Allah, the Exalted, says:

"Then your hearts became hard after that, so they are like stones or even harder. And indeed, from the stones are those from which rivers burst forth. And indeed, from them are those which split open and water comes out from them. And indeed, from them are those which fall down in fear of Allah. And Allah is not unaware of what you do."

"Do you then hope that they will believe in you, while a group of them used to hear the words of Allah, then they would distort it after they had understood it, and they know?"

"Hard" means it became rigid and dry. It is an expression of being devoid of repentance and submission to the verses of Allah, the Exalted. Ibn Abbas said: The intended meaning is the hearts of the heirs of the slain, for when he was alive, they said that they killed him, and when he returned to the state of his death, they denied his killing and said: He lied. After they saw this great verse, however, the decree of Allah, the Exalted, was executed by their killing him. Ubaidah al-Salami said: No killer has inherited since then.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: Our Shari'ah came with something similar. Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, narrated in al-Muwatta that the story of Uhayhah ibn al-Jallāh regarding his uncle was the reason that no killer would inherit, and this was established in Islam, just as many of the occurrences from the days of ignorance were established. Abu al-Aliyah, Qatadah, and others said: Allah intended the hearts of all the Children of Israel in their sins and what they committed after that.

And His saying, the Exalted: "So they are like stones," the "like" is in the position of raising a predicate for "they are." Its estimation is: So they are like stones. "Or even harder" is elevated by conjunction to the "like," or "or" is on the news of the beginning with the estimation of repetition of "they are," and "hardness" is in the accusative as a distinguishing feature. The common usage of "or" indicates doubt, and that is not correct in this verse.

There is a difference of opinion regarding the meaning of "or" here. A group said: It is in the meaning of "and" as Allah, the Exalted, said: "Sinful or ungrateful" [al-Insan: 24], meaning "and ungrateful." As the poet said:

"He attained the caliphate or it was destined for him as Moses came to his Lord by destiny."

Meaning: "and it was destined for him." Another group said: It means "but," as His saying, the Exalted: "To a hundred thousand or more" [as-Saffat: 147], meaning "but more." Another group said: Its meaning is choice, meaning: They are likened to stones that you may strike, or to something harder than stones that you may strike. Another group said: It is in its original sense of doubt, and its meaning is with you, O you who are addressed, and in your view that if you witnessed their hardness, you would doubt: Are they like stones or harder than stones? Another group said: It is in the sense of ambiguity for the addressee, and from it is the saying of Abu al-Aswad al-Du'ali:

"I love Muhammad with a strong love, and Abbas and Hamzah or Ali."

And Abu al-Usud did not doubt, but he intended to be ambiguous to the listener. Abu al-Usud was opposed in this and he argued with the saying of Allah, the Most High: "And indeed, we or you are on guidance or in manifest error" [Saba: 24]. This verse is distinct from the statement of Abu al-Usud, and the meaning of the verse is not complete except with "or." A group said that Allah, the Most High, intended that among them is one whose heart is like stone, and among them is one whose heart is harder than stone. So the meaning is that they are two groups like stones or harder. This is similar to your saying: I fed you sweet or sour, meaning that what you were fed did not exit from these two. Another group said that Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, intended that they were like stones, hoping for their return and repentance just as rivers burst forth and water comes out from the stones. Then their hearts increased in hardness after that to the point that they became like one who cannot be hoped for his repentance. So they became harder than stones. It cannot be that they were like stones at one time or harder at another time. Abu Haywah read "hardness," and the meaning is the same.

