'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' His saying - glorified and exalted is He -: ﴿And when a sign came to them, they said, 'We will never believe until we are given the like of what the messengers of Allah were given.' Allah knows best where He places His message. He will inflict humiliation upon those who have committed crimes before Allah, and a severe punishment for what they used to devise.﴾ ﴿So whoever Allah intends to guide, He opens his chest to Islam; and whoever He intends to misguide, He makes his chest tight and constricted as though he were climbing up to the sky. Thus Allah places defilement upon those who do not believe.﴾ This verse is a verse of condemnation for the disbelievers and a warning to them. He says: 'And when a sign and evidence of the truth of the Shari'ah came to them, they became obstinate and withdrew, and they said:

And His saying, exalted is He, "He expands his breast"; the words here are borrowed. For "expansion" means: the widening; and the spreading in bodies. If the body is expanded and widened, it is prepared to be filled. So he likened the preparation of the heart and its illumination; and its readiness for acceptance; to expansion and widening. He likened its acceptance and attainment of faith to being filled in the expanded body. And the "breast" refers to the heart; which is the intended meaning. For faith is one of its qualities; and likewise, Islam is a term for faith; as Islam is broader than it. The intended meaning here is only faith; as indicated by the context of expansion and guidance. However, he expressed it with Islam; since it is broader; and the least of guidance is the love of good deeds; and the adherence to acts of worship. And in "He expands"; there is a pronoun referring back to guidance; he said: and its reference to Allah, exalted and majestic, is clearer.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: The saying that the pronoun refers back to the Mahdi is a statement that leads to the doctrine of the Qadariyyah; regarding the creation of actions. It should be believed that it is weak; and that the pronoun indeed refers back to the name of Allah, exalted and majestic; for this is supported by the wording and meaning. It has been narrated "from the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, that when this verse was revealed, they said: O Messenger of Allah, how is the breast expanded? He said: 'When the light descends into the heart, the breast expands and opens.' They said: Is there a sign for that, O Messenger of Allah? He said: 'Yes; turning to the abode of eternity; and distancing oneself from the abode of deception; and preparing for death before it is too late.'"

And the saying in His saying, exalted is He, "And whoever intends to misguide him"; is like the saying in His saying, glorified and exalted is He, "So whoever Allah intends to guide"; and His saying, exalted is He, "He makes his breast tight and constricted"; are borrowed words that oppose the expansion of the breast for Islam. And "He makes" - in this context - means: "He decrees for him this decree"; as you say: "This makes Basra a city"; meaning: He decrees for it its ruling.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: And this meaning is close to: "He made"; and Abu Ali al-Farisi mentioned it; and he also said: It is correct that "He made" can mean "He named"; as He, exalted is He, said, "And they made the angels who are the servants of the Most Merciful female" [Az-Zukhruf: 19]; meaning: "They named them"; he said: And this verse can bear this meaning.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: And this interpretation is weak in this verse.

And the majority of the people, and the seven - except for Ibn Kathir - read: "ضَيِّقًا"; with a kasrah on the ya and its emphasis. Ibn Kathir read: "ضَيْقًا"; with a sukoon on the ya; and he also read it in "اَلْفُرْقان". Abu Ali said: They are like: "اَلْمَيِّتُ"; and "اَلْمَيْتُ". Al-Tabari said: They are like: "اَلْهَيِّنُ"; and "اَللَّيِّنُ"; and "اَلْهَيْنُ"; and "اَللَّيْنُ". He said: It is correct that "اَلضَّيْقُ"; can be a source; from your saying: "ضاقَ الأمْرُ; يَضِيقُ; ضَيْقًا; وضِيقًا". It was reported from Al-Kisai that he said: "اَلضِّيقُ"; with emphasis on the dhad and a kasrah: in matters and livelihoods; and "اَلضَّيْقُ"; with a fatha on the dhad: in affairs and meanings.

