'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' The saying of Allah, the Exalted: "The month of Ramadan in which the Qur'an was revealed as guidance for the people and clear proofs of guidance and criterion. So whoever witnesses from among you the month, let him fast it. And whoever is ill or on a journey, then an equal number of other days. Allah intends for you ease and does not intend for you hardship. And that you complete the period and glorify Allah for what He has guided you, and perhaps you will be grateful." "And when My servants ask you concerning Me, indeed I am near. I respond to the supplication of the supplicant when he calls upon Me. So let them respond to Me and believe in Me that perhaps they will be guided." The month: it is derived from being well-known, because it is known and its knowledge is not difficult for anyone who seeks it. And Ramadan is named so because of the heat and intensity of the heat during that time. Its name before that was Natiq, just as it is named Rabi' from the duration of spring, and Jumada from the duration of freezing. Mujahid disliked saying: Ramadan, without saying: "the month of Ramadan," as Allah, the Exalted, said. He said: Perhaps Ramadan is one of the names of Allah, the Exalted. The majority of people read: "month" in the nominative case, and its meaning is the news of the beginning, meaning that is the month. It is said: it was substituted for fasting, and it is said: it is in the beginning and its news is: "which was revealed in it the Qur'an," and it is said: it is a beginning and its news is: "So whoever witnesses." And "which was revealed" is an adjective for it. So whoever said that fasting in His saying: "Fasting has been prescribed for you" [Al-Baqarah: 183] is three days and Ashura, he said: here it is in the beginning. And whoever said that fasting there is Ramadan and it is the counted days; he said here in the news of the beginning or as a substitute for "fasting." Mujahid and Sharh ibn Hawshab read: "month" in the accusative case, and it was narrated by Abu 'Amarah from Hafs from Asim, and it was narrated by Harun from Abu 'Amr, and it is on the basis of encouragement. It is said: it was made accusative by "that you fast" and it is said: it was made accusative on the circumstance. A group read with the merging of the راء in the راء, and that is not required by the rules due to the meeting of the two silent letters in it. There was a disagreement regarding the revelation of the Qur'an in it. Al-Dahhak said: It was revealed in its obligation and glorification and encouragement for it. It is said: It began with its revelation in it to the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him. Ibn Abbas said in what is narrated: It was revealed to the lowest heaven all at once on the night of the twenty-fourth of Ramadan, then Gabriel would bring it down in portions in the commands and prohibitions and the causes. Wathilah ibn al-Asqa' narrated from the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, that he said: "The scrolls of Ibrahim were revealed on the first night of the month of Ramadan, the Torah six days into it, the Gospel thirteen days into it, and the Qur'an twenty-four days into it." Ibn Kathir left the hamzah of the Qur'an with the definite and indefinite articles wherever it occurred. It has been said that its derivation in this reading is from Qarn, and that is weak.

'And 'guidance' is in the position of being an accusative as a state from 'the Qur'an'. The intended meaning is that the Qur'an in its entirety, including both the definitive and the ambiguous, the abrogating and the abrogated, is guidance. Then it is honored by the mention and specification of 'the clear signs' from it, meaning the lawful and the unlawful, the admonitions, and all that is definitive. The definite article in 'the guidance' refers to the covenant, and the intended first is 'the criterion' which distinguishes between truth and falsehood. And 'witnessed' means 'was present', and 'the month' is in the accusative as a circumstance, and the estimation is 'whoever witnessed the city in the month'. Al-Hasan, 'Isa al-Thaqafi, al-Zuhri, Abu Abdur-Rahman al-Sulami, and Abu Haywah read: 'So let him fast it' with the lam being moved, and likewise they read the lam of the command in all of the Qur'an according to its original form which is the kasra. Ali ibn Abi Talib, Ibn Abbas, and Ubaidah al-Salmani said: 'Whoever witnessed' means whoever was present at the beginning of the month and was residing in it, let him complete his fast, whether he traveled afterward or remained. And indeed, one only breaks the fast while traveling if Ramadan entered upon him while he was traveling. The majority of the community said: Whoever witnesses the beginning of the month or its end, let him fast as long as he is residing. Abu Hanifah and his companions said: Whoever witnesses the month under the conditions of obligation, not being insane or unconscious, let him fast it. And whoever Ramadan entered upon him while he was insane and remained so throughout the month, there is no making up for him, because he did not witness the month in a state that requires fasting. And whoever became insane at the beginning of the month or its end, then he must make up the days of his insanity.

And 'the month' is in the accusative according to this interpretation, as it is the explicit object of 'witnessed'. And His saying, 'or while traveling', is like saying: or being a traveler, and for that reason it is conjoined to a noun. Abu Ja'far ibn al-Qaqa', Yahya ibn Waththab, Ibn Hurmuz, and 'Isa ibn Umar read: 'ease' and 'hardship' with the sīn being pronounced, while the majority read it with it being silent. And Mujahid and al-Dahhak ibn Muzahim said: 'Ease' is breaking the fast while traveling, and 'hardship' is fasting while traveling. The general meaning applies to all matters of religion, and indeed the Prophet ﷺ explained this: 'The religion of Allah is ease.'

