His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "And those who have believed say, 'Why has a surah not been sent down?' But when a surah that is clear is sent down and mentions fighting, you see those in whose hearts is a disease looking at you with the look of one overcome by death. So woe to them!" "Obedience and a good word. But when the matter is determined, if they had been true to Allah, it would have been better for them." "So have you considered if you turned away that you would cause corruption in the land and sever your ties of kinship?" "Those are the ones whom Allah has cursed, so He deafened them and blinded their vision." This is the beginning of the description of the state of the believers in their seriousness in the religion of Allah, the Most High, and their eagerness for its manifestation. And the state of the hypocrites is one of laziness, failure, and eagerness for the corruption of the religion and its people. This is because the believers' eagerness drives them to wish for the manifestation of Islam and to wish for fighting the enemy and exposing the hypocrites, and similar matters that are a manifestation of Islam. They would feel comforted by the revelation and feel uneasy when it was delayed. And Allah, the Most High, has made that with fixed intervals and times that do not exceed. So Allah praised the believers for their eagerness. And their saying, 'Why has a surah not been sent down?' means: it includes our showing and commanding to strive against the enemy and similar matters. Then He informed, exalted is He, about the state of the hypocrites at the time of the command of fighting. And His saying, glorified is He: "'Clear'" means: there is no abrogation in it. And in this way, He specified the 'surah' with rulings. As for the clarity that means perfection, the entire Qur'an is the same in it. And Qatadah said: every surah that contains fighting is clear. And this is the most severe of the Qur'an upon the hypocrites. This is a matter that Qatadah inferred from the Qur'an, and it is not from the interpretation of this verse in anything. And in the Mushaf of Ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him, it is: "A surah that speaks clearly." And "the disease that is in the hearts" is a metaphor for the corruption of belief. And the reality of health and disease is in the bodies, and it is used metaphorically for meanings. And the look of the fearful one is close to the look of one who has fainted. And their fear is for the description and the analogy. And His saying, exalted is He: "So woe to them!" The verse, "woe" is in the form of 'af'al. Whoever is close to you is near. And a group said: its form is 'af'al, and it has a heart because it is derived from wail. And the common usage of "woe" is that you say: this is more deserving of you than that, meaning: more rightful. And "woe to you" can only be used in the sense of omission and abbreviation of what is with it from the saying. So you say in the sense of reprimand and warning: "woe to you, O so and so." And this verse is from this category. And from it is His saying, exalted is He: "Woe to you, then woe!" [Al-Qiyamah: 34]. And from it is the saying of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him, to Al-Hasan, may Allah be pleased with him: "Woe to you." And a group of the interpreters said: "woe" was raised by the beginning, and "obedience" is its news. Al-Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

This is the well-known usage of "the first." A group of the interpreters said: "The first for them" is a beginning and a news, its meaning is a reprimand and a threat. Then this group differed in the meaning of His saying, the Most High: ﴿Obedience and a good word﴾. Some of them said: The estimation is: obedience and a good word are better. This is the interpretation of Mujahid and the doctrine of Al-Khalil and Sibawayh. And it is good to begin with the indefinite because it is specified, so in it is some of the definition. And some of them said: The estimation is: the matter is obedience and a good word, meaning: the matter that is pleasing to Allah, the Most High. And some of them said: The estimation is: their saying to you, O Muhammad - in a manner of mockery and deceit -: obedience and a good word. So when the matter is determined, they dislike it. And this is similar to the estimation, as said by Qatadah. He also said that the meaning is: the completion of the speech that we mean by reprimand and threat is "So the first." And His saying, the Most High: "for them" is the beginning of the speech, and "obedience" - according to this saying - is a beginning, and its news is: "for them," and the meaning is: that is from them in a manner of deceit. So when the matter is determined, they contradict and oppose.

And His saying, the Most High: ﴿The matter is determined﴾ is a metaphor, as He said: "The war has become serious with you, so be serious."

And from this category is "Your night has slept" and similar to it. And His saying, the Most High: ﴿They were truthful to Allah﴾ may be understood to mean the truth that is the opposite of falsehood, and it may be understood to mean from your saying: "A return to truth," and the meanings are close.

And His saying, exalted is He: "So have you perhaps considered" is addressing those who have a disease in their hearts, meaning: Say to them, O Muhammad. Nafi' and the people of Medina read "considered" with a kasra on the letter seen, while Abu Amr, Al-Hasan, Asim, Abu Ja'far, and Shaiba read "considered" with a fatha on the letter seen. The fatha is clearer because it is from "perhaps" which is accompanied by "that". The meaning is: So have you perhaps done what is good if you turn away, other than corrupting in the land and severing your ties of kinship? It is as if the inquiry that enters upon "perhaps" changes its meaning somewhat, just as the inquiry changes your saying: What if it were like this and that? And His saying, exalted is He: "If you turn away" means: If you turn away from the truth. Qatadah said: How did you see the people when they turned away from the Book of Allah, exalted is He? Did they not shed forbidden blood, sever ties of kinship, and disobey the Most Merciful, the Mighty and Majestic? The majority read: "If you turn away," and the meaning is: If you turn away from Islam. Ka'b al-Ahbar and Muhammad ibn Ka'b al-Qurazi said: The meaning is: If you take charge of the affairs of the people, in governance. On this, it was said that it was revealed concerning Banu Hashim and Banu Umayyah, as mentioned by Al-Thalabi. Abdullah ibn Mughaffal narrated that the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, read: "If you are appointed" with a damma on the letter waw and a doubled lam that is broken. Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, read: "If you turn away" with a damma on the letter ta and waw and a kasra on the doubled lam, meaning: If I appoint you the governance of oppression and you incline towards their worldly affairs instead of the Imam of justice, or meaning: If you turn to torture and punishment and the actions of the Arabs in their ignorance and their conduct of raids and captivity, then indeed its result is corruption in the land and severing of kinship. It was said: Its meaning is: If the people take charge of you and Allah leaves you to them. The majority of people read: "And you sever" with a damma on the letter ta and a shadda on the broken ta. Abu Amr read: "And you cut" with a fatha on the letter ta and the softened ta, which is the reading of Salam and Ya'qub.

And His saying, exalted is He: "Those are the ones whom Allah has cursed" is a reference to the sick-hearted mentioned, and "He has cursed them" means He has distanced them. And His saying, exalted is He: "So He made them deaf and blinded their sight" is a metaphor for their lack of hearing, as if they are blind and deaf.