'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' His saying - glorified and exalted is He -: "Indeed, only those who hear will respond; and the dead, Allah will raise them, then to Him they will be returned." "And they said, 'Why has a sign not been sent down to him from his Lord?' Say, 'Indeed, Allah is able to send down a sign, but most of them do not know.'" "And there is no creature on earth, nor a bird that flies with its wings, except [that they are] communities like you. We have not neglected in the Book anything. Then to their Lord they will be gathered." This is from the advanced style of consolation; that is: "Do not concern yourself with those who turn away; for only those who establish the signs will respond to the call of faith; and they receive the proofs with acceptance." Thus, He expressed all of that by saying "hear"; for it is the path to knowledge of prophethood and the miraculous signs. This term is used by the Sufis; when the sermon reaches a sufficient level from someone, they say: "He has heard." Then He, the Exalted, said, "and the dead"; meaning the disbelievers. He expressed them by the opposite of how He expressed the believers; and by the description that resembles their state in blindness from the light of Allah, the Exalted; and deafness to His words. This was said by Mujahid, Qatadah, and Al-Hasan. And "Allah will raise them"; it carries two meanings. Al-Hasan said: Its meaning is: Allah will raise them to believe when He stops them." Al-Qadi Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: The metaphor comes in this interpretation; in both aspects; in naming them "dead"; and in naming their faith and guidance "raising"; and the "and" in this is shared in the subject; it connects "and the dead" to "those who"; and "Allah will raise them"; is in the position of a state; as if the meaning of the verse is: "Indeed, only those who are guided will respond when they hear, so they will believe; and the disbelievers when Allah, the Exalted, guides them by His will; so do not grieve; nor be hasty for what has not been decreed." Al-Hasan read: "Then to Him they will return"; thus the verse is consistent. And Mujahid and Qatadah said: "and the dead": meaning: "the disbelievers"; that is: "they are like the dead when they do not see guidance; nor do they hear so they understand." And "Allah will raise them"; meaning: "He will gather them on the Day of Resurrection"; "then to Him"; that is: "to His might and punishment, they will be returned"; and this group read "they will be returned" with a 'ya'; and the 'wa' in this is a conjunction of one sentence to another; and "the dead" is the subject; and "Allah will raise them" is its predicate; so the meaning of the verse is: "Indeed, only those who hear and understand will respond; and the disbelievers, Allah, the Exalted, will raise them and return them to His punishment"; thus the verse is inclusive of a warning to the disbelievers; and the referent of "those who" is the pronoun in "hear"; and the pronoun in "and they said" refers back to the disbelievers; and "if not" is an emphasis meaning: "why not"; the poet said:

You count the slaughter of the she-camel as your greatest glory, O sons of Dawtar, if not for the concealed spear.

(p-357) And the meaning of the verse: "Why was a clear statement not sent down to Muhammad - blessings and peace be upon him -; so that there would be no hesitation from anyone; like an angel who witnesses for him; or more - or other than that from their excesses preserved in this -?"; So he was commanded - blessings and peace be upon him - to respond to them that Allah - Exalted and Majestic - has the power to send down that verse; but most of them do not know that if it were to be sent down; and they did not believe; they would be hastened to punishment; and it is possible that ﴿but most of them do not know﴾; that Allah, the Most High, has indeed made the benefit in verses that are open to reflection; for some to be guided; and others to go astray.

And His saying, Exalted is He, ﴿And there is no creature﴾; the meaning in this verse is a reminder of Allah's verses that exist in the types of His creations; that is: "Say to them: Indeed, Allah, the Most High, is capable of sending down a verse; except that you do not know the reason for the wisdom in not sending down a prepared verse; rather, He refers to the verses that are set for those who think and reflect; like the animals; and the birds which encompass all living beings; and they are nations; that is, groups similar to humans in creation; and sustenance; and life; and death; and resurrection"; and it is possible that He means by similarity that they are in being nations; nothing else; as when you say: "I passed by a man like you"; that is: in that he is a man; and it is valid in other than that from the descriptions; except that the benefit in this verse is that the similarity must be in descriptions other than being nations; Al-Tabari and others said: and the similarity is in that they are held accountable for their deeds; and they will be punished; and retribution will be taken from some of them for others; as has been narrated in the hadiths; that is: if He does this with the animals; then you are more deserving; since you are responsible and rational; and Abu Dharr narrated that "two goats butted heads in the presence of the Prophet - blessings and peace be upon him - and he said: 'Do you know what they butted over?' We said: No; he said: 'Indeed, Allah knows; and He will judge between them'"; and it has been said by Makki: "The similarity is in that they recognize Allah, the Most High; and worship Him"; and this is the saying of a minority.

(p-358) And "creature"; its weight is "fa'ilah"; and it is a description that has been placed in the position of a noun; as they said: "the lame"; and "the striped"; and the meaning of the description has been removed from it; and it is not the predominant description in our saying: "Al-Abbas"; and "Al-Harith"; because the meaning of the description remains in the predominant description.

And a group read: "and no bird"; as an addition to the wording; and Ibrahim ibn Abi Ablah read: "and no bird"; in the nominative; as an addition to the meaning; and a group read: "and no birds"; which is the plural of "bird".

And His saying: ﴿"With its wings";﴾ is an affirmation; and clarification; and removal of the metaphor commonly associated with this term; for it may be said: "the bird of good fortune; and the bird of misfortune"; and Allah, Exalted is He, said ﴿We have bound his fate to his neck﴾ [Al-Isra: 13]; that is: his deed; and it is said: "So-and-so's bird has flown"; that is: his share in the distributions; so His saying, Exalted is He, "with its wings"; removes the bird from all of this.

And Alqamah and Ibn Hurmuz read: "We have been negligent in the Book"; with the lightening of the letter 'ra'; and the meaning is the same. And Al-Naqqash said: "We have been negligent" - when lightened - means: we have delayed; as they said: "May Allah remove the illness from you"; meaning: He has removed it. And the first is more correct. And negligence is: the shortcoming in something; while being able to avoid the shortcoming. And "the Book" is: the Qur'an; and it is what the system of meaning in these verses necessitates. And it was said: the Preserved Tablet. And "from anything" - according to this saying - is general in all things; and according to the saying that it is the Qur'an, it is specific to the things that contain benefits for the addressees; and their ways of guidance. And "they will be gathered": a group said: the gathering of animals is their death; and a group said: their gathering is their resurrection. And they argued with the hadiths that include that Allah, the Exalted, will take retribution for the horned from the hornless. [And the saying in the hadiths that include that Allah, the Exalted, will take retribution for the horned from the hornless]: "It is merely a metaphor for justice; and it is not a reality"; so it is a rejected saying; leaning towards the saying of symbols; and similar to it.