And His saying: 'And to complete the count' means: And let whoever broke his fast while traveling or due to illness complete the count of the days he broke his fast in. Abu Bakr, from Asim, and Abu Amr in some of what has been narrated from him read: 'And to complete' with the mīm being emphasized. And it has been narrated from them the lightening as the group. And this lam is related: either to 'He intends', so it is the lam that enters upon the object, like in your saying: 'I struck for Zayd', and the meaning is: And He intends to complete the count. It is with the action being implied that it is: as if the speech is: And He intends for you to complete. This is the saying of the Basri scholars, and similar is the saying of Abu Sakhr:

I intend to forget her mention, so it is as if...

Or it could be with an implied action afterward, the estimation of which is: And to complete the count, this concession has been permitted to you. This is the saying of some of the Kufan scholars. It is possible that this lam is the lam of command, and the waw is a conjunction of one sentence to another.

And His saying: ﴿And let them glorify Allah﴾, is an encouragement for glorification at the end of Ramadan. People have differed regarding its limit. Ibn Abbas said: A person glorifies from the sighting of the crescent until the end of the sermon, and he holds back at the time of the Imam's emergence, and he glorifies with his glorification. A group said: He glorifies from the sighting of the crescent until the Imam emerges for the prayer. Sufyan said: It is the glorification on the day of Eid al-Fitr. Malik said: It is from the time a man leaves his house until the Imam emerges.

And its wording according to Malik and a group of scholars is: Allah is the Greatest, Allah is the Greatest, Allah is the Greatest. Three times. And among the scholars are those who glorify and then proclaim the oneness of Allah and praise during the glorification, and among them are those who say: Allah is the Greatest, greatly, and praise be to Allah abundantly, and glorified is Allah in the morning and the evening. And it has been said otherwise, and all of it is good and wide, with the beginning being with the glorification.

And "He has guided you" is said to refer to what the Christians have gone astray in by altering their fasting. And the generalization of guidance is good. ﴿And perhaps you will be grateful﴾ is a hope regarding mankind, meaning: for the blessing of Allah in guidance.

And His saying, the Exalted: ﴿And when My servants ask you concerning Me﴾, the verse, Al-Hasan ibn Abi Al-Hasan said: Its reason was that a group said to the Prophet ﷺ: Is our Lord near so that we can converse with Him, or is He far so that we call upon Him? Then it was revealed. And Ata said: When it was revealed: ﴿And your Lord said, 'Call upon Me; I will respond to you'﴾ [Ghafir: 60], a group said: At what hour should we call? Then it was revealed: ﴿And when My servants ask you concerning Me﴾. And Mujahid said: Rather, they said: Where should we call? Then this verse was revealed. And Qatadah said: Rather, they said: How should we call? Then it was revealed: ﴿And when My servants ask you concerning Me﴾. It has been narrated that the polytheists said when it was revealed: ﴿So indeed, I am near﴾, how can He be near while between us and Him - according to your statement - are seven heavens, each one being five hundred years thick, and between each heaven is like that? Then it was revealed: ﴿I respond to the supplicant when he calls upon Me﴾, meaning: So indeed, I am near in response and ability. And a group said: The meaning is I respond if you wish. And a group said: Indeed, Allah, the Exalted, responds to every supplication, either the response appears in this world, or it is expiated for him, or a reward is reserved for him in the Hereafter. And this is according to the hadith of Al-Muwatta: "There is no supplicant who calls except that he is between one of three things." The hadith. And this is if the supplication is for what is right without transgression, for transgression in supplication is prohibited. Allah, the Exalted, said: ﴿Call upon your Lord in humility and privately. Indeed, He does not like those who transgress﴾ [Al-A'raf: 55]. The interpreters said: Meaning in supplication. And the description of being one who answers supplication is a description of good consideration, and distance from transgression, and the success from Allah, the Exalted, to supplicate within limits. And look that the best of mankind, the chosen Muhammad ﷺ, has supplicated that He does not make the strife of his nation among them. The hadith, so it was prohibited when the decree had already been predetermined otherwise.

And His saying, the Exalted: ﴿So let them respond to Me﴾, Abu Rajaa Al-Khurasani said: Its meaning is: So let them call upon Me.

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

The meaning is: So let them seek that I answer them. This is the form of 'istaf'al', meaning the request for something, except for what is exceptional like 'Allah is self-sufficient'. (p-448) Mujahid and others said: The meaning is: So let them respond to me in what I have called them to, from faith, meaning with obedience and action. It is said: 'He answered' and 'He responded' have the same meaning. From this is the saying of the poet:

'And a caller called, O You who responds to the call So no one responded to him at that time.'

Meaning: No one answered him.

And His saying, the Exalted: 'And let them believe in Me.' Abu Rajaa said: In that I will answer their supplication. Others said: Rather, this is a call to faith in its entirety.

And the majority read: 'yarshudoon' with a opened 'ya' and a closed 'sheen'. A group read with a closed 'ya' and an opened 'sheen'. It has been narrated from Ibn Abi Abla and Abu Haywah: an opened 'ya' and a broken 'sheen' with a difference from both of them. This reading and the one before it were recited.