His saying - glorified and exalted is He -: "And with Him are the keys of the unseen; none knows them except Him. And He knows what is in the land and the sea. And not a leaf falls but He knows it, nor a grain in the darkness of the earth, nor anything fresh or dry except in a clear record." "And He is the One who takes your souls by night and knows what you earn by day. Then He raises you therein to an appointed term. Then to Him is your return, and He will inform you of what you used to do."

"Keys": the plural of "key"; and this is a metaphor; it is an expression for gaining access to the unseen, just as one uses a key to access what is hidden from a person; and if it were the plural of "key" in the form of "Mafatih," it would have been said: "Mafatih." It also appears that "Mafatih" is the plural of "Miftah" with the opening of the 'm', meaning: places that open to the unseen; and this is supported by the saying of Al-Suddi and others: "The keys of the unseen are the treasures of the unseen." As for "Miftah" with the kasrah, it means "key"; and Al-Zahrawi said: "Miftah" is more eloquent; and Ibn Abbas - may Allah be pleased with him and his father - and others said: the reference in "the keys of the unseen" is to the five mentioned at the end of "Luqman": "Indeed, Allah has with Him the knowledge of the Hour" [Luqman: 34]; because it encompasses all things that have not yet come into existence. Then he strengthened the statement by saying: "And He knows what is in the land and the sea"; as a warning about the greatest creatures that are near to humans; and His saying: "from a leaf"; refers to its reality in the leaves of plants; and "from" is extra; and "except He knows it" means: in general; before falling, with it, and after it; and "nor a grain in the darkness of the earth" means: in the most severe state of concealment; and all of this - even if it is included in His saying: "And with Him are the keys of the unseen"; with those who see it in the five and others - contains the explanation, clarification, and warning about the places of lessons; meaning: "If these insignificant things are known, then the greater things are even more likely to be known."

"And not anything fresh or dry"; it is connected to the wording; and Al-Hasan and Abdullah ibn Abi Ishaq read: "And not anything fresh or dry" with the raising; connected to the position in "leaf"; because the estimation is: "And not a leaf falls"; and "except in a clear record"; it is said: meaning "a record" in reality; and the benefit in it is the testing of what the guardians write; and it has been narrated that the guardians raise what they have written and compare it with this record referred to, to verify the accuracy of what they have written; and it is said: the intended meaning of His saying: "except in a record" is the knowledge of Allah - glorified and exalted is He - that encompasses all things; and Al-Naqqash narrated from Ja'far ibn Muhammad a saying: "Indeed, the leaf refers to the falling of the children of Adam - peace be upon him -; and the grain refers to that which does not fall; and the fresh refers to the living; and the dry refers to the dead." And this saying follows the way of symbols; and it is not authentic from Ja'far ibn Muhammad - may Allah be pleased with him - and it should not be paid attention to.

And His saying, exalted is He, "And He is the One who takes you at night and knows"; the verse; in it is clarification of the verses designated for reflection; and in it is an example for resurrection from the graves; that this is also a death and resurrection in a manner similar to that.

And "taking" is the completion of a number; the poet said: (p-378)

Indeed, the sons of Al-Adram are not from anyone ∗∗∗ and Quraysh did not take them in number.

And the term has become customary in death; and it is in sleep with some figurative meaning.

And "you have earned" means: you have gained; and from it are the "jawarih" of hunting; meaning: its gainers; and from it are the "jawarih" of the body; because they are the gainers of the soul; and it is possible that "you have earned" here is from "al-jarh"; as if the sin is a wound in religion; and the Arabs say: "the wound of the tongue is like the wound of the hand"; and it has been narrated from Ibn Mas'ud - or Salman - that Ibn Dinar doubted - that he said: "Indeed, these sins are wounds; some of them are minor; and some of them are fatal; and indeed, associating partners with Allah, exalted is He, is fatal."

And "He will resurrect you"; means awakening; so in "in it"; the reference is to the day; this was said by Mujahid; and Qatadah; and Al-Suddi; and he mentioned sleep with the night; and awakening with the day; according to the majority; even if sleep occurs during the day; and awakening at night; which is rare; and it is possible that the pronoun returns to "taking"; meaning: "He will awaken you in the taking"; that is: "in its midst; and its occurrences"; this was said by Abdullah ibn Kathir; and it is said that it returns to the night; and this is uncertainty in the wording; and in meaning it is similar to what was before.

And Talhah ibn Musarif read; and Abu Rajaa: "to fulfill a specified term"; and what is meant by the term are the terms of the children of Adam; "Then to Him is your return"; meaning: by resurrection; and revival; "Then He will inform you"; that is: He will inform you of a notification of accountability and reckoning.