His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "And Allah created the heavens and the earth with truth, and so that every soul may be recompensed for what it has earned, and they will not be wronged." "Have you seen he who has taken as his god his desire, and Allah has led him astray despite knowledge, and He has set a seal upon his hearing and his heart, and He has put a veil over his sight? So who will guide him after Allah? Will you not then remember?" "And they said, 'There is nothing but our worldly life; we die and live, and nothing destroys us except time.' And they have no knowledge of that; they are only conjecturing." The meaning: And Allah created the heavens and the earth, for indeed, their creation is a truth that is necessary and certain in itself due to the abundance of goodness in it. And it is to indicate Him, exalted is He, and to be a creation that governs its Creator. It was said to some of the wise: Why did Allah create the heavens and the earth? He said: To show the quality of His creation. And the 'lam' in His saying, glorified and exalted is He: "And so that every soul may be recompensed" appears to be a 'lam' of purpose, as if the recompense is one of the reasons for the creation of the heavens and the earth. It is also possible that it is a 'lam' of transformation, meaning: and the matter in it has become such that by it a people were guided and others were led astray, so that every individual may be recompensed according to his knowledge and for what he has earned of good or evil. His saying, exalted is He: "Have you seen," some of the reciters made the hamzah easy while others confirmed it. And it is also in the Mushaf of Ibn Mas'ud lightened, and in the Mushaf of Ubayy ibn Ka'b, may Allah be pleased with him: "Have you seen" without hamzah. And this verse is a consolation for Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, regarding the disbelievers who turn away from faith, meaning: do not rush towards them and do not concern yourself with their matter, for there is no way for them for a human being since Allah has led them astray. Ibn Jubayr said: "His god is his desire" refers to the idols, as they used to worship what they desired from stones. And Qatadah said: the meaning is that he does not desire anything except that he follows it; he does not fear Allah, exalted is He. This is as it is said: desire is a god that is worshipped. Al-A'raj and Ibn Jubayr read: "His god is his desire" in the feminine form of "gods." And this verse, even though it was revealed regarding the desire for disbelief, it encompasses all desires of the commanding self. Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with both of them, said: Allah, exalted is He, did not mention desire except in a manner of blame. And Al-Shabi said: it was named desire due to its playfulness with its owner. And the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, said: "The incapable one is the one who follows his desire and wishes for Allah." And Sahl Al-Tustari said: "Your desire is your disease, so if you oppose it, then your cure is there." And Wahb said: "If you doubt between two good matters, then look to the one that is further from your desire and go to it." And from the wisdom of poetry in this is the saying of the poet: If you do not disobey desire, it will lead you to everything that is against you. And His saying, exalted is He: "despite knowledge" Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with both of them, said: the meaning is: despite prior knowledge from Allah. And a group said: meaning: despite knowledge of this misguidance, for indeed, the truth is what is abandoned and turned away from. Thus, the verse - on this interpretation - is from the verses of obstinacy, similar to His saying, exalted is He: "And they denied it while their souls were certain of it." And on both interpretations, His saying, exalted is He: "despite knowledge" is a state.

And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿And He sealed upon his hearing and his heart and made a covering upon his sight﴾, all are metaphors. This misguided one is not benefited by what he hears, nor by what he understands, nor by what he sees. It is as if he has these mentioned attributes. And this verse is not evidence for the Jabriyyah in it, because the acquisition in it is explicitly stated in His saying, exalted is He: "He took" and in His saying, exalted is He: "with knowledge" according to the final interpretation of it. And if He had not explicitly stated the acquisition, it would have been intended in meaning. Most of the reciters read: ﴿" , "

This usage differs from the saying of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him: "Do not curse time, for Allah, the Most High, is time." In another hadith, Allah, the Most High, said: "The son of Adam curses time, and I am time; the night and the day are in My hand." The meaning of this hadith is that Allah, the Most High, is the One who does what you attribute to time and curse it for. And if you contemplate the examples of this in speech, they will become clear, if Allah, the Most High, wills.