His saying, exalted and glorified is He: "And if We had willed, We would have erased their eyes, so they would race to the path. So how could they see?" "And if We had willed, We would have transformed them in their place, so they would not have been able to proceed nor return." "And whoever We grant long life, We reverse him in creation. Do they not understand?" "And We did not teach him poetry, nor is it fitting for him. It is only a reminder and a clear Qur'an." "To warn whoever was alive and that the word may be justified against the disbelievers." The pronoun in "their eyes" refers to the disbelievers of Quraysh. The meaning of the verse indicates that they are in the grip of power and the towers of punishment if Allah wills for them. Al-Hasan and Qatadah said: He meant the eyes literally, and the meaning is: We would have made them blind so they do not see how they walk. This is supported by the similarity to actual transformation. Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said: He meant the eyes of insight, and the meaning is: If We had willed, We would have sealed them with disbelief, and none of them would have been guided. "Erasure" means the removal of traces from walking and forms until it is as if there were never any eyes in them at all. And His saying: "So they would race to the path" means: hypothetically, and the estimation is: If We had willed, We would have made them blind, so consider or estimate that they race to the path, meaning the way. So how could they see when We have made them blind? And "how" is an interrogative word with emphasis, and Sibawayh estimated it as: how? And from where? And "We transformed them" means: changing their creation to become like monkeys and pigs, and similar to what has been mentioned regarding the Children of Israel and others. Al-Hasan, Qatadah, and a group of the interpreters said: Its meaning is: We would have made them seated and incapacitated, unable to act. Ibn Salam said: This threat is all on the Day of Resurrection. The majority read: "in their place" in the singular, meaning the place, as it is said: a house and a dwelling. Aasim read - in the narration of Abu Bakr - "in their places" in the plural, which is the reading of Al-Hasan and Ibn Abu Ishaq. The majority read: "proceeding" with a damma on the meem, while Abu Haywah opened it. Then Allah, exalted and glorified is He, clarified a proof in reversing the long-lived ones, and that this is done only by Allah. The majority read: "We reverse him" with the first noon opened and the second one silent, and the kaf is lightly pronounced. Aasim read - with a difference from him - and Hamzah with the first one closed and the second one opened, and the kaf is stressed for emphasis, and Abu Amr rejected it from Al-Amash. The meaning of the verse is: We change his creation from strength to weakness, and from understanding to foolishness, and so on. Nafi and Abu Amr - in the narration of Abbas - read: "Do they not understand?" with a ta, meaning: Say to them. The others read with a ya referring to the absent.

Then, Allah, the Most High, informed about the state of His Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, and refuted the words of those among the disbelievers who said: "He is a poet, and the Qur'an is poetry," by His saying: ﴿And We did not teach him poetry, nor is it befitting for him﴾. Likewise, the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, did not say poetry, nor did he narrate it, nor did he measure it. When he attempted to recite an old verse, he would break its meter. He only preserved the meaning. One day he recited a verse of 'Antarah:

The days will show you what you were ignorant of ∗∗∗ And news will come to you from one you did not equip with information.

And one day, when he was asked: Who is the most poetic of people? He said: The one who says:

Did you not see me every time I came as a visitor ∗∗∗ I was found there even if you did not perfume it.

And one day he recited:

Will you make me the prey and the prey of the two ∗∗∗ between Al-Aqra' and 'Uyaynah?

And it was said that he, blessings and peace be upon him, sometimes recited the straight verse in rare instances. It was narrated that he recited a verse of Ibn Rawahah:

He spends the night keeping his side away from his bed ∗∗∗ when the beds are heavy with the polytheists.

And Al-Hasan ibn Abi Al-Hasan said: "The Prophet, peace be upon him, recited:

Suffice is Islam and old age for a man as a deterrent.

Then Abu Bakr and 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with them, said: We bear witness that you are the Messenger of Allah. The poet only said:

Suffice is old age and Islam for a man as a deterrent.

This was narrated by Al-Thalabi. And his occasional accuracy in meter does not necessitate that he learned poetry. It was narrated that he, blessings and peace be upon him, sometimes spoke in prose that entered into meter, like his saying on the day of Hunayn:

I am the Prophet, no lie ∗∗∗ I am the son of 'Abd Al-Muttalib.

Likewise, it comes in the verses of the Qur'an and in every speech, and not all of it is poetry nor in its meaning.

This verse necessitates - in my opinion - a rejection of poetry, and that is necessary. This is supported by the saying of 'Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her: Poetry was the most disliked speech to the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, and he would recite the poetry of his brother Qays, 'Antarah, and he would reverse it. Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, said to him: Not like this. He said: "I am not a poet, nor is it befitting for me." Some have gone to say that poetry is not rejected for him, but rather he was prevented from adorning himself with this lofty ornament so that the Qur'an would come before it more astonishing. For if he had the perception of poetry, it would have been said in the Qur'an: This is from that power.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

And the matter is not as I see it. The Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, had the highest rank of eloquence and clarity in prose. However, the words of Allah, blessed and exalted is He, are distinguished by their miraculous nature, and they stand out by their arrangement, and they are brought forth by the encompassing knowledge of Allah from all speech. Allah only prevented His Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, from poetry to elevate him above what is in the words of poets of imagination and embellishment. As for the Qur'an, it is the remembrance of truths and proofs, and it is not the saying of a poet. Thus was the style of his speech, blessings and peace be upon him; for he does not speak from desire, and poetry is of a lower rank than all of this.

The pronoun in "We taught him" refers to Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, unanimously. The pronoun in "to him" is possible to refer to Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, or to the Noble Qur'an, although it was not mentioned due to the indication of proximity to it. This is clarified by His saying: "It is nothing but a reminder and a clear Qur'an."

Nafi' and Ibn 'Amir read: "to warn" with a ت (taa) addressing Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him. The others read with a ي (yaa), meaning: to be warned by the Qur'an, or to be warned by Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him. The لام (laam) is related to "clear." Muhammad al-Yamani read: [to be warned] in the passive form. Abu Hatim said: If it were read with a فتح (fath) on the ي (yaa) and ذال (dhaal), meaning: to take heed and take his share, it would be permissible. Abu 'Amr al-Dani reported this from Muhammad al-Yamani.

His saying, exalted is He: "Whoever is alive" means: alive in heart and insight, and not dead due to his disbelief. This is a metaphor. Al-Dahhak said: "Whoever is alive" means: rational. "And the word is justified" means: the punishment is inevitable and eternity is required. This is like His saying, exalted is He: "The word of punishment has been justified." [Surah Az-Zumar: 71]