His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "Or do you ask them for a reward? But the reward of your Lord is better, and He is the best of providers." "And indeed, you invite them to a straight path." "And indeed, those who do not believe in the Hereafter are deviating from the path." "And if We had mercy upon them and removed the harm that was upon them, they would persist in their transgression, wandering blindly."

This is a reprimand for them, as if He said: Did We ask them for money, and they became anxious about that and found it burdensome for you?

Hamzah and Al-Kisai read: "Kharajan fa kharaju." Ibn Kathir, Nafi, Abu Amr, and Asim read: "Kharajan fa kharaju." Ibn Abbas - may Allah be pleased with him - read: "Khurjan fa kharaja," which is the wealth that is collected and brought for specific times. Al-Asma'i said: Al-kharj is the payment once, and al-kharaj is what is repeated for specific times.

The judge Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: This is a practical distinction; otherwise, they are synonymous in language. And "kharajan" was read in the story of Dhul-Qarnayn.

His saying: "But the reward of your Lord" means His reward. He called it kharaj because it is equivalent to kharaj in this context. It is possible that He means: "But the reward of your Lord" is the provision of your Lord, and this is supported by His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "And He is the best of providers." And "the straight path" is the religion of Islam. And "naakiboon" means: deviating and turning away.

Then Allah - exalted is He - informed about them that if the drought were to be removed from them and Allah blessed them with abundance and had mercy upon them with that, they would remain upon their disbelief and persist in their transgression. This verse was revealed during the period when the years of famine and hunger afflicted Quraysh, which the Messenger of Allah - blessings and peace be upon him - prayed for in his saying: "O Allah, send down upon us seven years like the years of Yusuf..." The hadith.