His saying, exalted and majestic is He: ﴿And do not extend your eyes to what We have given enjoyment to pairs of them, the splendor of the life of this world, that We may test them therein. And the provision of your Lord is better and everlasting.﴾ ﴿And command your family to prayer and be steadfast therein. We do not ask you for provision; We provide for you. And the outcome is for the righteous.﴾ ﴿And they said, 'Why has a sign not come to us from his Lord?' Has there not come to them the clear proof of what was in the former scriptures?﴾ Some people said: The reason for this verse is that the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, had a guest come to him, and he had nothing with him. So he sent to a Jew to lend him barley, but the Jew refused except with a pledge. The Messenger conveyed this to the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, and he said: 'By Allah, I am indeed trustworthy in the heavens and trustworthy on the earth.' So he pledged his armor to him, and the verse was revealed regarding that. The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: This is objectionable to be a reason; because the surah is Meccan and the mentioned story is Medinan at the end of the Prophet's life, blessings and peace be upon him, for he died while his armor was pledged due to this story that was mentioned. Rather, it is apparent that the verse is consistent with what came before it. That is because Allah, exalted and majestic is He, reproached them for neglecting to take heed from the previous nations. Then He threatened them with delayed punishment. Then He commanded His Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, to disregard their affairs and to be patient with their words and to turn away from their wealth and what is in their hands of this world; for that is transient from them, leading them to disgrace. And His saying, exalted and majestic is He: ﴿And do not extend your eyes﴾ is more emphatic than 'And do not look,' because the one who extends his gaze is indeed driven by a covetousness that accompanies him, while the one who looks may not have that with him. And 'the pairs' refers to the types, as if He said: to what We have given enjoyment to groups of them and kinds. And His saying: ﴿the splendor of the life of this world﴾ likens the blessings of these disbelievers to flowers, which are what has turned yellow from light. It is said that 'the splendor' is the light as a whole; for the splendor has an appearance and then fades away. So likewise is the state of these. And the accusative 'the splendor' may be due to an implied verb, the meaning of which is: We made it a splendor, and it may also be in the accusative as a circumstantial phrase, as its definition is not absolute. A group read: 'the splendor' with tanween, and a group read: 'the splendor' with a silent 'h,' and a group read: 'the splendor' with a fatha on the 'h.' Then Allah, exalted and majestic is He, informed His Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, that this is only to test them with it, and to make it a trial for them, and a matter for which they will be recompensed with evil due to their corrupt turning in it. And the provision of Allah, exalted and majestic is He, which He has made lawful for the righteous among His servants is better and everlasting, meaning: and the provision of this world is good, and the provision of the Hereafter is everlasting, and He clarified that it is better than the provision of this world.

Then Allah, glorified and exalted is He, commanded him to order his family to pray and to observe it with them, to be patient with it, and to adhere to it. He took upon Himself their provision; there is no deity except Him. He informed him that the outcome is for those who are the most pious, and it is within it. There is the victory of Allah in this world and His mercy in the Hereafter. This address is to the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, and it includes all of his nation. It has been narrated that 'Urwah ibn az-Zubair, may Allah be pleased with him, when he saw something from the news of the rulers and their conditions, would hasten to his home and enter it while reciting this verse: "And do not extend your eyes toward what We have given enjoyment to some of them of the splendor of the worldly life, that We may test them therein. And the provision of your Lord is better and everlasting." Then he would call out: "Prayer, prayer! May Allah have mercy on you," and he would pray. The Commander of the Faithful, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, would awaken the people of his household for the night prayer and would pray, reflecting on this verse. The majority of the reciters read: "We provide for you" with a dammah on the qaf, while a group read: "We provide you" with a sukoon on it.

Then Allah, glorified and exalted is He, informed about groups of the disbelievers who said about Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him: "Why does he not bring us a sign from his Lord?" meaning a sign from what we have proposed to him, or something that dazzles and compels.

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

The messengers of Allah, glorified and exalted is He, were only accompanied by signs that were subject to examination, surrounded by rational proofs, so that those who were destined for misguidance in the knowledge of Allah would be misled, and those who were destined for guidance would be guided. So Allah, glorified and exalted is He, reproached them with His saying: "Has the clear evidence not come to them of what is in the former scriptures?" meaning the Torah, the greatest witness and the greatest sign for him. Nafi', Abu 'Amr, and Hafs from 'Asim read: "It comes to them" in the form of "clear evidence." The others and Abu Bakr from 'Asim read: "It comes to them" with a yaa on the meaning. A group read: "The clear evidence of what is in the scriptures" with an addition to "what." A group read: "The clear evidence" with tanween, and "what" is a substitute in this reading. A group read: "The clear evidence of what" in the accusative, and "what" in this reading is the subject of "comes." The majority read: "In the scriptures" with a dammah on the ha, while a group read: "In the scriptures" with a sukoon on it.