Allah, the Exalted, says: "And the Day the disbelievers are presented to the Fire, [it will be said], 'Is this not the truth?' They will say, 'Yes, by our Lord.' It will be said, 'So taste the punishment for what you used to disbelieve.'" "So be patient as those of determination among the messengers were patient. And do not be in haste for them. The Day they see that which they are promised, it will be as if they had not remained in the world except for an hour of a day. A proclamation. So will any be destroyed except the defiantly disobedient people?" The meaning: And remember the Day, and this is a warning to the disbelievers from Quraysh and others. And the "presentation" in this verse is a direct presentation, as you say: I presented the offender to the whip. The meaning is: It is said to them: Is this punishment truly real, and you used to deny it? They will respond: Yes, by our Lord. So that is a confirmation where it does not benefit. It has been narrated from Al-Hasan that he said: They will be punished in the Fire while being pleased with that for themselves. They will acknowledge that it is justice. Then the interlocutor from the angels will say to them at that time: "So taste the punishment for what you used to disbelieve," meaning: because of your disbelief. And His saying, the Exalted: "So be patient" - the 'fa' is a conjunction of this sentence from the advice upon this sentence of the news about the state of the disbelievers in the Hereafter. The meaning between them is connected, that is: this is their state with Allah, the Exalted, so do not be in haste for what it has brought you, and be patient for it, and do not fear anyone in Allah. And His saying, the Exalted: "among the messengers" is a partitive, and what is meant is those who were preserved with their people in severity and struggle, like Nuh, Ibrahim, Musa, and others, blessings and peace be upon them. This is the saying of Ata Al-Khurasani and others. Ibn Zayd said what means: Indeed, "among" is for indicating the type. He said: And the messengers, blessings and peace be upon them, are all of determination, but His saying, the Exalted: "So be patient as those of determination among the messengers" includes messengers and others. Then He clarified after that the type of the messengers specifically to honor them, and so that the example set for Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, is more noble. Al-Tha'labi mentioned this saying from Ali ibn Mahdi Al-Tabari, and it has been reported from Abu Al-Qasim Al-Hakim that he said: The messengers, blessings and peace be upon them, are all of determination except Yunus, blessings be upon him. And Al-Hasan ibn Al-Fadl said: They are the eighteen mentioned in Surah Al-An'am, because He, the Blessed and Exalted, said after mentioning them: "Those are the ones whom Allah has guided, so by their guidance, be guided." [Al-An'am: 90]. And Muqatil said: They are six: Nuh, who was patient for a long time against the harm of his people; Ibrahim, blessings be upon him, who was patient in the Fire; Ishaq, blessings be upon him, who was patient with himself for the sacrifice; and Yaqub, blessings be upon him, who was patient over the loss of his son and his sight became blind, and he said, "So patience is most beautiful." And Yusuf, blessings be upon him, who was patient in prison; and Ayyub, who was patient in calamity. Al-Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: And look, the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, said about Musa, peace be upon him: "May Allah have mercy on Musa; he was harmed more than this and he was patient." And there is no doubt that every prophet and messenger has determination and patience, blessings and peace be upon them.

And His saying, exalted is He: "And do not hasten for them" means: do not hasten for them a punishment, for they are destined to it. And do not prolong their duration in this blessing, for when they see the punishment, it will be as if they had not remained in the world except for an hour, due to their contempt for that. This is because the time that has passed becomes nothing. Thus, much of it, which has a bad outcome, is like a little.

And Ubayy ibn Ka'b, may Allah be pleased with him, read: "an hour of the day," while the majority of the people read: "a warning." This can have meanings: one of them is that it may be a news of beginning, meaning: this is a warning, and the reference of "this" is either to the Qur'an and the Shari'ah, that is: this is a warning and a message, or to the duration that is like an hour of the day, as if He, exalted is He, said: they did not remain except for an hour that was their warning. This is like when you say: "a little provision" and similar meanings. The second is that it may be a beginning and the news is omitted. The third is what Abu Majliz said, for he would pause at His saying, exalted is He: "And do not hasten," and say: "a warning" as a beginning and its news is advanced in His saying, exalted is He: "for them." And the people criticized this saying due to much hindrance. And Al-Hasan ibn Abi Al-Hasan and 'Isa read: "a warning," and it is a reading that can have both meanings in the reading of the nominative, and the saying of Abu Majliz does not apply to it. He made it accusative with an implied verb. And Abu Majliz and Abu Siraj Al-Hudhali read: "Convey" as an imperative. And Al-Hasan ibn Abi Al-Hasan read: "a warning" in the genitive as an attribute of the day.

And the majority of the people read: "So will any be destroyed" in the passive form. Some of them read - as narrated by Harun -: "So will any be destroyed" in the active form with a broken lam, and Abu Amr narrated it from Al-Hasan and Ibn Muhaisin. And Abu Muhaisin also read with a fatha on the ya and lam. Abu Al-Fath said: it is undesirable. And Zayd ibn Thabit narrated from the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him: "So will any be destroyed" with a damma on the ya and a broken lam, "except for the disobedient people" in the accusative.

And in these words is a pure warning and a clear admonition, for Allah, exalted is He, made the good deed worth ten times its like and the bad deed like it. And He commanded obedience and promised Paradise for it, and forbade disbelief and warned of Hell for it. "So none will be destroyed upon Allah except a destroyed one," as he, blessings and peace be upon him, said. Al-Thalabi said: It is said that His saying, exalted is He: "So will any be destroyed except for the disobedient people" is the most hopeful verse in the Book of Allah, exalted is He, for the believers.

The interpretation of Surah Al-Ahqaf is complete, and praise is for Allah, the Lord of the worlds.