His saying, exalted and majestic is He:

"There was no hardship upon the Prophet in what Allah has ordained for him. This is the way of Allah with those who passed before. And the command of Allah is a determined matter."

"Those who convey the messages of Allah and fear Him, and do not fear anyone except Allah. And sufficient is Allah as a Reckoner."

"Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but he is the Messenger of Allah and the Seal of the Prophets. And Allah is All-Knowing of everything."

"O you who have believed, remember Allah with much remembrance."

"And exalt Him morning and afternoon."

"He it is who prays upon you and His angels, to bring you out of darkness into light. And He is Merciful to the believers."

"Their greeting on the Day they meet Him will be, 'Peace.' And He has prepared for them a noble reward."

This is a speech from Allah, the Exalted, to the entire nation. He informed them that there is no hardship upon the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, in attaining what Allah has ordained for him and permitted, such as marrying Zaynab after Zayd. Then He informed that this and similar matters are the ancient practices among the Prophets, in that they may attain what Allah has made lawful for them. Al-Tha'labi reported from Muqatil and Ibn al-Kalbi that the reference is to Dawud, peace be upon him, where Allah brought together between him and the one who was tempted by her. And "the way" is an accusative noun, or it is based on an implied verb whose meaning is: adhere to it or something similar, or it is based on encouragement, as if He said: "Upon him is the way of Allah." And "those who passed" are the Prophets, as indicated by His description of them later by saying: "Those who convey the messages of Allah." And "the command of Allah" in this verse means: the commandments of Allah and the occurrences by His command, for they are determined. And His saying: "a determined matter" has an omitted addition, meaning: of a certain measure. Ibn Mas'ud read: "those who conveyed the messages of Allah."

And His saying: "And they do not fear anyone except Allah" is a hint at the first rebuke regarding the fear of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, of the people. Then He returned the matter entirely to Allah, and that He is the one who will hold accountable for all deeds and beliefs. And sufficient is He, there is no deity except Him, and it is possible that "a Reckoner" means "sufficient."

And His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "Muhammad is not the father of any of your men." Allah, the Exalted, addressed in this verse what occurred in the hearts of the hypocrites and others after the marriage of the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, to Zaynab, the wife of his adopted son Zayd. They had found it difficult to accept that he married the wife of his son. The Quran negated that image in terms of fatherhood, and informed that Muhammad was not, in reality, the father of any of the men contemporary to him. And this verse does not intend to imply that the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, had no children, needing to argue about the matter of his sons, that they had died, nor regarding Hasan and Husayn, that they were children. Whoever argued with that has misinterpreted the negation of fatherhood from him in this verse contrary to what was intended by it.

Ibn Abi Abla and some people read: "But the Messenger of Allah" with the raising of the ending, meaning: he is the Messenger of Allah. Nafi', Abu Amr, Asim, Al-A'raj, and Isa read: "Messenger" with the lowering of the ending, meaning it is in conjunction with "Abu." These people read "But" with the lightening of the pronunciation. A group read: "But indeed" with the strengthening of the noon, so "Messenger" is in the accusative as it is the name of "Indeed" and the predicate is omitted.

Asim alone, Al-Hasan, Al-Sha'bi, and Al-A'raj read differently: "And the Seal of the Prophets" with the opening of the ta, meaning that they concluded with him, for he is like the seal and stamp for them. The rest and the majority read with the breaking of the ta, meaning that he is their seal, that is, the last of them came. Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, narrated that he, blessings and peace be upon him, said: "I am the Seal of a thousand Prophets," with the opening of the ta. These words are accepted by a group of scholars of the Ummah, both past and present, indicating textually that there is no Prophet after him. What the judge Ibn Al-Tayyib mentioned in his book titled Al-Hidayah regarding the permissibility of ambiguity in the words of this verse is weak. What Al-Ghazali mentioned in this verse and this meaning in his book titled Al-Iqtisad is heresy in my view, and a vile approach to confuse the belief of Muslims regarding the sealing of Prophethood by Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him. So be cautious of it, and Allah is the Guide by His mercy. Ibn Mas'ud read: "From your men, but our Prophet sealed the Prophets." Al-Rummani said: He sealed with him, blessings and peace be upon him, the rectification, so whoever does not become righteous with him is hopeless for his rectification.

His saying: "And Allah is All-Knowing of everything" is general, and what is meant here is His knowledge, glorified and exalted is He, of what He sees as best for Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, and what He has decreed in all matters.

Then He, glorified and exalted is He, commanded His servants to remember Him with abundant remembrance, and He made that without limit or specification due to its ease upon the servants and the greatness of the reward in it. Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with both of them, said: No one is excused for neglecting the remembrance of Allah except one who is overcome by his mind. And he said: The abundant means to never forget Him at all. Abu Sa'id narrated from the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him: "Increase in the remembrance of Allah until they say: He is mad."

His saying: "And glorify Him morning and evening" means: at all times, renewing the time at both ends of his day and night. Qatadah, Al-Tabari, and others said: The reference is to the prayers of the morning and the afternoon.

Judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: This verse is Medinan, so it does not relate to those who claimed that the prayer was first prescribed as two prayers at the two ends of the day, and the narration regarding that is weak, and "the evening" is from the afternoon to the night.

Then He, the Exalted, enumerated His favor upon His servants in the prayer upon them. The prayer of Allah, blessed and exalted is He, upon the servants is His mercy for them, and His blessings upon them, and His beautiful spreading towards us. The prayer of the angels is the supplication for the believers. A group narrated that the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, was asked: 'O Messenger of Allah, how is the prayer of Allah upon His servants?' He said: 'Subhan, Quddus, My mercy has preceded My anger.' There is a difference of opinion regarding the interpretation of this saying. It was said that all of this is from the words of Allah, and it is His prayers upon His servants. It was also said that 'Subhan, Quddus' is from the words of Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, which he presents before the statement that is the prayer of Allah, which is: 'My mercy has preceded My anger.' He presented the prayer and peace upon him in this regard, understanding from the questioner that he imagined in the prayer of Allah, the Exalted, upon His servants a meaning that is not befitting of Allah, the Exalted, so he presented the glorification of Allah and the magnification before His news.

And His saying, the Exalted: 'To bring you out' means His prayer and the prayer of His angels to guide you and save you from disbelief to faith. Then He, blessed and exalted, informed of His mercy towards the believers as a comfort for them.

And His saying, the Exalted: 'On the Day they meet Him' it was said: On the Day of Resurrection, the believers will be greeted by the angels with peace. Its meaning is safety from every disliked thing. Qatadah, may Allah be pleased with him, said: On the day they enter Paradise, some of them will greet each other with peace, meaning: 'We are safe, and you are safe from every worry and fear.' It was also said that the angels will greet them on that day. As for 'the noble reward,' it is the eternal Paradise in the proximity of Allah, blessed and exalted is He.