His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "So I do not swear by the positions of the stars. And indeed, it is a great oath if you only knew. Indeed, it is a noble Qur'an. In a protected Book. None touch it except the purified. A revelation from the Lord of the worlds. So is it with this discourse that you are indifferent? And you make your provision that you deny. So why, when it reaches the throat, and you are at that time looking? And We are closer to him than you, but you do not see. So if you are not to be recompensed, return it if you are among the truthful."

People have differed regarding the "not" in His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "So I do not swear by the positions of the stars" - Some grammarians said: it is extra, and the meaning is: "So I swear." Its addition in some places is known, like His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "So that the people of the Scripture may not know" [Al-Hadid: 29], and others. And Sa'id ibn Jubair and some grammarians said: it is negating, as if He, exalted is He, is saying: "So there is no truth to what the disbelievers say." Then (p-209) He began, blessed and exalted is He, and said: "I swear." And some of the interpreters said: it is confirming and gives emphasis in the oath, and it is like the beginning of a speech that resembles an oath but not in common speech. An example of this is the poet's saying:

"So no, by my father... I will not betray it."

The meaning is: "So by my father," her enemies. And for this, there are parallels. And Al-Hasan and Al-Thaqafi read: "So let me swear" without the 'alif.' Abu Al-Fath said: the estimation is: "So I swear."

And the majority of the reciters read: "by the positions" in the plural. Umar ibn Al-Khattab, Ibn Mas'ud, and Ibn Abbas - may Allah be pleased with them - and the people of Kufa: Hamzah and Al-Kisai read: "by the position" in the singular, and it is intended by it the plural. And this is often the case, and an example of this is His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "Indeed, the most disagreeable of sounds is the sound of donkeys" [Luqman: 19], a plural in terms of each donkey having a distinct sound, and singular in terms of all sounds being one type.

The people have differed regarding "the stars" here. Ibn Abbas, Ikrimah, Mujahid, and others said: They are the stars of the Qur'an that were revealed to Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him. This is because it has been narrated that the Qur'an was revealed from Allah, the Exalted, on the Night of Decree to the lowest heaven - and it was said: to the Bayt al-Ma'mur - all at once. Then it was revealed afterwards to Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, in separate verses over a period of twenty years. This saying is supported by the return of the pronoun to the Qur'an in His saying, glorified and exalted is He: "Indeed, it is a noble Qur'an." This is because its mention did not precede except for this interpretation. Whoever does not interpret this interpretation says: The pronoun returns to the Qur'an even if there is no prior mention due to the well-known nature of the matter and the clarity of the meaning, like His saying, the Exalted: "Until it vanished behind the veil" [Sad: 32], and "Every soul upon it will perish" [Ar-Rahman: 26], and others. A large number of interpreters said: The stars here are the known celestial bodies. There was a difference regarding their locations. Mujahid and Abu Ubaidah said: They are their locations at their setting and rising. Qatadah said: Their locations are their positions in the sky. It was said: Their locations are at the time of the falling after the devils. Al-Hasan said: Their locations are at the time of the stars falling.

And His saying, the Exalted: "And indeed, it is a great oath" is an affirmation of the matter and a warning from the one swearing by it. This is not an interruption between the two statements, but this is a meaning intended to be emphasized. The interruption is His saying, the Exalted: "If you only knew." Some people said: His saying, the Exalted: "And indeed, it is a great oath" is an interruption, and "If you only knew" is an interruption within an interruption. The correct view is what we have mentioned. And His saying, the Exalted: "Indeed, it is a noble Qur'an" is what the oath is upon, and He described it as noble in the sense of affirming the attributes of praise for it and repelling the attributes of disgrace from it.

The interpreters have differed regarding His saying, the Exalted: "In a preserved book" after they agreed that "the preserved" means the protected. Ibn Abbas and Mujahid said: He meant the book that is in the heavens. Ikrimah said: He meant the Torah and the Gospel, as if He, the Exalted, said: Indeed, it is a noble book that mentions its nobility and honor in a preserved book. Thus, the meaning of the verse - according to this - is the testimony of the revealed books. This is like His saying, the Exalted: "Indeed, the number of months with Allah is twelve months in the Book of Allah" [At-Tawbah: 36]. Some of the interpreters said: He meant the copies of the Muslims, which did not exist on the day the verse was revealed. So, it is - according to this - news of the unseen, and likewise, it is in a preserved book until the Day of Resurrection. This is supported by the term "touch" as it refers to the copies, and it is borrowed from the touch of the angels.

And the people differed in the meaning of His saying, the Most High: ﴿None touches it except the purified﴾ and in its ruling. Some of those who said that the hidden book is that which is in the heavens said: The purified here are the angels. Qatadah said: As for among you, the polytheist who is impure and the hypocrite may touch it. Al-Tabari said: The purified are the angels and the prophets, peace be upon them, and those who have no sin. And there is no ruling in the verse - according to this saying - regarding the touching of the mushaf by all of the children of Adam. And whoever said that they are the mushafs of the Muslims said: His saying, the Most High,

Resoluteness and strength are better than [UNTRANSLATED-LATIN: idhan] and cleverness and deceit.

And Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said: It is the collusion in what is not permissible, and the diplomacy is the collusion in what is permissible. And Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "[UNTRANSLATED-LATIN: mudhinun]": [UNTRANSLATED-LATIN: mukadhdhibun].

His saying, the Exalted: "And you make your provision that you are denying," the interpreters have agreed that the verse is a reprimand for those who say about the rain that Allah, the Exalted, has sent down as provision for the servants: This is by the [UNTRANSLATED-LATIN: naw'] of such and such, and this is by the [UNTRANSLATED-LATIN: naw'] of the lion, and this is by the [UNTRANSLATED-LATIN: naw'] of [UNTRANSLATED-LATIN: al-jawzaa] and others. The meaning is: And you make the gratitude for your provision, as you say to a man: You made, O so-and-so, my kindness to you that you insulted me. The meaning is: I made the gratitude for my kindness. And Al-Haytham ibn Udayy reported that from the language of Azd Shanu'a: What is the provision of so-and-so? Meaning: What is his gratitude? And Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, used to read it: "And you make your gratitude that you are lying," and likewise Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, read it. And it was narrated from the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, except that Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, added the 'taa' and opened the 'kaaf', and Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, opened the 'taa' and kept the 'kaaf' still and softened the 'dhaal'. And from this meaning is the saying of the poet:

And the gratitude of the people at the blessings is like burning the healthy and poking the eyes.

And Allah, the Exalted, has informed that He sent down from the heavens blessed water, and by it He brought forth gardens and the grain of the harvest, and tall palms with clusters of dates. Provision for the servants. This is the meaning of His saying, the Exalted: "That you are denying," meaning: by this news. And Asim read in the narration of Al-Mufaddal from him: "You are denying" with the 'taa' opened and the 'kaaf' still and the 'dhaal' softened, like the reading of Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him. And their lying in their statements is clear because they say: This is by the [UNTRANSLATED-LATIN: naw'] of such and such, and that is a lie from them and a fabrication. And Al-Tabari mentioned that the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, heard a man saying: We have been rained upon by some of the [UNTRANSLATED-LATIN: uthainayn] of the lion, so he said to him: "You have lied; rather it is the provision of Allah." And what is prohibited and disliked is to believe that the rising of the stars has an effect on the rain. As for considering some of the risings according to custom, Umar said to Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, while they were in seeking rain: O Abbas, O uncle of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him: How long remains of the [UNTRANSLATED-LATIN: naw'] of Al-Thurayya? Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said: The scholars say that it obstructs the horizon after its setting for seven. Ibn Al-Musayyib said: Seven did not pass until they had rain.

And His saying, exalted is He: "So why, when it reaches the throat..." is a pause at the place of the inability which necessitates consideration of it that Allah, blessed and exalted is He, is the Owner of all things. The pronoun in "it reaches the throat" refers to the soul of the human being, and the meaning necessitates it even if there is no prior mention of it. "The throat" is the passage of food, and this state is the struggle of a person with death. And His saying, exalted is He: "You" is a reference to all of humanity, and this is from brevity, like His saying, exalted is He: "And do not kill yourselves" [An-Nisa: 29]. And 'Isa ibn 'Umar read: "At that time" with a kasra on the noon, and "You look" means: to the one contending in death. And His saying, exalted is He: "And We are closer to him than you" can mean His angels and messengers, and it can mean: by Our power and dominance. On the first possibility, His saying, exalted is He: "But you do not see" is from the sight of the eye, and on the second interpretation, it comes from the sight of the heart. And 'Amir ibn 'Abd Qays said: I have not looked at anything except that I saw Allah, exalted is He, closer to it than me.

Then the pause and confirmation returned again with the wording of emphasis, and "the owned" means the owned one. This is the most correct that can be said about the meaning of the word here. And whoever expressed it in a metaphorical or accountable sense, then that is a concern here. The owned one can be turned however the owner wishes. And from this ownership is the saying of Al-Akhtal:

The Lord raised, so my Lord in her embrace is the son of the owned one, You see him on his fields as he is being nurtured.

He meant: the son of a owned woman, and he is a servant who serves the vineyard. And it has been said regarding the meaning of this verse: he meant an agricultural person from the city because the Bedouins in the desert do not know farming and the work of vineyards, so he attributed him to the city for being from its people. Thus, the meaning of the verse is: So why do you not return the soul that has reached the throat if you are not owned or subdued? And the religion of the king is his judgment and authority, and Al-Farra' inclined towards this meaning and mentioned it while absorbing the discussion. And His saying, exalted is He: "You return it" has closed the door of the answers and statements that necessitate the specifications. And this is from His saying, exalted is He: "So why, when" and the repeated "if," and some of the sayings carried some of the others in brevity and conciseness.