His saying, exalted and glorified is He:

﴿And if the debtor is in hardship, then [there should be] a postponement until [there is] ease. And to give [it] in charity is best for you, if you only knew.﴾ ﴿And fear a Day when you will be returned to Allah. Then every soul will be compensated for what it earned, and they will not be wronged.﴾

Allah, the Exalted, has ruled for the lenders regarding their principal amounts when there are those who possess wealth. Then He ruled concerning the one in hardship with a postponement until the state of ease. Al-Mahdawi said: Some scholars stated that this verse abrogates what was in the Age of Ignorance regarding the sale of the one who was in debt. Al-Makki reported that the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, commanded this in the early days of Islam. If the action of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, is established, then it is abrogation; otherwise, it is not abrogation.

And hardship is the tightness of condition due to lack of wealth, and from it is the army of hardship.

And postponement means delay, and ease is a source meaning ease. The phrase 'the one in hardship' is elevated by the complete verb that means he was found and occurred. This is the saying of Sibawayh, Abu Ali, and others. From this, it appears that the original state is wealth and the abundance of debt, and that lack is an incidental occurrence that must be established. Some of the Kufans, as reported by Al-Tabari, said rather it is the incomplete one, and the news is omitted, its estimation being: And if one of your debtors is in hardship. The phrase 'then [there should be] a postponement' is elevated on an estimated beginning news, its estimation being: The obligation is postponement, or the ruling is postponement. Al-Tabari said: In the Mushaf of Ubayy ibn Ka'b, it is: 'And if the one in hardship' meaning: And if the one who is required. Al-A'mash read: 'And if he is in hardship, then [there should be] a postponement.' Abu Amr al-Dani reported from Ahmad ibn Musa: And likewise in the Mushaf of Ubayy ibn Ka'b. Al-Makki and Al-Naqqash said: And on this, the wording of the verse is specific to the people of usury, and for those who read: 'And if the one is' it is general for all who have a debt. And this is not necessary. Al-Mahdawi reported that in the Mushaf of Uthman it is: 'So if there is' with the letter 'fa' 'the one in hardship' with 'wa'.

And the reading of the majority is 'postponement' with a kasra on the dhad. Mujahid, Abu Rajaa, and Al-Hasan read: 'then [there should be] a postponement' with a sukoon on the dhad, and likewise read Al-Dahhak. This is a Tamimi dialect, and they are the ones who say: 'Zayd was generous' meaning 'he was generous,' and they say 'kibd' for 'kabad' - and 'kitf' for 'katif.'

And Ata ibn Abi Rabah read: 'then [there should be] a postponement' on the pattern of Fa'ila. Al-Zajjaj said: It is from the names of sources, like His saying, exalted and glorified is He: ﴿There is nothing like it﴾ [Al-Waqi'a: 2] and like His saying, exalted and glorified is He: ﴿You think that something will be done to it that is a calamity﴾ [Al-Qiyama: 25], and like ﴿The treachery of the eyes﴾ [Ghafir: 19] and others.

And Nafi alone read: 'ease' with a damma on the seen, and the remaining seven and the majority of the people read: 'ease' with a fatha on the seen, on the pattern of Maf'ala. This reading is more common in the speech of the Arabs, because Maf'ala with a damma on the ain is rare.

Abu Ali said: They have said: Masrubah and Mashrubah. However, Maf'alat with the opening of the 'Ayn is more common in their speech. And 'Ata ibn Abi Rabah also read, as did Mujahid: "So look to his ease" on the matter of "look to him," and they made the 'h' a pronoun for the debtor, and they joined the 's' from "his ease," and they broke the 'r,' and they made the 'h' a pronoun for the debtor. As for "look to him," it is a doer from the delay, as you say: forgive him, and as for "ease," it is unusual - Sibawayh said: There is no "Maf'ul" in speech. Abu Ali said: He means in the singular, but as for the plural, the saying of Adi ibn Zayd has come:

"Convey to Al-Nu'man from me a matter, That my imprisonment and waiting have been prolonged."

And the saying of Jamil:

"Buthayn - the companion, 'No' if you adhere to it, Despite the multitude of gossipers, what assistance."

The first is the plural of Ma'lakah, and the other is the plural of Ma'oonah. Ibn Jinni said: Adi intended Ma'lakah and omitted, and likewise Jamil intended: any assistance, and likewise the saying of the other:

"................ For a day of terror or a deed of honor."

