His saying - glorified and exalted is He -: "If You punish them, indeed they are Your servants, and if You forgive them, indeed You are the Exalted, the Wise." "Allah said: This is the Day when the truthful will benefit from their truthfulness. For them are gardens beneath which rivers flow, abiding therein forever. Allah is pleased with them and they are pleased with Him. That is the great success." "To Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth and whatever is in them, and He is over all things competent."

This verse - according to the saying of those who said: that the stopping of 'Isa - peace be upon him - was after his raising - is a correct meaning; because he spoke this saying about them while they were alive in this world; and he does not know what they will meet.

And it is - according to the saying of those who said: that the stopping is on the Day of Resurrection - meaning: "If the word of punishment has preceded for them, as it has preceded; then they are Your servants; You do as You wish by right of ownership; there is no objection against You; and if You forgive them; with repentance; as You have forgiven others; indeed You are the Exalted in Your power; the Wise in Your actions; there is no opposition against You in any case"; so it is as if he said: "If there are among the people those who are punished, they are Your servants; and if there are those who are forgiven for them; then Your might and wisdom necessitate all of this."

And this, in my opinion, is the more correct saying; and it is supported by what follows; and that is that 'Isa - peace be upon him - when he established that Allah, the Exalted, has the right to do with His servants as He wills; of punishment and forgiveness; Allah made clear to His servants what the prophets used to inform them of; as if He is saying: "This matter has been settled; and mercy has been granted to whom it has been granted; and punishment to whom it has been granted"; so He said - blessed and exalted is He -: "This is the Day when the truthful will benefit from their truthfulness"; and under this statement falls every believer in Allah, the Exalted; and everyone who was pious is more included in this statement; then this statement came indicating 'Isa in that state of his; and his truthfulness in what he said; and he attained by that in that position a great honor; even though the wording encompasses him and others; and He mentioned, the Exalted, what He has prepared for them by His mercy; and His grace; until His saying: "That is the great success."

Nafi' alone read: "This is the Day"; with "Day" in the accusative; and the others read "Day"; in the nominative; as a predicate of the subject which is "This"; and "Day" is added to "will benefit"; and the subject and the predicate are in the position of the accusative because it is the object of the saying; as the saying acts in sentences; and as for Nafi's reading, it allows two interpretations: one of which is that "Day" is an adverb for the saying; as if the estimation is: "Allah said this story; or the news; on the Day of...".

The judge Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: And this, in my opinion, is a meaning that removes the redundancy of the verse; and the beauty of the wording.

And the second meaning is that what comes after "He said" is a narration of what preceded it from His saying to 'Isa; an indication to him; and the news of "This" is omitted for brevity; as if the estimation is: "Allah said: This narrative occurs; or happens; on the Day when the truthful will benefit from their truthfulness...".

(p-307) The judge Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: The address - regarding this - is for Muhammad - blessings and peace be upon him - and his community; and this is more similar to what came before it; and the proficient reading is that of the congregation.

Abu Ali said: It is not permissible for 'day' to be in a position of raising according to the reading of Nafi; because this verb that has been added to it is inflected; and it only takes the construction from the one to which it is added if that which is added to it is constructed; like in: ﴿from the torment of that day﴾ [Al-Ma'arij: 11]; and it does not resemble the saying of the poet:

At the time I reproached old age for youth ∗∗∗ And said: Did I not awaken while old age is a restraint?

Because the past tense in the verse is constructed; and the present tense in the verse is inflected.

And Hasan ibn Abbas al-Shami read: 'This is a day' with raising and with tanween.

And His saying, the Exalted, ﴿To Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens﴾; the verse; it is possible that it is something said on the Day of Resurrection; and it is possible that it is disconnected from that; addressed to Muhammad - blessings and peace be upon him - and his community; and in both cases, it supports what Isa said: 'If You punish the people, then they are Your servants'; according to what has preceded in the interpretation of the majority.

The interpretation of Surah 'Al-Ma'idah' is complete; and Allah is the One sought for help; and He is sufficient for me and the best disposer of affairs.