His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "Are you able to make the deaf hear, or guide the blind, and he who is in manifest error?" "So if We take you away, then indeed We are taking retribution from them." "Or We show you that which We promised them, for indeed We are capable of it." "So hold fast to that which has been revealed to you. Indeed, you are upon a straight path." "And indeed, it is a reminder for you and for your people, and you will be questioned." "And ask those whom We sent before you of Our messengers, 'Did We make gods to be worshipped besides the Most Merciful?'" When Allah, exalted and majestic is He, mentioned the state of the disbelievers in the Hereafter and what will be said to them while they are in torment, this necessitated that the souls should feel compassion, and that every listener should look to himself and strive for his salvation. When Quraysh, with this which they heard, did not cease from their arrogance and turning away from the command of Allah, exalted and majestic is He, the address returned to Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, as a means of consolation for him regarding them. He likened them to the deaf and the blind, as their senses do not benefit them at all. And His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "And he who is in manifest error" means by that Quraysh themselves. That is why He did not say, "or he who is," but rather came with the conjunction, as if He, exalted and majestic is He, is saying, "and these." This is also supported by the return of the pronoun to them in His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "So indeed We are from them." And there is no mention of them except in His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "And he who is." And His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "So if We take you away" is a verse that contains a real threat. The majority of scholars have gone to the view that those who are threatened are the disbelievers, and that Allah, exalted and majestic is He, showed His Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, that which He promised them at Badr, the Conquest, and other than that. Al-Hasan and Qatadah went to the view that the threatened ones are in this nation, and that Allah, exalted and majestic is He, honored His Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, by taking retribution from them in his presence and during his lifetime. Thus, retribution occurred from them after he had departed, and that was in the trials that occurred in the early days of Islam with the Khawarij and others. Al-Hasan and Qatadah said: Allah, blessed and exalted is He, honored His Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, by allowing him to see in his nation what he disliked, just as the prophets, blessings of Allah and peace be upon him and upon them, saw. Thus, retribution occurred after his departure, and there is a narration from Jabir ibn Abdullah, may Allah be pleased with him, that he said: "I heard the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, recite: 'So indeed We are taking retribution from them,' and he said: 'By Ali ibn Abi Talib.'" And the first saying regarding the threat to the disbelievers is more prevalent. Then Allah, exalted and majestic is He, commanded His Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, to hold fast to that which has come to him from Allah, exalted and majestic is He, from the revealed and recited revelation and other than it. And the straight path is the way. The majority read: "revealed" in the passive form, while Al-Dahhak read: "revealed" in the active form, meaning: Allah revealed.

And His saying, glorified and exalted is He: "And indeed, it is a reminder for you" may mean that glorified and exalted is He: and indeed, it is a honor and praise in this world - and the people on this are Quraysh then the Arabs. This is the saying of Ibn Abbas, Qatadah, Mujahid, Al-Suddi, and Ibn Zayd. Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, would present himself to the tribes. When they would say to him: 'To whom will the matter be after you?' he would remain silent until this verse was revealed. Then when he was asked after that, he would say: 'To Quraysh.' The Arabs would not accept that until the Ansar, may Allah be pleased with them, accepted it." And Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, said: "This matter will remain among Quraysh as long as there are two of them left." Abu Musa Al-Ash'ari narrated from him, blessings and peace be upon him, that he said: "This matter will remain among Quraysh as long as they are just when they judge, merciful when they seek mercy, and fulfill their promises. Whoever does not do that, upon him is the curse of Allah, the angels, and all the people." Muawiyah narrated that he, blessings and peace be upon him, said: "This matter will remain among Quraysh as long as they uphold the religion." It may mean, glorified and exalted is He: and indeed, it is a reminder and admonition, and the "people" - on this - is his entire nation. This is the saying of Al-Hasan ibn Abi Al-Hasan. And His saying, glorified and exalted is He: "And you will surely be asked" Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, and others said: Its meaning is about the commands and prohibitions of the Qur'an. Al-Hasan ibn Abi Al-Hasan said: Its meaning is about being grateful for the blessings in it, and the wording encompasses all of this and includes it.

The interpreters differed regarding the intended meaning of the question in His saying, glorified and exalted is He: "And ask those whom We sent." A group said that glorified and exalted is He intended that you ask Jibril, peace be upon him. This was mentioned by Al-Naqqash.

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

And in it is distance. Ibn Zayd, Ibn Jubair, and Al-Zuhri said: Allah, the Exalted, meant: 'And ask the messengers when you meet them on the night of Isra.' However, the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, did not ask the messengers, peace be upon them, on the night of Isra about this, because he, blessings and peace be upon him, was more certain than that and was not in doubt. A group said: Allah, the Exalted, meant: 'And ask Me, or ask us about those whom We sent.' The first - according to this interpretation - is that it should be: 'Who We sent' as an inquiry for him to ask by it, as if his question is: 'O Lord, who were Your messengers sent before me? Did You command them in their message to worship deities?' Then he conveyed the question in a reported meaning, returning the address to Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, in His saying: 'Before you.' Ibn Abbas, Al-Hasan, Mujahid, Qatadah, Al-Suddi, and Ata said: Allah, the Exalted, meant: 'And ask the followers of those whom We sent and the bearers of their laws,' because the understood meaning is that there is no way to ask the messengers except by looking into their traces and their books and asking those who preserved them. In the reading of Ibn Mas'ud and Ubayy ibn Ka'b: 'And ask those to whom Our messengers were sent before you,' this reading supports this meaning. Likewise, His saying, the Exalted, 'And ask the town' [Yusuf: 82] implies that he should only ask its people. Among what relates to this meaning is His saying, the Exalted: 'So if you dispute about something, refer it to Allah and the Messenger' [An-Nisa: 59], thus it is understood that the reference is only to the Book of Allah, the Exalted, and the Sunnah of His Messenger, blessings and peace be upon him, and that the discussion in that is only for their followers and the guardians of the law. And His saying, the Exalted: 'They are worshipped' removes the pronoun in accordance with the term 'deities'.