'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' Allah, the Exalted, says: "So today no ransom will be taken from you nor from those who disbelieved. Your refuge is the Fire; it is your protector, and wretched is the destination." "Has the time not come for those who have believed that their hearts should become humbly submissive to the remembrance of Allah and what has come down of the truth, and that they not be like those who were given the Scripture before? Then a long period passed over them, so their hearts became hardened. And many of them were defiantly disobedient." "Know that Allah gives life to the earth after its lifelessness. We have certainly made clear to you the signs that you might use reason." His saying, the Exalted, "So today no ransom will be taken from you" is a continuation in addressing the hypocrites, as said by Qatadah and others. It has been narrated regarding the meaning of His saying, "nor from those who disbelieved," that it is a hadith. It is: "Indeed, Allah will cause the disbeliever to be brought forth and He will say to him: 'Did you see if you had the like of it in this world, would you ransom yourself with all of that from the punishment of the Fire?' He will say: 'Yes, O my Lord.' Allah will say: 'I asked you for something easier than that while you were in the loins of your father Adam, not to associate anything with Me, but you insisted on associating.'" The majority of the reciters and the people read: "will be taken" with a 'ya' from below, and Abu Ja'far the reciter read: "will be taken" with a 'ta' from above, which is the reading of Ibn 'Amir in the narration of Hisham from him. This is the reading of Al-Hasan, Ibn Abi Ishaq, and Al-A'raj. His saying, the Exalted, "It is your protector," the interpreters said: Its meaning is: it is more deserving of you. This is an interpretation by meaning, and it is indeed a metaphor because it encompasses them and is close to them. It supports them and is for them in place of the protector. This is similar to the saying of the poet: "... A greeting among them is a type of beating." And His saying, the Exalted, "Has the time not come" is an initiation of a new meaning. It has been narrated that there was much laughter and joking during some of that period among a group of young Muslims, so this verse was revealed. Ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him, said: The companions became weary of a certain matter, so the verse was revealed. The meaning of "Has the time not come" is: Has the time not arrived? It is said that a thing "comes" when it is due. From this is the saying of the poet: "The decree has come to him on a day, that every bearer will complete her term." Al-Hasan ibn Abi Al-Hasan read: "Has the time not come" and it has been narrated from him that he read: "Has the time not arrived." This verse is in the meaning of urging and reproach. Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with both of them, said: The believers were admonished by this verse after thirteen years from the revelation of the Qur'an. Al-Fadl ibn Musa heard a reciter reciting this verse while Al-Fadl was attempting to commit a sin, and this verse was the cause of his repentance. Al-Thalabi narrated from Ibn Al-Mubarak that in his youth he moved the lute to play it, and suddenly it spoke this verse, so Ibn Al-Mubarak repented, broke the lute, and was granted success.

'And 'khushu' (خشوع) is humility and submission. It is a state that appears in the limbs when it is in the heart. Therefore, the Most High has specified the heart with remembrance. And Shaddad ibn Aws reported from the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, that he said: 'The first thing to be lifted from the people is khushu.' And His saying, the Most High: 'For the remembrance of Allah' means: for the sake of the remembrance of Allah and His revelation that is among them. It is possible that the meaning is: for the sake of reminding them of Allah and His command concerning them. And Asim read in the narration of Hafs: 'And what was revealed' with a light zay. And the others, and Abu Bakr from Asim, read: 'And what was revealed' with a heavy zay, meaning: Allah revealed from the truth. And Abu Amr - in the narration of I'yash - which is the reading of Al-Jahdari and Ibn Al-Qaqa: 'And what was revealed' with a broken and heavy zay. And Nafi, Abu Amr, Al-A'raj, and Abu Ja'far read: 'And they should not be' with ya on the mention of the absent. And Hamza - in what was narrated from him by Sulaiman - read: 'And you should not be' addressing the present.

And the reference in His saying, blessed and exalted is He: 'Like those who were given the Book' is to the Children of Israel contemporary to Moses, may peace and blessings be upon him. And that is why He said: 'Before.' He compared the people of the era of one Prophet to the people of the era of another Prophet. And 'al-amad' (الأمد) was said to mean the waiting for victory, and it was said to mean the waiting for the Day of Resurrection, and it was said to mean the duration of life. And 'qasat' (قست) means: it became hard, and its goodness decreased, and its reaction to acts of obedience diminished, and it became inclined to the disobedience of Allah, glorified and exalted is He, and they committed acts of disobedience and opposition that are well-known about them.

And His saying, the Most High: 'Know that Allah gives life to the earth after its death' is an address to these believers who have been urged to khushu. This is a parable and an invitation to goodness with gentleness and a profound closeness, meaning: do not be far from you, O you who abandon khushu, your return to it and your engagement with it. For indeed, Allah gives life to the earth after its death, and likewise, He does with the hearts, and He returns them to khushu after they have strayed from it. They will return to Him when there is repentance and effort from the servant after their aversion from Him, just as He gives life to the earth after it was dead and barren. And the rest of the verse is clear.