'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful'

His saying, exalted and glorified is He:

﴿And when Our clear verses are recited to them, those who disbelieve say to those who believe: Which of the two groups is better in position and better in association?﴾ ﴿And how many have We destroyed before them of generations who were better in goods and in appearance?﴾ ﴿Say: Whoever is in misguidance, let the Most Merciful extend for him a length of time.﴾

Al-A'raj, Ibn Muhaisin, and Abu Haywah read: "yutla" with a ya from below.

The reason for this verse is that the disbelievers of Quraysh, when one of them would speak to the believer about the meaning of the religion, and the believer would recite the Qur'an to him, astonishing him with the verses of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, the disbeliever among them would say: Indeed, Allah only bestows goodness upon His most beloved creation, and He only grants blessings to the people of truth. And we have indeed been favored over you; we are rich and you are poor. We have a better sitting place and a more beautiful appearance. This meaning and similar to it is what is intended by the stopping in His saying, exalted and glorified is He: ﴿Which of the two groups?﴾

(p-60) And Nafi', and Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, read: "maqaman" with a fatha on the meem, and "la maqam lakum" also with a fatha, which is the source of man qama, or the circumstance of it in the place of standing. This necessitates the word maqam, except that the meaning in this verse indicates that it is only applicable to the circumstance. And Ubayy, may Allah be pleased with him, read: "fi maqamin amin" with a damma on the meem, and Ibn Kathir read: "maqaman" with a damma on the meem, which is a circumstance of man aqama, and likewise from the source of it like "majraha" and "mursaha". And he read: "fi maqamin amin" and "la maqam lakum" with a fatha. And Abu Amr, Al-Kisai, Hamzah, and Abu Bakr narrated from Asim all with a fatha, and Hafs narrated from Asim: "la maqam lakum" with a damma.

And "al-nadi" and "al-nadiyy" refers to the gathering place where the group is. From it is the saying of Hatim al-Ta'i:

And I was invited in the first gathering, and I was not looked at with green eyes.

And His saying, exalted and glorified is He: ﴿And how many have We destroyed before them﴾ is an address from Allah, blessed and exalted, to His Prophet Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him. It is news that includes the breaking of their argument and the belittling of their matter; for the estimation is: What they boast of has no value with Allah, and it will not save them. How many nations has Allah destroyed when they disbelieved, and they were stronger than these and had more wealth and better appearance? And "al-qarn" refers to the nation that is gathered by one era. People have differed regarding the duration that if a nation gathers, it is called that nation a qarn - it was said: one hundred years, and it was said: eighty years, and it was said: seventy. This has been mentioned previously multiple times. And "al-athath" refers to tangible wealth, possessions, and livestock. It is a general term, and there is a difference: is it plural or singular? Al-Farra' said: It is a plural term with no singular from its wording like "matā'". And Khalaf al-Ahmar said: It is a plural, and its singular is "athāthah", like "hamāmah" and "hamām". And from it is the saying of the poet:

(p-61)

Did the travelers entice you on the day they departed, with this beautiful appearance of possessions?

And Abu al-Abbas recited:

Indeed, 'Uraynah knew where they were, for we are the most of them in possessions.

Nafi' read - with a difference - and the people of Medina: "Wariyyan" with a doubled ya. Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, is reported to have read, and Talhah: "Wariyan" with a light ya. Ibn Kathir, Abu Amr, Asim, Hamzah, and Al-Kisai read: "Wara'yan" with a hamzah followed by a ya, on the pattern of Ra'yan. It was narrated from Nafi' and Ibn Amer, narrated by Ashhab from Nafi'. Abu Bakr read from Asim: "Wari'an" with a silent ya followed by a hamzah, and it is on the heart, its weight is Fali'an, and it is as if it is from Ra'a. The poet said:

And every friend who sees me, he is saying For your sake: This is the summit of today or tomorrow.

As for the two readings that have a hamzah, they are from the sight of the eye. Al-Ri'i is the name of the seen and the apparent to the eye, like grinding and watering. Ibn Abbas said: Al-Ri'i is the view. Al-Hasan said: Wariyyan means the same. As for the ya that is doubled, it is said to mean the hamzah except that the hamzah was softened to equalize the heads of the verses. Al-Mundhir ibn Sa'id mentioned from some of the scholars that it is from the irrigation, as if he meant that they are better than them in lands, and the best of lands, and more blessings; for the totality of blessings is indeed from the rain. As for the reading with the light ya, it is weak in its face, and it has been said: it is a mistake. Sa'id ibn Jubair, Yazid Al-Barbari, and Ibn Abbas also read: "Waziyan" with a zay, which means clothing and its form. You say: Zuyyinat means: beautified.

As for His saying, the Exalted: "Say, who is in misguidance" it has two meanings: one of them is that it means supplication and invocation, as if he is saying: the more misguided among us or among you, may Allah extend for him until that leads to His punishment. The other meaning is that it means news, as if he is saying: whoever was misguided from the nations, Allah's habit with him is that He extends for him and does not hasten him until that leads to His punishment in the Hereafter.

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

The lam in His saying, the Exalted: "So let him extend" is on the first meaning a lam of desire in the form of a command, and on the second meaning a lam of command that has entered into the meaning of news to be more confirmed and stronger, and this is found in the speech of the Arabs and their eloquence.