His saying, exalted and glorified is He: "Indeed, He knows the open speech and He knows what you conceal." "And if I knew, perhaps it is a trial for you and a provision for a time." "He said, 'My Lord, judge with truth, and our Lord is the Most Merciful, the One whose help is sought against what you describe.'"

The pronoun in His saying: "Indeed, He" refers back to Allah, exalted and glorified is He. In this verse, there is a threat, meaning: He knows all the occurrences from you, and He is on the lookout for the recompense for them.

Yahya ibn Amr read: "And if I knew, perhaps it is..." and "And if I knew, is it near?" with an open 'ya' in both. Ibn Mujahid denied the opening of this 'ya', and his view is that of Abu al-Fath.

His saying, exalted and glorified is He: "Perhaps it is..." The pronoun in it refers back to the delay for them, and Allah's overlooking of their punishment, and the continuation of His blessing upon them. And "trial" means: testing and tribulation, and "provision" is what one enjoys for the duration of worldly life.

Then Allah, exalted and glorified is He, commanded him to say in the context of supplication: "My Lord, judge with truth," and the supplication here contains a threat, meaning: indeed, the truth is My support against you. And Allah's command for this supplication is evidence of the response and the promise of it.

A group read: "My Lord, judge..." and Abu Ja'far ibn al-Qaqa' read: "My Lord" with a nominative case as a singular address. A group read: "My Lord, I judge" in the form of 'af'al', and that is in the context of beginning and news. A group read: "My Lord, He judged" as it is a past tense verb, and the meanings of these readings are clear.

Then he relied at the end of the verse and sought help from Allah, exalted and glorified is He. The majority of the reciters read: "Say, My Lord, judge..." and Asim - as it has been narrated from him - read: "He said, My Lord, judge." Ibn Amr alone read: "upon what they describe" with 'ya', and the others and the people read: "upon what you describe" with 'ta' from above in addressing the addressees.

The interpretation of Surah Al-Anbiya has been completed, and all praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds.