'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' His saying - glorified and exalted is He -: "Say, 'Is there other than Allah I should take as a protector, Creator of the heavens and the earth, and He feeds but is not fed?' Say, 'Indeed, I have been commanded to be the first of those who submit, and do not be among the polytheists.'" "Say, 'Indeed, I fear, if I disobey my Lord, the punishment of a great Day.'" "Whoever is turned away from it on that Day, he has certainly received mercy from Him, and that is the evident success." Al-Tabari and others said: He was commanded to say this statement to the disbelievers who called him to worship their idols; thus, the verse comes - in this regard - as a response to their words. Al-Qadi Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: This interpretation requires a chain of narration to support that this was revealed as a response; otherwise, the apparent meaning of the verse does not include it; and the eloquent interpretation is that when he established with them that Allah, the Exalted, has what is in the heavens and the earth; and that He has what dwells in the night and the day; and that He is All-Hearing, All-Knowing; he was commanded to say to them - in the manner of reprimand and stopping -: 'Is there other than this, who has these attributes, I should take as a protector?' Meaning that this is a mistake; if I were to do it, it would be clear; and the strength of the words indicates that whoever does it among other people is clearly in error; and 'I should take' is the operative phrase in his saying: 'other than' and in his saying: 'a protector'; one of the two objects has preceded. The protector: is a general term for a deity; and other than that from the means that connect between the servant and his Lord, the Exalted; then he took in the attributes of Allah, the Exalted; and said: 'Creator' - with a lowering of the letter 'ra'; an attribute of Allah, the Exalted; and 'created' means: invented; and created; and initiated; and 'created' - also in the language - means: split; and from it: "Do you see any fissures?" [Al-Mulk: 3]; meaning: from splits; and from this is the splitting of the sky; and in this regard, their saying is valid: 'The camel's tooth has split' when it comes out; because it splits the gum; and Ibn Abbas - may Allah be pleased with both of them - said: I did not know the meaning of: "Creator of the heavens" until two Bedouins disputed to me about a well; and one of them said: 'I created it'; meaning: I invented it; and initiated it. Al-Qadi Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: Ibn Abbas carried it in this direction; and it is also valid to carry it in the other direction; that he split the earth and the well when he dug it. Ibn Abi Abla read: 'Creator' - with a raising of the letter 'ra'; on a hidden subject of beginning; or on the beginning. "He feeds but is not fed": the intended meaning is: He provides sustenance; and is not provided for; and He specified feeding from types of sustenance; due to the pressing need for it; and its fame; and its specificity to humans; and Yamān the Ammani and Ibn Abi Abla read: 'He feeds' - with a damma on the 'ya' and a kasra on the 'ain'; in the second like the first; meaning the idol that he does not feed; and Mujahid and Sa'id ibn Jubair and Al-Amash and Abu Haywah and Amr ibn Ubaid and Abu Amr ibn Al-Ala - in a narration from him - in the second: 'and does not feed' - with a fatha on the 'ya'; on the future of 'to eat'; so it is a description that includes the declaration of purity; meaning: he does not eat; and does not resemble the created beings.

And His saying, exalted is He, ﴿Say, 'Indeed, I have been commanded'﴾; up to ﴿great﴾; the interpreters said: The meaning is: 'The first one to embrace Islam from this nation; and by this legislation.' The words do not imply anything other than that. A group said: There is an omission in the words; its estimation is: 'And it was said to me: And do not be among the polytheists.'

Qadi Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: (p-325) The summary of this is that he - blessings and peace be upon him - was commanded; and it was said to him: 'Be the first to embrace Islam; and do not be among the polytheists.' So when he was commanded in the verse to say what he was commanded with; some of that came in meaning; and some of it in the exact wording.

And the word 'I disobeyed' is general in types of disobedience; but here it refers specifically to the polytheism that he was forbidden from; and the great day is the Day of Resurrection.

Ibn Kathir, Nafi, Abu Amr, Ibn Amer, and Asim read: 'Whoever is turned away from it' with a damma on the ya and a fatha on the ra; and the object to which the action is ascribed is the pronoun referring back to the punishment; it is implied. Hamza, Al-Kisai, and Asim - also - read: 'Whoever turns away from it'; thus attributing the action to the pronoun referring back to 'my Lord'; and it works in the pronoun of the punishment mentioned earlier; but it is an omitted object. It has been reported that it appeared in the reading of Abdullah; and it is: 'Whoever turns him away from it that day'; and in the reading of Ubayy ibn Ka'b: 'Whoever Allah turns away from him'; and it was said: 'Whoever Allah turns away from him.' Abu Ali said: And omitting this pronoun is not good; as omitting the pronoun from the relative clause is good; as His saying, exalted and glorified is He: ﴿Is this the one whom Allah has sent as a messenger﴾ [Al-Furqan: 41]; and as His saying: ﴿And peace be upon His servants whom He has chosen﴾ [An-Naml: 59]; its meaning is: 'He sent him' and 'He chose them'; and this is good for its length; as Sibawayh explained it; but this is not good for the lack of connection. Some people said: The reading with a fatha on the ya 'Whoever turns away' is better; because it is more suitable with: ﴿Indeed, He has had mercy on him﴾; and it would have been more appropriate - according to the other reading - 'Indeed, he has been shown mercy'; so that the two actions correspond.

Qadi Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: And this is a verbal explanation with a light connection; and as for the meaning, the two readings are one; and a group preferred the reading with a damma on the ya; because it is less implicit; and Abu Ali pointed to the improvement of the reading with a fatha on the ya by what we mentioned; and as for Makki ibn Abi Talib - may Allah have mercy on him - he stumbled in his book 'Al-Hidayah' regarding the preference of the reading with a fatha on the ya; and he exemplified in his argument with invalid examples; and Allah, exalted is He, is the Guardian of success.

(p-326) And 'He had mercy' is an agent for the connected pronoun; which is the pronoun of 'whoever'; and it is based on the pronoun referring back to 'my Lord'; and His saying: 'And that' is an indication of turning away the punishment; and of mercy; and of victory; and of salvation.