And His saying, the Most High: "And indeed, from the stones" is an excuse for the stones and a preference for them over their hearts in the sense of lesser hardness. Qatadah said: Allah, the Most High, excused the stones but did not excuse the wretched of the children of Adam. Qatadah read: "And indeed," in a light form, as well as in the second and third instances, and he distinguished between it and the negation with the lam of emphasis in "lam" and "ma" in the position of the accusative for the name of "inna." The lam entered upon the name of "inna" when the genitive case intervened between them. If the name had been connected to "inna," the entrance of the lam would not have been correct due to the heaviness of the conjunction of two emphatic particles. Malik ibn Dinar read "yanfajiru" with a noon and a ya beneath it before it and a kasra on the jeem. He used the singular pronoun in "minhu" based on the wording of "ma." Ubayy ibn Ka'b and al-Dahhak read "minha al-anhar" based on the stones. "Al-anhar" is the plural of "nahr," which is what has abundant water flowing from the channels.

Talhah ibn Musarif read "lamma" with a doubled meem in both instances, and this reading is not directed. "Yashqaqqu" is originally "yatashaqaqqu," the ta was assimilated into the sheen. This is a reference to the springs that have not been magnified until they become rivers, or to the stones that split even if no abundant water flows.

Ibn Musarif read "yanshaqqqu" with a noon. It was said regarding the descent of the stones: the shading of their shadows. It was said: the intended meaning is the mountain that Allah made flat. It was said that Allah, the Most High, creates in some stones fear and life, causing them to descend from high places in humility.

The likeness of this life is the life of the stone that submits to the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, and the life of the trunk that mourned for the loss of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him. It is said: the term 'descent' is metaphorical. This is because the stones, when the hearts consider their creation and are humbled by some of their sights, the humility of the observer is added to them. As the Arabs said: 'a trading she-camel,' meaning it inspires those who see it to purchase it. Mujahid said: 'No stone has ever fallen from the top of a mountain, nor has a river ever burst forth from a stone, nor has water ever emerged from it except out of the fear of Allah.' This is what the Qur'an has descended with. Ibn Jurayj said something similar, and Al-Tabari narrated from a group that fear for the stones is borrowed, just as will is borrowed for the wall in His saying, 'He intends to collapse' [Al-Kahf: 77]. And as Zayd Al-Khayl said:

In a gathering, the boulders in its chambers are lost, You see the hills in it prostrating to the hooves.

And as Jarir said:

...................................... And the humble mountains.

(p-259) Meaning, whoever sees the stone descending imagines fear in it.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: This is a weak statement, for the brilliance of the meaning of the verse is disrupted by it. Rather, the strong view is that Allah, glorified and exalted is He, creates for the stones a degree of perception by which fear and movement occur.

And 'in a state of heedlessness' is in the accusative position as the news of 'what,' because it is the Hijazi form. This is strengthened by the entry of the preposition in the news, even if the preposition may come unusually with the Tamimi form.

Ibn Kathir read: 'they work' with the ya, and the address here is to Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him.

And His saying, glorified and exalted is He: 'Do you hope that they will believe you?' The address is to the believers among the companions of Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him. This is because the Ansar had a keen desire for the conversion of the Jews due to the alliance and neighborhood that existed between them. The meaning of this address is a confirmation of a matter that has distance, as the ancestors of these Jews had previously committed vile acts, and these are upon that same path.

And 'the group' is a collective noun that has no singular form like 'the party.' Mujahid and Al-Suddi said: The group here refers to the scholars who distorted the Torah in the description of Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him.

It is said: what is meant is everyone who has distorted something in the Torah, whether a ruling or otherwise, like their actions regarding the verse of stoning and similar matters. Ibn Ishaq and Al-Rabi' said: It refers to the seventy who listened with Moses, then changed after that.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: There is weakness in this statement, and whoever claims that the seventy heard what Moses heard has erred, and has diminished the virtue of Moses, peace be upon him, and his exclusivity in speaking.

And Al-Amash read 'the word of Allah,' and the distortion of something is its shifting from one state to another. Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with both of them, held that their distortion and alteration was indeed through interpretation, while the wording of the Torah remains. A group of scholars held that they changed words from their own accord, and that this is possible in the Torah because they preserved it, and it is not possible in the Qur'an because Allah, glorified and exalted is He, has guaranteed its preservation.