'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "Say, 'Whatever reward I have asked of you is yours. My reward is only with Allah, and He is Witness over all things.'" "Say, 'Indeed, my Lord casts forth the truth, the Knower of the unseen.'" "Say, 'The truth has come, and falsehood has vanished. Indeed, falsehood is bound to vanish.'" "Say, 'If I have gone astray, I have only gone astray against myself. And if I am guided, it is by what my Lord has revealed to me. Indeed, He is All-Hearing, Near.'" "And if you could see when they are terrified, there is no escape, and they are seized from a near place.'" Allah, exalted and majestic is He, commanded him in this verse to disassociate himself from seeking worldly gain and seeking a reward for the message. He should surrender all worldly matters to their owners and rely on Allah for the reward and the recompense of the limit. He acknowledges that He is a Witness over all things of human actions and their words and other than that. His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "casts forth the truth" means: by revelation and the verses of the Qur'an. He borrowed the term 'casting' because the disbelievers used to throw His verses and wisdom. The majority read: "the Knower" in the nominative, meaning: He is the Knower. 'Isa ibn Umar and Ibn Abi Ishaq read it in the accusative, either as a substitute for the name of 'Indeed' or as an attribute. Al-Amash read: "and He is the Knower of the unseen." Aasim read: "the unseen" with a broken ghain. His saying: "Say, 'The truth has come'" means the legislation and the command of Allah and His prohibition. Some people said it refers to the sword. His saying: "And what falsehood initiates and what it returns"; a group said: falsehood is other than the truth, from lies and disbelief and similar things. He borrowed initiation and return and negated both from it, as if he said: and what does falsehood do at all? Another group said: falsehood refers to Satan, and the meaning is: what does falsehood do that is beneficial? That is: it does not create or provide sustenance. Another group said: "what" is an interrogative, as if he said: and what does falsehood do? The majority read: "I have gone astray" with an open lam, "I have only gone astray" with a broken dad. Al-Hasan and Ibn Wathab read: "I have gone astray" with a broken lam, "I have gone astray" with an open lam, and this is the dialect of Banu Tamim. His saying: "And by what" can mean 'by that which', and it can mean that "what" is a source, and "near" means: by His encompassing, answering, and ability. The interpreters differed regarding His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "And if you could see" the verse. Ibn Abbas and Al-Dahhak said: this is about the punishment of this world. It has been narrated that Ibn Abza said: this is about an army that attacks the Kaaba and is swallowed up in a plain of the earth, and no one escapes except a man from Juhayna, who informs the people of what befell the army. They said: because of him it was said: 'And with Juhayna is the certain news.' This is a distant saying, and a lengthy hadith has been narrated in this meaning from Hudhayfah. Al-Tabari narrated that it is weak in chain and fabricated in it against Dawud ibn al-Jarrah. Qatadah said: this is about the disbelievers at Badr and similar events. Al-Hasan ibn Abi al-Hasan said: this is about the disbelievers when they emerge from their graves on the Day of Resurrection. This is the most reliable of the sayings in my opinion.

As for the meaning of the verse, it is astonishment at their condition when they are terrified by Allah's taking of them. They were unable to let anyone escape from them. His saying: ﴿from a near place﴾ means that they are close to the power wherever they may be. It is said: from beneath their feet. This applies to some of the sayings. What is generally applicable to all of them is to say that the taking comes to them from near in their state of tranquility, while the disbeliever hopes, thinks, and expects when the taking overwhelms him. Whoever is overwhelmed by it is taken from near, and he has no way out nor any foresight. The majority read: 'and they were taken,' while Talhah ibn Musarif read: 'there is no escape and taking,' as if he said: and their state is taking.