His saying - glorified and exalted is He -: "And certainly, messengers were mocked before you, so what befell those who mocked them was that which they used to mock." "Say, 'Travel in the land, then observe how was the end of the deniers.'" It was read: "And certainly"; with a dammah on the dal; due to the dammah after the silent letter that follows the dal; and it was read with a kasrah on the dal; based on the convention of meeting. This is a consolation for the Prophet - blessings and peace be upon him - by the example of the messengers; and a strengthening for his soul against the arguments of the polytheists; and a notification that includes a warning for his deniers; and those who mocked. And "so what befell"; its meaning is: descended; and surrounded; and it is specific to evil; it is said: "befell; befalls; befalling"; and from it is the saying of the poet:

So he trampled the horse's back in their homeland ∗∗∗ and what befell them from the might of Dhabbah surrounded.

And some people said: The root of "befell" is "to be true"; so the single qaf was substituted; just as the noon was substituted in: "I thought."

Qadi Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: And this is weak.

And "what" in His saying: "what they used to mock" [Al-An'am: 5]; it is valid that it means "that which"; and it is valid that it is with the verb by the interpretation of the source; as if he said: "their mocking"; and this is a metaphor for punishment; just as one threatens a person; so you say: "Your deeds will catch up with you"; and the meaning is: its consequence; and "mocked"; its meaning is: they mocked.

And His saying, the Exalted: "Say, 'Travel...'"; the verse; is an encouragement to reflect on the traces of those who have passed; from those who acted as they did; and He said: "was"; and did not say: "were"; because the feminine of consequence is not real; and it is in the meaning of: "the last"; and "the end."

And the meaning of the verse is: "Travel and receive from those who have traveled"; because obtaining the lesson from the traces of those who have passed indeed relies on the sense of sight.