He intended honor and omitted. He said: It is possible that they are plural as Abu Ali said.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: If "ease" is the plural of "Maysarah," it follows the course of these examples. If its reader intended by it the singular, then that is unusual, and some people have criticized him, and the words of Sibawayh refute him.

The scholars disagreed - is this ruling regarding looking to ease specific to the people of usury, or does it apply to every debtor who is due? Ibn Abbas and Shuraih said: That is specifically in usury, but as for debts and other trusts, there is no looking; rather, they are to be paid to their owners - and it seems that this saying is applicable if there is no extreme poverty. As for with poverty and clear lack, the ruling is that looking is necessary.

The majority of scholars said: Looking to ease is a fixed ruling for the insolvent, whether the debt is usury, or from trade in debt, or from trust, and with that, Al-Dahhak explained it.

And His saying, the Most High: "And that you give charity" is an initiation and its news is "better." And Allah, the Most High, has urged with these words to charity towards the insolvent, and He has made that better than giving him time. This was said by Al-Suddi, Ibn Zayd, Al-Dahhak, and the majority of people. And Al-Tabari said: And others said: The meaning of the verse is: And that you give charity to the rich and the poor is better for you. Then Al-Tabari included under this interpretation sayings from Qatadah and Ibrahim Al-Nakha'i that do not necessitate what his interpretation contains, but it is like the saying of the majority of people, and there is no entry for the rich in the verse.

And the majority of the reciters read: "Give charity" with a strong emphasis on the letter ص (sad) due to the merging from تَتَصَدَّقُوا. And 'Asim read: "And to give charity" with a light ص (sad). In the Mushaf of Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, it is written: "And to give charity" with the merging broken. Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib narrated from Umar ibn al-Khattab that he said: "The last verse revealed from the Qur'an was the verse of usury, and the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, passed away without explaining it to us, so abandon usury and suspicion." Ibn Abbas said: "The last verse that was revealed was the verse of usury." (p-109) Al-Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: The meaning of this to me is that it is among the last that was revealed, because the majority of the people - Ibn Abbas, al-Suddi, al-Dahhak, Ibn Jurayj, and others - said: The last verse that was revealed is His saying, the Most High: ﴿And fear a Day when you will be returned to Allah﴾. Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib said: I have been informed that the most recent of the Qur'an with the Throne is the verse of debt. It has been narrated that His saying: "And fear" was revealed nine nights before the death of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, and then nothing was revealed after that. It has been narrated: three nights, and it has been narrated that it was revealed three hours before his death. And he, peace be upon him, said: "Place it between the verse of usury and the verse of debt." And Makki narrated that the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, said: "Gabriel came to me and said: Place it at the head of two hundred and eighty verses from Al-Baqarah." And His saying, the Most High: ﴿And fear﴾ is an admonition for all people, and a command that concerns every individual, and "a Day" is in the accusative as a direct object, not as an adverbial phrase. Abu Amr ibn al-Ala read: "You will be returned" with a فتح (fatḥ) on the ت (ta) and a كسر (kasr) on the ج (jim). The remaining seven reciters read: "You will be returned" with a ضم (ḍamm) on the ت (ta) and a فتح (fatḥ) on the ج (jim). The reading of Abu Amr is similar to: ﴿Indeed, to Us is their return﴾ [Al-Ghashiyah: 25] and similar to the reading of the group: Then they will be returned to Allah, and if I were returned to my Lord. The address in both readings with the ت (ta) is in the context of emphasis in admonition and warning. Al-Hasan read: "They will return" with a ي (ya) meaning that all people will return. Ibn Jinni said: It is as if Allah, glorified and exalted is He, was gentle with the believers by not confronting them with the mention of the return, as it is something that causes hearts to tremble. So He said to them: "And fear a Day" then returned (p-110) in mentioning the return to the unseen, being gentle with them. Ubayy ibn Ka'b read: "A Day you will be returned" with a ضم (ḍamm) on the ت (ta). The majority of the scholars agree that this warned day is the Day of Resurrection, reckoning, and fulfillment. Some said it is the Day of Death, and the first is more correct based on the wording in the verse. And in His saying: "to Allah" there is an implied addition, its estimation being: to the judgment of Allah and the resolution of His decree. And His saying: "and they" is a response to the meaning of "every soul" not to the wording except in the reading of Al-Hasan "They will return," so His saying: "and they" is a response to the pronoun of the group in "They will return." And in this verse, there is a text indicating that reward and punishment are related to the actions of a person, and this is a refutation of the Jabriyyah.