the sheen. And 'A'tadna' means: we have prepared and made ready, and from it is the term 'atad.' And 'al-alim' means: the painful one.

And His saying, glorified and exalted is He: ﴿And man calls upon [Allah] for evil as he calls upon Him for good﴾. The waw was omitted from 'yad'u' in the written text of the mushaf because they wrote what was heard. Ibn Abbas, Qatadah, and Mujahid said: This verse was revealed reproaching what people do when they call upon their wealth and children in times of anger and distress. Allah informed that they call for evil at that time just as they call for good in times of certainty. If Allah were to answer their supplication, He would destroy them, but Allah, glorified and exalted is He, overlooks and does not respond to the supplication of the impatient one in distress. Then some justified that man has a natural haste, and 'man' here, it was said, refers to the species according to what exists in creation of that. This was said by Mujahid and others. And Salman the Persian and Ibn Abbas said: His reference is to Adam, peace be upon him, in that when the spirit was blown into his head, he sneezed and saw. When the spirit moved in his body before his legs, he became amazed by himself and began to walk hastily because of that, but he could not. The words of this verse allude to that. The meaning is: you are people of inherited haste from your father. It is narrated that 'the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, was made a captive in chains in the house of Sawda bint Zam'a, and Sawda heard his moaning and felt compassion, so she said to him: What is wrong with you? He said: The pain of the chains. So she stood up and loosened his binding, and he became silent, then she slept. He took advantage of the loosening and escaped. The Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, sought him at dawn and was informed of the news, and he said: 'May Allah cut off her hands.' So Sawda was frightened and raised her hands towards the heavens fearing the response, and the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, said: 'Indeed, Allah has made my supplication in such a case a mercy for the one being called upon; for I am a human who becomes angry and hasty, so let Sawda lower her hands.'

(p-448) And a group said: This verse was revealed concerning Quraysh. They said: ﴿O Allah, if this is the truth from You, then rain down upon us stones from the sky﴾ [Al-Anfal: 32] the verse. It would have been better for them to say: 'Guide us to it and have mercy upon us through it,' so Allah, glorified and exalted is He, reproached them in this verse.

A group said: The meaning of this verse is a reprimand of the people for that when they are afflicted by evil and harm, they call upon Allah and persist in their supplication, which they should have been making in times of goodness and which is obligatory for all, from the remembrance of Allah, the Most High, and His praise, and turning to Him. However, a person falls short at that time. When harm touches him, he insists and hastens for relief. Thus, the verse is in line with His saying, 'And when man is touched by harm, he calls upon Us, lying on his side or sitting or standing. But when We remove his harm from him, he passes on as if he had never called upon Us for a harm that touched him' [Yunus: 12].