'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' His saying, exalted and glorious is He: "And how many a town that rebelled against the command of its Lord and His messengers, and We held it to account with a severe account and We punished it with a dreadful punishment." "So it tasted the consequences of its affair, and the outcome of its affair was loss." "Allah has prepared for them a severe punishment. So fear Allah, O people of understanding who have believed. Indeed, Allah has sent down to you a reminder." "A messenger reciting to you the verses of Allah, clear, to bring out those who have believed and done righteous deeds from darknesses into light. And whoever believes in Allah and does righteous deeds, He will admit him to gardens beneath which rivers flow, abiding therein forever. Allah has certainly made for him a good provision." "How many" is the preposition 'kaaf' that has entered upon 'ayyi', and this is the reading of the majority. Ibn Kathir and Ubaid from Abu Amr read: "wa ka'in" with a prolonged and hamzated form, as the poet said: 'And how many a friend in the plains...'. Some of the reciters read: "wa kayin" with an easy hamzah. In these two readings, there is a reversal; because the 'yaa' comes before the 'alif'. And "al-'utuu" means abandoning obedience and acceptance. And His saying, exalted is He: "So We held it to account" Some of the interpreters said: The verse is about the Hereafter, meaning: Then it is the accounting and the punishment and the tasting and the loss of the outcome. Others said: This is in the world, and the meaning of "We held it to account with a severe account" is that We did not overlook any slip, but they were taken to account for the minutiae of sins. Nafi', Abu Bakr, and Ibn Dhakwan read: "nukran" with a dammed 'kaf', while the others made it silent, and this is the reading of 'Isa. And His saying, exalted is He: "Allah has prepared for them a severe punishment" indicates that it is a clarification of the reason for their loss. Thus, it is supported that the accounting, punishment, and tasting are in the world. Then He called upon the people of understanding to fear Him as a warning. And His saying, exalted is He: "who have believed" is an attribute of "the people of understanding". Nafi' and Ibn 'Amir read: "We will admit him" with a 'noon', and likewise Al-Mufaddal narrated from 'Asim. The others read with a 'yaa'. And His saying, exalted is He: "Indeed, Allah has sent down to you a reminder" "a messenger". People differed in the interpretation of this. Some of the interpreters said: The two names refer to the Qur'an, and "a messenger" means a message, and this is found in the speech of the Arabs. Others said: "a messenger" is an adjective or akin to an adjective for His saying, glorified and exalted is He, "a reminder". The meaning is a reminder that is a messenger. It is said that "the messenger" is a translation of "the reminder" as if it is a substitute for it. Others said: Both refer to Muhammad, and the meaning is: a reminder that is a messenger. Some of the skilled interpreters said: The reminder is a name from the names of the messenger, blessings and peace be upon him. And with this, the judge Abu Bakr Al-Baqillani argued in the interpretation of His saying, exalted is He: "No mention comes to them from their Lord that is newly revealed" [Al-Anbiya: 2]. And some grammarians said: The meaning of the verse is: a reminder that was sent as a messenger, so it is understood by an implied verb. Abu Ali Al-Farisi said: It is permissible that "a messenger" is an object for the source which is the reminder.

And the most apparent of the sayings to me means that 'the reminder' is for the Qur'an, and 'the Messenger' is Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him. The meaning is: He sent a Messenger. However, brevity necessitated the shortening of the verb that governs the Messenger. This approach was taken by Al-Suddi.

Nafi', Ibn Kathir, Abu Amr, and Abu Bakr read 'clear signs' with a fatḥah on the ya. Ibn Amer, Hafs, Hamzah, Al-Kisai, Al-Hasan, Al-Amash, and Isa read it with a kasrah on the ya. The rest of the verse is clear, and the provision referred to is the provision of Paradise for its permanence and abundance.