His saying - glorified and exalted is He -: "And if We had sent down to them the angels and the dead spoke to them and We gathered upon them every thing face to face, they would not have believed except that Allah wills. But most of them are ignorant." "And thus We have made for every prophet an enemy, devils among mankind and jinn, inspiring some of them to others with adorned speech as a delusion. And if your Lord had willed, they would not have done it. So leave them and what they invent."

Allah - glorified and exalted is He - informed in this verse that if He had brought forth all that they proposed; from sending down the angels; and reviving their ancestors; according to what some of them proposed that Qusayy should be gathered; and others; to inform them of the truth of Muhammad; or that everything that could be rationally gathered upon them should be gathered; they would not have believed except by the will and grace that He creates; and invents in the soul of whom He wills; there is no Lord other than Him; and this includes a response to the Mu'tazila in their saying about the verses that compel the disbelievers to believe. Ibn Jurayj said: This verse was revealed concerning the mockers; and the judge Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: It is not established except by a chain of narration.

Nafi' and Ibn 'Amir and others read: "Qibalan" with the qaf broken and the ba opened; and its meaning is: "facing; and witnessing"; this was said by Ibn Abbas - may Allah be pleased with them both - and others; and its accusative case is for the state; and Al-Mubarrad said: The meaning is: "side"; as you say: "I have a debt to so-and-so."

The judge Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: So its accusative case - on this - is for the circumstance; and 'Asim and Hamzah and Al-Kisai and others read: "Qubulan" with the qaf pronounced and the ba; and likewise Ibn Kathir and Abu 'Amr read here; and he read: "The punishment (p-443) Qibalan" with the qaf broken; and there was disagreement about its meaning; so Abdullah ibn Zayd and Mujahid and Ibn Zayd said: "Qubul" is the plural of "Qabil"; meaning: type by type; and kind by kind; as "Qadhib" is pluralized to "Qudhuf"; and others; and Al-Farra' and Al-Zajjaj said: It is the plural of "Qabil"; and it is: "the guarantor"; meaning: "And We gathered upon them every thing as guarantors of the truth of Muhammad - blessings and peace be upon him"; and Al-Farisi mentioned it; and weakened it; and some said: "Qubul" with the damma; meaning: "Qibal" with the qaf broken; that is: "facing"; as you say: "Qabul" and "Dubar"; and from it is His saying - glorified and exalted is He -: "It was cut from the front" [Yusuf: 26]; and from it is the reading of Ibn 'Umar - may Allah be pleased with them both -: "For the front of their waiting periods"; meaning: for its reception; and facing it in time; and Al-Hasan and Abu Rujai and Abu Haywah read: "Qublan" with the qaf pronounced and the ba silent; and that is in the manner of easing; and Talhah ibn Musarif read: "Qablan" with the qaf opened and the ba silent; and Ubayy and Al-Amash read: "Qabilan" with the qaf opened and the ba broken and an additional ya; and the accusative case in all of this is for the state.

And His saying - glorified and exalted is He -: ﴿But most of them are ignorant﴾; the pronoun refers back to the disbelievers mentioned earlier; and the meaning is: "They are ignorant that the verse necessitates their faith; and it is necessary"; thus, the wording implies that the lesser one does not remain ignorant; among them were those who believed that if the verse were to come, they would not believe except if Allah, the Exalted, willed that for them.

And His saying, the Exalted, ﴿And thus We have made for every Prophet﴾; the verse includes consolation for the Prophet - blessings and peace be upon him - and presenting the example to him; meaning: "Indeed, this which you have been tested with, O Muhammad; from the enemies; has also been tested with by others among the Prophets; so that Allah, the Exalted, may test those of strong resolve among them"; and "an enemy" is singular in meaning of the plural; and its accusative case is for the first object of "We have made"; and the second object is in His saying: "for every Prophet"; and "devils" is a substitute for His saying - glorified is He -: "an enemy"; and it is correct that the first object is "devils"; and the second is "an enemy"; and His saying, the Exalted, ﴿devils of mankind and jinn﴾; He means by it the rebellious ones - from both types - who are (p-444) of the traits of evil; like the devils; and this is the saying of a group of the interpreters; and it is supported by the hadith of "Abu Dharr - may Allah be pleased with him - that he prayed one day; and the Messenger of Allah - blessings and peace be upon him - said to him: "Seek refuge, O Abu Dharr, from the devils of jinn and mankind"; he said: Is there among mankind devils? He said: "Yes";" Al-Suddi and Ikrimah said: The intended meaning of the devils is: those assigned to mankind; and the devils assigned to the believers of the jinn; and they claimed that the jinn have devils assigned to mislead them; and that they inspire the devils of mankind with evil; and whispering; some of them learn it from others; they said: and there are no devils among mankind.

Abu Muhammad the judge - may Allah have mercy on him - said: And this saying does not rely on a report; nor on reasoning.

And "He inspires"; its meaning is: He casts it in secrecy; it is like conversing; and whispering; and ﴿the embellishment of speech﴾; its meaning is: "beautifying it; and adorning it with falsehoods"; this was said by Ikrimah; and Mujahid; and embellishment is mostly used in evil and falsehood; and "deception"; it is in the accusative case for the source; and its meaning is that they deceive with it the misled ones; and they make them believe that they are upon something; while the matter is contrary; and the pronoun in His saying, the Exalted, "they did it"; refers back to their belief in enmity; and it is possible that it refers to the revelation which is included in "He inspires";

And His saying, the Exalted, ﴿So leave them and what they invent﴾; the wording includes the command to be conciliatory; abrogated by the verses of fighting; Qatadah said: Every "leave" in the Book of Allah, the Exalted, is abrogated by fighting; and "they invent"; its meaning is: "they differ; and they fabricate"; and it is from "al-firyah"; likening it to the splitting of leather.