His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "So remind, for you are not by the favor of your Lord a soothsayer nor a madman." "Or do they say, 'A poet; we await for him a misfortune of time.'" "Say, 'Wait, for indeed I am with you among those who wait.'" "Or do their minds command them to do this, or are they a transgressing people?" "Or do they say, 'He has fabricated it'? Rather, they do not believe." "So let them bring a statement like it if they are among the truthful." "Or were they created from nothing, or are they the creators?" "Or did they create the heavens and the earth? Rather, they are not certain." This is a command to the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, to call to Allah and to continue spreading the message. Then He said, comforting him, blessings and peace be upon him: "For you are not by the favor of Allah, the Exalted, upon you and His kindness to you, a soothsayer nor a madman." The Arabs had associated the jinn and humans with these two aspects, so they attributed Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, to that. So Allah, the Exalted, negated that from him. His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "Or do they say, 'A poet'?" The verse was narrated that Quraysh gathered in the House of Al-Nadwah, and their opinions about Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, became numerous, until one of them said: "Wait for him a misfortune of time, for he is a poet who will perish like Zuhair, Al-Nabighah, Al-A'sha, and others." So they dispersed upon this statement, and the verse was revealed regarding that. And "waiting" means to await, and from it is the saying of the poet: "He awaited a misfortune of time, perhaps she will be divorced one day or her husband will die." And Al-Tabari narrated: "Perhaps her husband will perish or will lean away." And His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "Say, 'Wait,'" is a threat in the form of a command. And "the misfortune of time" is one of the names of death, and this was explained by Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him. And it is one of the names of time, and this was explained by Mujahid. And Al-Asma'i said: "The misfortune of time" is singular and has no plural. And Al-Akhfash said: "It is plural and has no singular." The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: "And 'the misfortunes' here refer to incidents and calamities because they disturb those upon whom they befall. And from it is the saying of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, regarding his daughter Fatimah, may Allah be pleased with her, when he mentioned that Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, was marrying the daughter of Abu Jahl: 'Indeed, Fatimah is a part of me; what disturbs her disturbs me.'" It is said: 'Disturbed' and 'to disturb.' And from it is the saying of the poet: 'Indeed, this morning I was disturbed by her unveiling.' And the saying of another: 'And I was disturbed by her saying, 'O happiness.'" And Allah, the Exalted, commanded His Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, to threaten them with His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "Say, 'Wait, for indeed I am with you among those who wait.'"

And His saying, exalted is He: "By this" may refer to this statement "He is a poet," and it may refer to what they are upon of disbelief and the worship of idols. And "the dreams" refers to the minds. The repeated "or" in this verse has been estimated by some grammarians as an interrogative 'alif.' Mujahid estimated it as "but." The correct view in this matter is that some of it can be estimated as "but and the hamzah" in accordance with the saying of Sibawayh in their saying: "Indeed, it is camels or sheep." And some of it is an alternative, and that is His saying, exalted is He: ﴿Or are they a people transgressing?﴾. Mujahid read: "But they are a people transgressing," which is the meaning of the reading of the people, except that the expression with "or" has taken the form of reprimand and reproach. Al-Thaalibi reported from Al-Khalil that he said: "In the Surah of [Al-Tur], every interrogative is an inquiry and not a conjunction." And "he attributed it to him" means: "he said about another that he said it," so it is an expression of specific falsehood.

Then He challenged them, exalted is He, with His saying: ﴿So let them bring a saying like it﴾. The similarity required from them is in structure, arrangement, and brevity. People have differed: Were the Arabs able to bring forth something like the Qur'an before the coming of Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him? Some deviants, called the people of diversion, said they were able but were diverted. The majority said they were never able, nor is it within the ability of humans to bring forth something like it; because humans are not free from forgetfulness, distraction, and ignorance. And Allah, exalted is He, encompasses all knowledge of everything. So when the wording in the Qur'an is arranged, He knows with the encompassing knowledge what is suitable to follow it and what meaning is good with it, and that is impossible for humans. And the pronoun in "like it" is, on this basis, referring to Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him.

And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿Or were they created from nothing?﴾, Al-Tabari said: Its meaning is: Or were they created like inanimate objects from something lifeless, so they are not commanded or prohibited as inanimate objects are? Others said: Its meaning is: Or were they created without a cause or for the purpose of punishment or reward, so they do not hear or legislate? This is like saying: I did such and such for no reason, meaning for no cause. Then He, exalted is He, confronted them with a reproach concerning themselves: Are they the ones who created things, so they are arrogant for that? Then He specified from the things the heavens and the earth for their greatness and nobility among the creations. Then He judged, exalted is He, that they do not have certainty nor do they look with a gaze that leads them to certainty.