His saying, exalted is He: "Or do they have a share in the kingdom? Then they would not give the people even a speck. Or do they envy the people for what Allah has given them of His bounty? Indeed, We have given the family of Ibrahim the Scripture and wisdom, and We have given them a great kingdom. So among them are those who believed in it, and among them are those who turned away from it. And sufficient is Hell as a blaze."

The usage of "Or" is that it is joined after a preceding question, like your saying: Did Zayd establish [something] or did Amr? If it comes and there is no preceding question, then Sibawayh's view is that it implies a meaning of disjunction from the first statement and a cutting off from it. It is also implied - with that - a meaning of inquiry, so it is in the meaning of "but" with the interrogative alif, like the saying of the Arabs: Is it indeed camels or is it sheep? The estimation according to Sibawayh is: Is it indeed camels, but is it sheep? Likewise, in this instance, its estimation is: But do they have a share in the kingdom? It has been reported from some grammarians that "Or" can be used for inquiry at the beginning without a preceding question, as reported by Ibn Qutaybah in Al-Mushkil, and this is not well-known among the Arabs. Some of the interpreters said: "Or" means "but," and they did not mention the necessary alif, thus they necessitated - based on this - the attainment of the kingdom for those mentioned in the verse, and they adhered to that and interpreted it accordingly. Their meaning is: But they are kings, people of this world, and arrogance and luxury, they do not desire anything else, so they are stingy with it, eager that there be no appearances for others.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: The meaning, according to the more probable view - which is the view of Sibawayh and the experts - is that it is an inquiry with a meaning of denial, that is: Do they have a kingdom? If so, then if it were theirs, they would have been stingy.

Ibn Mas'ud read: "Then they would not give" without a noon, based on the application of "then," and the mushaf has it without it, and both ways are permissible, although it is at the beginning due to the entrance of the fa on it.

And the naqir is most commonly known to be the dot that is on the back of the seed from the date, and from there it grows. This is the saying of the majority. A group said: It is the dot that is in the belly of the seed. It has been narrated from Ibn Abbas that he said: It is the tapping of a person with his finger. All of this indicates that it is a metaphor for the utmost in insignificance and triviality according to the metaphor of the Arabs and their borrowing. And "then" in this verse is canceled due to the entrance of the fa of conjunction upon it, and it is permissible to apply it, but the cancellation is more eloquent. This is because if it precedes, it is applied as one saying, and if a fa or waw enters upon it while it is preceding, it is permissible to apply it and the cancellation is more eloquent. This is the language of the Qur'an, and it is written "then" with a noon and with an alif. The noon is the original, like 'an and min, and it is permissible to write it with an alif for the correctness of stopping upon it, so it resembles the noon of tanween, and it is not correct to stop upon "an" and "min."

And His saying, exalted is He: "Or do they envy the people..." This verse, "Or" is in its place, because the inquiry that is in our estimation: "but for them" has preceded it.

And the interpreters differed regarding the intended meaning of "the people" in this context. Ibn Abbas, Mujahid, Ikrimah, Al-Suddi, and Al-Dahhak said: It is the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, and the virtue is only prophethood. The meaning is: Why do they specifically envy him and not envy the family of Ibrahim in all that We have given them of this and other kingdoms? Ibn Abbas and Al-Suddi also said: It is the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, and the virtue is what has been permitted to him of women only. The reason for the verse, according to them, is that the Jews said to the disbelievers of the Arabs: Look at this one who claims he has been sent with humility, and that he does not fill his stomach with food, and his only concern is with women, and similar things. So the verse was revealed, and the meaning is: Why do they specifically envy him and not envy the family of Ibrahim, blessings and peace be upon him? This refers to Solomon and David, blessings and peace be upon them, in that they were given prophethood and the Book, and they were also given - along with that - a great kingdom regarding women. It is reported that Solomon had seven hundred women and three hundred concubines, and David had one hundred women, and similar reports have come regarding that. Thus, in this saying, the kingdom refers to the permissibility of women as if that is what is primarily intended by the mention. And Qatadah said: The people in this context are the Arabs, who were envied by the Children of Israel because the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, was from them. The virtue, according to this interpretation, is Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him. The meaning is: Why do they envy the Arabs for this Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, while the family of Ibrahim, blessings and peace be upon him - who are their ancestors - were given prophets and scriptures like the Torah and the Psalms, and wisdom, which is understanding in religion, and what guidance may come that is not mentioned in the Book? It has been narrated from Ibn Abbas that he said: We are the people, meaning Quraysh.

"A great kingdom" means: Solomon, as Ibn Abbas said. And Mujahid said: The great kingdom in the verse is prophethood. And Hammam ibn Al-Harith and Abu Muslima said: It is the support by angels.

The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

And the most correct is that it is the kingdom of Solomon, or the matter of women in the previous interpretation.

And His saying, the Exalted: "So among them are those who believed in him" - the interpreters differed regarding the return of the pronoun from "in him." The majority said: It refers back to the Qur'an, which is in His saying, the Exalted: "Believe in what We have revealed, confirming what is with you, before We erase faces" [An-Nisa: 47]. So Allah informed that among them are those who believed as He commanded, and for that reason the threat of erasure was lifted and did not occur. And a group denied that the threat was established upon them in the Hereafter with His saying: "And sufficient is Hell as a blaze." And a group said: The pronoun refers back to Ibrahim, blessings and peace be upon him. And Makki narrated stories regarding that which are not established. And a group said: It refers back to the virtue that Allah has given to the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, or to the Arabs regarding what has preceded.

The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

A group read: "He was turned away from" with a dammah on the sad, following the pattern of the verb for the object. And "Saeeran" means: burning and blazing. And "Saeer" refers to the intensity of the fire's blaze. This is a metaphor for the severity of the punishment and retribution.