Commentary
His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "Do not run away and return to what you have been indulged in and your dwellings, perhaps you will be asked." "They said, 'Woe to us! Indeed, we were wrongdoers.'" "And their cry did not cease until We made them as harvest, extinguished." "And We did not create the heaven and the earth and what is between them in play."
The meaning of His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "Do not run away" until the end of the verse may be from the words of the men of Bukhth Nasr according to the earlier narration. The meaning in this case is that they deceived them and mocked them by saying to those fleeing from them: "Do not flee and return to your places, perhaps you will be asked for a truce or tribute or a matter that can be agreed upon." So when they turned away, Bukhth Nasr commanded that it be proclaimed among them: "O avengers of the slain prophet!" So they were killed by the sword, one after another.
Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: All of this is reported. It is possible that "Do not run away" until the end of the verse is from the speech of the angels of punishment according to the other interpretation, that the verses describe the story of every village, and that He did not intend to specify the people of al-Hudaybiyyah or others. The meaning in this case is that the people of these villages, due to their delusion, believed that they were in a safe place with Allah. They thought that if punishment or a matter came upon them, it would not descend upon them until they were challenged or asked about their denial of their prophet. They would then argue with arguments that they believed would benefit them. So when the punishment descended without this which they hoped for and they ran away, the angels called them - in mockery of them -: "Do not run away and return, perhaps you will be asked as you used to hope with the folly of your opinion." Then His saying: "as harvest" means that you are running away like the harvested crops, and "indulgence" means luxury, and "their cry" means: their calling and their words, meaning: they did not utter anything but regret. And "harvested" is likened to the harvested crops by the sickle, which destruction returned them likewise, and "extinguished" means dead without souls, likened to fire when it is extinguished.
And when the description of this state was completed, Allah, exalted and majestic is He, admonished the listeners with His saying: "And We did not create the heaven and the earth and what is between them in play," meaning: as these people thought who were afflicted with what was inflicted upon them, and as you disbelievers think now. So in the verse is a warning in this regard, and the meaning is: We created all of this for reflection, to be looked into, and to believe in Allah according to it.
Some people said: "You will be asked" means: you will be made to understand and to gain knowledge.
Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: And this interpretation is not given by the wording. A group said: "You will be asked" means: something from your wealth and the pleasures of your worldly life, in mockery.
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