His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "So We have made it easy in your tongue, that you may give good tidings thereby to the righteous and warn thereby a people who are obstinate." And how many have We destroyed before them from a generation? Do you sense from them any one or hear for them a whisper? The pronoun in "We have made it easy" refers to the Qur'an. This is like His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "Until it vanished behind the veil." [Sad: 32] Because the meaning necessitates the intended, even if it was not previously mentioned. The ease occurred in being in the tongue of Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, and in his clear and comprehensible language. The good tidings for the righteous is Paradise, eternal bliss, and honor in this world. And "the obstinate people" refers to Quraysh, and its meaning is: those who argue and dispute with falsehood. The most obstinate is the one who disputes excessively in that. Mujahid said: "Obstinate" means: wicked. The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: And this, in my view, is the wickedness of opposition, and only the falsehood gives birth to it. And in the hadith: "The most hated of men to Allah is the most obstinate opponent." Then when Allah, exalted and majestic is He, described them as obstinate - which is a description of evil by the judgment of the law and the truth - it was necessary to be harsh with them in warning and in the example of destroying those who were more severe than them, more obstinate, and of greater status than what would please them (p-76) in themselves from the description of "obstinate." For the Arabs, due to their ignorance and arrogance and disbelief, used to boast of obstinacy, and they saw it as understanding and nobility. From that is the saying of the poet: "Indeed, beneath the stones is determination and resolution, and an obstinate opponent with a lock." So He likened them to the destruction of those before them to belittle themselves and to clarify their small status. The interpreters expressed "obstinate" with wickedness and injustice, and the summary of its meaning is what we have mentioned. And "generation" refers to the nation, and "whisper" refers to the quiet sound without uttering letters or mouth, but it is the sound of movements and their rustling. From it is the saying of Labid: "And she sensed the whisper of the companion, and it startled her from behind a veil, and the companion was her support." So it is as if He said: Do you hear from their news a little or a lot, or a hidden weak sound? This is intended regarding what has preceded of the matter of nations and the news of them has been studied. It may be possible that He means: Has any speech or approval remained for any one of them in any way? And this includes the known destruction of nations. The interpretation of Surah Maryam has been completed, and all praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds.