His saying, exalted and glorified is He: "Say, 'Indeed, knowledge is only with Allah, and I am but a clear warner.'" "So when they saw it approaching, the faces of those who disbelieved became contorted, and it was said, 'This is what you were calling for.'" "Say, 'Have you considered: if Allah should destroy me and those with me, or have mercy upon us, who could protect the disbelievers from a painful punishment?'" "Say, 'He is the Most Merciful; we have believed in Him, and upon Him we have relied. So you will surely know who is in clear error.'" "Say, 'Have you considered: if your water should become sunken [into the earth], then who could bring you flowing water?'"

Allah, the Most High, commanded His Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, to inform them that the knowledge of the Day of Resurrection and the promise of truth is something that only Allah, the Most High, possesses. Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, is merely a warner who knows what he has been taught and is informed of what he has been commanded to convey.

His saying, the Most High: "So when they saw it," the pronoun refers to the punishment that is included in the promise. This is a narration of a state that will come, and the meaning is: when they see it. And "approaching" means: near. Al-Hasan said: visibly. Ibn Zayd said: present. And "contorted" means: evil appeared in it. The majority of the people read: "contorted" with a kasra (a vowel mark) on the letter 's'. Abu Ja'far, Al-Hasan, Nafi', Ibn Kathir, Abu Rajaa, Shaiba, Ibn Wathab, and Talha read it with a slight merging between the dhamma (a vowel mark) and the kasra. The majority of the people read: "you were calling for" with a fatha (a vowel mark) on the letter 'd' and a shadda (a doubling mark), in the form of taf'ailun, meaning: you were discussing the matter among yourselves. Al-Hasan said: you were claiming that there is no Paradise or Hell. Abu Rajaa, Al-Hasan, Al-Dahhak, Qatadah, and Ibn Yasar read: "you are calling for" with the letter 'd' being silent, meaning: you are hastening, like their saying: "Hasten to us our share" [Sad: 16], "So rain down upon us stones" [Al-Anfal: 32], and others.

It has been narrated regarding the interpretation of His saying, the Most High: "Say, 'Have you considered: if Allah should destroy me and those with me, or have mercy upon us,'" that they used to call for the destruction of Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, and his companions. It was said: rather, they were conspiring among themselves to destroy them through fighting and the like. So Allah, the Most High, said to him: say to them: have you considered if this which you desire for us were to happen to us, or have you considered if Allah had mercy upon us and granted us victory and did not destroy us? Who would protect you from the punishment that your disbelief necessitates in any case? Ibn Kathir, Nafi', Abu Amr, Ibn Amer, and Hafs from Asim read: "If Allah should destroy me and those with me" with the two 'y' letters being in the accusative case, while Al-Kisai and Asim - in the narration of Abu Bakr - kept the 'y' in "with me" silent. Hamzah read with both 'y' letters silent. Al-Hasan narrated from Nafi' that he kept the 'y' in "destroy me" silent. Abu Ali said: the movement of the two 'y' letters is good and is the original, and the silence - due to the dislike of movement in the letter of softness - is to avoid that.

And Al-Kisai read alone: "So they will know" with the 'ya', while the others read with the 'ta' in the address form. Then He, the Exalted, stopped them at their waters from which they live. If it were to sink - meaning, to go into the earth - who would bring them abundant water that is sufficient? And "the sinking" is a source described in the meaning of exaggeration. From it is the saying of the Bedouin: "And the dust departed as a torrent and the water sank." And "the spring" is a form from "the water was abundant" or a passive form from "the eye", meaning: flowing like the eye. Its origin is "ma'iyun". It is said that it is from "the eye" but from the perspective of what is seen by the human eye, not from the perspective of resembling the flowing eye. Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "a spring": sweet. And from him - in the book of Al-Thaalabi - "a spring": flowing. And in the book of Al-Niqash: "a spring": pure. Some of the interpreters and Ibn Al-Kalbi said: This water refers to the well of Zamzam and the well of Maymun. It seems that these are the major waters of Mecca, otherwise there are many wells in it such as Khamm and Al-Jafr and others.

The interpretation of Surah Al-Mulk is complete, and all praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.