His saying, exalted is He: "Say, the enjoyment of this world is brief, and the Hereafter is better for he who fears Allah. And you will not be wronged by a thread" [An-Nisa: 77]. "Wherever you may be, death will overtake you, even if you are in lofty towers. And if a good thing touches them, they say, 'This is from Allah,' and if an evil thing touches them, they say, 'This is from you.' Say, 'All is from Allah.' So what is the matter with these people that they hardly understand a saying?" The meaning is: Say, O Muhammad, to these people: The enjoyment of this world, meaning the pleasure of life in it that you have strived for and feared losing, is brief, because it is transient and fleeting. And the Hereafter, which is eternal bliss, is better for whoever obeys Allah and fears Him in complying with His commands regarding what is pleasing and what is disliked.

Nafi', Abu Amr, Ibn Amer, and Asim read: "You will not be wronged" with the 'taa' for addressing, while Ibn Kathir, Hamzah, and Al-Kisai read: "They will not be wronged" with the 'yaa' for leaving the address and mentioning the absent.

(p-606) And a thread is the fiber in the split of a date pit, and the saying about it has already been mentioned.

And "Wherever you may be, death will overtake you" is a consequence and its response. This is how the majority read it. Talhah ibn Sulayman read: "Will overtake you" with the two 'kafs' being pronounced and the verb raised. Abu Al-Fath said: This is based on the assumption of the entry of 'fa' as if he said: 'Then death will overtake you,' and this reading is weak. This is a report from Allah that includes the belittlement of this world and that there is no escape from demise and transition.

The interpreters have differed regarding His saying: "In lofty towers." The majority and the most correct is that He meant the towers and fortresses that are in the built land, because they are the ultimate refuge and protection for humans. So Allah likened them to it. Qatadah said: The meaning is in fortified palaces, and this was said by Ibn Jurayj and the majority. Al-Suddi said: They are towers in the sky of this world built. Al-Makki narrated this saying from Malik, and he said: Do you not see His saying: "By the sky and the constellations" [Al-Burooj: 1]. Al-Naqqash narrated from Ibn Abbas that he said: "In lofty towers" means in palaces made of iron.

Judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: And this is not given by the wording, but rather the towers in the Quran, when mentioned in conjunction with the mention of the sky, are the towers of the abodes for the moon and others, as the Arabs have named and recognized them. And the meaning of 'burj' is: to appear, and from it are the towers, meaning the prominent and visible ones, and from it is the adornment of a woman.

'And 'Mushayyadah' means elevated and extended. This is because 'Shada al-rajulu al-bina'a' means he made it with shid, which is plaster. 'Ashada' and 'Shayyada' mean to raise and elevate it. From this is 'Ashada al-rajulu dhikra al-rajuli' when he raised it. A group said: 'Mushayyadah' means beautified with shid. They believe that 'Shada al-rajulu' means he plastered with shid, and 'Shayyada' means he repeated that action, thus it is for exaggeration, as you say: 'Kasartu al-‘awda marratan,' and 'Kassartuhu fi mawadhi'i minhu kathiratan miraran,' and 'Kharqtu al-thawb wa Kharraqtuhu' if the tearing is from it in many places. Based on this, it is correct to say: 'Shada al-rajulu al-jidara marratan,' and 'Shayyada al-rajulu al-jidara' if you intend exaggeration, because the raising from it occurred in many places. From this meaning is the saying of the poet:

'He raised it with marble and adorned it with gold, for the birds in its heights are nests.'

The 'h' and 'm' in his saying: 'And if a misfortune befalls them' is a response to those who were told: 'Hold back your hands.' This indicates that they are the hypocrites, because it is not fitting for the believers to have this saying. And because the Jews were not under the command of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, so they would not be afflicted by it with evil. The meaning of the verse is: And if these hypocrites are afflicted with a good thing from the defeat of an enemy, or booty, or other than that, they see that it is by the will of Allah, not that it is by the blessing of your following and believing in you. And if a misfortune befalls them, meaning: a defeat, or severe hunger, or other than that, they say: This is because of you due to your bad management. Thus said Ibn Zayd, and it was said: Because of your ill omen upon us, as said by al-Zajjaj and others.

And His saying: 'Say, all is from Allah' is a declaration from Allah, glorified and exalted is He, that good and evil, and good deeds and bad deeds are created by Him and from Him, and there is no Lord other than Him, nor creator nor inventor besides Him. The meaning is: Say, O Muhammad, to these: The matter is not as you claim from me, nor from anyone else, but it is all from Allah. Qatadah said: The blessings and calamities are from Allah. Ibn Zayd said: Victory and defeat. Ibn Abbas said: The bad and the good.

Al-Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: All of this is one thing.

Then He reproached them with questioning their ignorance and lack of understanding and their acquisition of what they inform about the truths. Understanding in language means comprehension, and the Shari'ah has confined it to understanding in religion and its matters. Afterward, it predominated in the usage of the knowledge of legal issues. The eloquence in questioning about their lack of understanding is evident, for when you question about the reason for a matter, your words imply the affirmation of that matter in a subtle and profound manner.

Abu Amr and Al-Kisai stopped at his saying: 'So what', while the others stopped at the 'lam' in his saying: 'So what of it', following the script. A group prevented it altogether, because it is a preposition, so it is part of the majrur. All of this is according to necessity and the interruption of breath. As for one choosing to stop at what we mentioned at the beginning, that is not the case.