His saying, exalted and majestic is He:

﴿And they said, 'The Most Merciful has taken a son.'﴾ ﴿You have certainly brought forth a terrible thing.﴾ ﴿The heavens almost rupture therefrom and the earth splits open and the mountains collapse in devastation.﴾ ﴿Because they have called for the Most Merciful a son.﴾ ﴿And it is not appropriate for the Most Merciful to take a son.﴾ ﴿Indeed, all who are in the heavens and the earth will come to the Most Merciful as servants.﴾ ﴿He has enumerated them and counted them a full counting.﴾ ﴿And all of them will come to Him on the Day of Resurrection alone.﴾ ﴿Indeed, those who have believed and done righteous deeds will have the Most Merciful appointed for them affection.﴾

The pronoun in 'they said' refers to the disbelievers among the Arabs in their saying: 'The angels are the daughters of Allah,' and to the Christians, and to all who have disbelieved in this type of disbelief. And His saying: ﴿You have certainly brought forth﴾ - after the allusion to them - means: Say to them, O Muhammad. And 'the terrible thing' refers to the dreadful and difficult matter, and it is the great calamities and severe abominations. It is narrated from the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, that this statement was the first that was said in the world when the trees shook and Hellfire blazed and the angels became angry. The majority read: 'terrible thing' with a kasrah on the hamzah, and Abu Abdur-Rahman read: 'terrible thing' with a fathah on the hamzah. It is said: 'terrible,' 'awful,' and 'awful.' Ibn Kathir read here, and in 'Ain Sin Qaf': 'almost' with a ta, 'rupture' with a ya and a ta and a fathah on the ta and its emphasis. Hafs narrated it from Asim. Abu Amr and Asim - in the narration of Abu Bakr - read: 'almost' with a ta, 'split' with a ya and a nun and a kasrah on the ta. Nafi and Al-Kisai read: 'almost' with a ya and the removal of the feminine marker, 'rupture' with a ya and a ta and the emphasis on the ta and its fathah in both places. Hamzah and Ibn Amer read in Maryam like Abu Amr, and in 'Ain Sin Qaf' like Ibn Kathir. Abu Al-Hasan and Al-Akhfash said: 'almost' means: 'intends.' Likewise, His saying, exalted is He: ﴿I almost conceal it﴾ [Ta-Ha: 15]. And he recited on the basis that 'almost' means 'intended,' as the poet said:

'Almost and I intended, and that is the best of intentions. If only the time of longing would return what has passed.'

The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

There is no evidence in this verse, and this is the saying of a worried person.

And the majority said: It is merely a metaphor for the severity of the matter, meaning: This is its right if the inanimate objects understood its worth. And this meaning is well-known among the Arabs, hence the saying of Jarir:

'When the news of Al-Zubair came, the walls of Medina and the humble mountains humbled themselves.'

And from the saying of another:

'Have you not seen a crack in the sky, manifesting, upon a son of Banu Al-Harith ibn Hisham?'

And another said:

'And the belly of Mecca became shuddering, as if there were no Hisham in the land.'

And 'the rupture' is the splitting in an unintended manner, and 'the collapse' is the downfall and separation in haste. Muhammad ibn Kab said: The enemies of Allah almost established the Hour upon us.

And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿And it is not appropriate for the Most Merciful to take a son﴾ is a negation in the context of His glorification from that. And this meaning has been previously mentioned along with the categories of this term in this Surah.

And His saying: ﴿Indeed, all who are in the heavens and the earth﴾. "Indeed" is a negation meaning "not", and the majority read: "coming to the Most Merciful" with the addition. Talhah read: "coming to the Most Merciful" with the tanween "coming" and the accusative (p-74) in the noon. Ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him, read: "When the Most Merciful comes", and some people used this verse as evidence that a child cannot be a servant.

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

And this is a far-fetched interpretation, and "servant" is a state.

Then He, the Exalted, informed about His encompassing knowledge of His servants, mentioning "enumeration". Then He repeated the meaning without the wording. Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him, read: "Indeed, He has written them and counted them", and in the Mushaf of Abu, may Allah be pleased with him, it reads: "Indeed, He has enumerated them and made them a number." And His saying: "number" is an affirmation of the action and a realization of it. And His saying: "one" implies a meaning of the scarcity of support, strength, and power, with no protector for him from what Allah intends for him.

And His saying, the Exalted: ﴿He will make for them the Most Merciful affection﴾. Most of the interpreters went to the view that this is the acceptance that Allah places for whom He loves among His servants, according to what is in the reported hadith. And Uthman ibn Affan, may Allah be pleased with him, said: It is like the saying of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him: "Whoever conceals a secret, Allah will clothe him with its garment." And in the hadith of Abu Huraira, may Allah be pleased with him, the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, said: "There is no servant except that he has a reputation in the heavens. If it is good, it is placed on the earth as good, and if it is evil, it is placed likewise."

And Abdul Rahman ibn Awf, may Allah be pleased with him, said: The verse was revealed concerning him, as when he emigrated from Mecca, he felt lonely in Medina, so he complained about that to the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, and the verse was revealed concerning that. Meaning: The souls of the believers will settle, and they will love their state and their status. And Al-Niqash mentioned that it was revealed concerning Ali ibn (p-75) Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him. Ibn al-Hanafiya said: There is no believer except that he loves Ali ibn Abi Talib and his family, may Allah be pleased with them.

And the majority read: "affection" with a Dhamma on the waw, and Abu al-Harith al-Hanafi read with a Fatha on the waw.

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

And the verse can be connected in meaning to what came before it, meaning that when Allah, blessed and exalted, informed about the coming of all who are in the heavens and the earth in a state of servitude and singularity, He comforted the believers by saying that He will make for them on that day affection, which is what He shows them of His honor; for the love of Allah for the servant is what He shows him of His blessings and signs of His forgiveness for him.