And Ibn Kathir; and Abu Amr; and Ibn Amer; and Hamzah; and Al-Kisai read: "حَرَجًا"; with a fatha on the ra. Nafi and Asim, in the narration of Abu Bakr - may Allah be pleased with him - read: "حَرِجًا"; with a kasrah. Abu Ali said: Whoever opened the ra was describing with the source; as you say: "رَجُلٌ قَمَنٌ بِكَذا"; and "حَرَيٌ بِكَذا"; and "دَنَفٌ"; and whoever broke the ra is like "دَنِفٌ"; and "قَمِنٌ"; and "فَرِقٌ". It was narrated that Umar ibn Al-Khattab - may Allah be pleased with him - read it one day with a fatha on the ra; then some of the companions read it to him with a kasrah on the ra; so he said: "Bring me a man from Kinanah; and let him be a shepherd from Banu Mudlij." When he came to him, he said to him: "O young man; what is the حَرَجَةُ among you?" He said: The tree that is among the trees and no shepherd or wild animal can reach it. Umar - may Allah be pleased with him - said: "So is the heart of the hypocrite; nothing good reaches it."

And His saying, the Exalted, ﴿كَأنَّما يَصَّعَّدُ في السَماءِ﴾; means: As if this constricted chest is trying to ascend to the sky whenever it attempts faith; or thinks about it; and finds its difficulty upon it like the difficulty of ascending to the sky. Ibn Jurayj; and Ata Al-Khurasani; and Al-Suddi said this interpretation. Ibn Jubair said: The meaning is: He finds no way except ascending due to the intensity of the constriction.

And Nafi; and Abu Amr; and Ibn Amer; and Hamzah; and Al-Kisai read: "يَصَّعَّدُ"; with the idgham of the ta; from "يَتَصَعَّدُ"; in the sad. Asim read, in the narration of Abu Bakr - may Allah be pleased with him -: "يَصّاعَدُ"; with the idgham of the ta; from "يَتَصاعَدُ في السَماءِ"; and Ibn Kathir alone read: "يَصْعَدُ"; and Ibn Mas'ud; and Al-A'mash; and Ibn Musarif read: "يَتَصَعَّدُ"; with the addition of a ta.

And "فِي السَماءِ"; means: from below to above in the air. Abu Ali said: He did not mean the sky as a canopy in itself; rather it is as Sibawayh said: "And the long chain is in a place without a sky"; meaning: in a place without elevation ascending; he said: And from this is His saying - the Mighty and Majestic -: ﴿قَدْ نَرى تَقَلُّبَ وجْهِكَ في السَماءِ﴾ [Al-Baqarah: 144]; meaning: in the directions of the atmosphere.

The judge Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: And this is contrary to those who interpreted "the turning of the face" as being the supplication to Allah - the Mighty and Majestic - for guidance to a qiblah. For with the supplication, it is appropriate that he turns his face towards the sky, the shade, according to the custom of those who supplicate. They have become accustomed to the arrival of blessings and favors from that direction. The verse may imply a comparison to one ascending a difficult slope, as if he is rising with the air. And "to ascend" means to rise; and "to strive to ascend" means to exert effort in that which is difficult for him. Among them is the saying of Umar ibn al-Khattab - may Allah be pleased with him -: "Nothing has been as difficult for me as the speech of marriage." And there are other evidences. And "to strive to ascend" in meaning is similar to "to ascend."

And His saying - the Most High - ﴿Thus Allah makes the impure﴾; that is: And just as all of this guidance and misguidance is by the will of Allah - the Mighty and Majestic - so Allah makes the impure. The people of language said: The impure means punishment; and it also means filth. Al-Tabari reported from Mujahid that he said: The impure is everything that has no good in it. And some of the Kufans said: The impure and the filth are two words with the same meaning. And "makes" - in this context - it is good that it means "casts"; as you say: "I made your belongings some of them upon others"; and as He - the Mighty and Majestic - said: ﴿And He makes the evil some of it upon others﴾ [Al-Anfal: 37].

The judge Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: And this meaning of "made" was narrated by Abu Ali al-Farisi; and it is good that "makes" - in this verse - means: "turns into"; and the second object may be included in ﴿upon those who do not believe﴾; as if He said - glorified and exalted is He -: "the companion of those"; or: "the associate of those"; and similar to that.