His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "A preventer of good, an aggressor, a sinner; A harsh, after that, a vile person; Because he was one of wealth and children; When Our verses are recited to him, he says, 'Legends of the ancients.' We will mark him on the snout. Indeed, We have tested them as We tested the companions of the garden when they swore they would harvest it in the morning, And did not make exception. So a calamity from your Lord came upon it while they were asleep. And it became as if it had been harvested."

Many of the commentators said: The good here is wealth. He described him with stinginess. Others said: Rather, it is in its generality in wealth and righteous deeds. Whoever is prevented from his faith and obedience has indeed been prevented from good. And "the aggressor" is the one who exceeds the limits of things. And "the sinner" is a term derived from sin, meaning sinful, and that is due to his vile actions that earn sin.

And "the harsh one": is the strong in build, coarse in limbs, rude, hard-hearted, far from understanding, greedy for food and drink, who is at night a corpse and by day a donkey. And all that the commentators have expressed about him in terms of deficiency comes from this which has been mentioned. And it has been reported that the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, explained "the harsh one" in this manner. And these attributes are often associated. And "harshness" means to push with force. Hence, "the harshness" is derived from it. And His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "after that" means: after what We have described him with. This arrangement is in the words of the describer, not in the occurrence of those attributes in the described. Otherwise, his being harsh is before his being a possessor of good that prevents him.

And "the vile one" in the speech of the Arabs means: the one who is attached to a people but is not one of them. Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, explained this verse with it. And Murrah al-Hamdani said: His father claimed him after eighteen years, meaning the one in which this verse was revealed. And from that is the saying of Hassan ibn Thabit:

And you are a vile one, attached to the family of Hashim, As the single cup is attached behind the rider.

And from it is the saying of Hassan also:

A vile one whom men claimed as an addition, As the legs are added to the skin of the hide.

Many of the commentators said: This is what is meant by the verse. That is because al-Akhnas ibn Shariq was from Thaqif, an ally of Quraysh. And Ibn Abbas said: He meant by the vile one that he has a mark on his neck like the mark of a sheep, which is the piece that hangs in its throat. And we did not recognize the one referred to until "vile one" was revealed, and he was recognized by his mark. And Abu Ubaidah said: It is said that the male goat is a vile one; because it has two marks. And from that is the saying of the Bedouin in the description of his sheep: "As if its two marks are two pieces of cloth." It has been narrated that al-Akhnas ibn Shariq had this attribute; he had a mark. And Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that he said: When these attributes were revealed, we did not recognize their owner until "vile one" was revealed, and he was recognized by his mark. And some of the commentators said: The vile one is the one who is suspicious, with vile actions.

And the reading has differed regarding His saying, the Exalted: ﴿that he was one of wealth and children﴾. Ibn Kathir, Nafi', Abu 'Amr, Al-Kisai, and Hafs from Asim, and the people of Medina read: "that he was" as a statement. Hamza read: "Was he that he was" with two softened hamzas as a question. Ibn 'Amir, Al-Hasan, Ibn Abu Ishaq, Asim, and Abu Ja'far read: "Was it that he was" as a question by facilitating the second hamza. The agent for "that" is an implied verb, the meaning of which is: he disbelieved, denied, or was obstinate. This action is explained by His saying, the Exalted: ﴿when it is recited to him﴾. It is permissible for the meaning to act while it is delayed, as His saying, the Exalted: "that he was" is in the position of a circumstance; it is estimated with the letter ل, meaning: for him to have been. Some grammarians have said regarding it: it is in the position of a genitive with ل as if it had appeared. Just as the meaning acted in the preceding circumstance, so it acts in this one. From it is His saying, the Exalted: ﴿He will inform you when you are torn apart, that you will be in a new creation﴾ [Saba: 7]. The agent for "when" is the meaning of His saying, the Exalted: ﴿that you will be in a new creation﴾ [Saba: 7] that you will be resurrected, or something similar in estimation. It is not permissible for "He will inform" to act in "when" because it is added to it, and it has already been added to the sentence. It is not permissible for it to act in "that," as it is a response to "when" and does not act in what precedes it.

Abu Ali permitted that "brutish" could act in it even though it has been described. It is correct - according to this view - that "baseborn" could act in it, especially according to the saying of those who interpret it as one with vile actions. It is permissible for "that he was" to act in "you obey him" which is necessitated by His saying, glorified and exalted is He: "and do not obey". This, according to the reading of the question, is unlikely. Rather, it is directed: do not obey him because of him being such, and for him - in any case - there is an object for that. Reflect. The saying regarding "tales" has previously been mentioned in more than one place.

And His saying, the Exalted: ﴿We will mark him on the snout﴾ means: on the nose, as said by Al-Mubarrid. This is because the snout is metaphorically used for the nose of a human, and its reality is in the snouts of wild beasts. The threat in this verse is not that this person will be marked on his nose with a real mark, but rather this is an expression of an action that resembles marking on the nose. People have differed regarding that action. Ibn 'Abbas said: it is striking with a sword, meaning: he strikes his face and nose, and that comes as a mark on the nose, and that happened to him on the day of Badr. Muhammad ibn Yazid Al-Mubarrid said: that is in the punishment of the Hereafter in Hell, and it is torment with fire on their noses. Others said: that is on the Day of Resurrection, meaning: he will be marked on his nose with a mark by which his disbelief and degradation of status will be known. Qatadah and others said: its meaning is: he will be subjected in this world to blame, hatred, and public disgrace for evil that will remain in him and will not be hidden, so that will be like a mark on the nose, established and evident. This meaning is as if you say: "I will encircle you with the encirclement of the dove," meaning: I have established the matter clearly upon you. And something similar to this is what Jarir intended with his saying:

When I placed my mark on al-Farazdaq, and in the mark on the nose there is a disfigurement, his metaphor in the blame is very eloquent. And if you contemplate the state of Abu Jahl and his peers, and what has been established for them in this world of bad reputation, you will see that they have been branded on their snouts.

The saying of Allah, the Most High: "Indeed, We have tested them," refers to Quraysh, meaning: We have tried them. And "the companions of the garden" - as mentioned - are a people of brothers, whose father had a garden and cultivated land. He would keep from it his sustenance and give charity to the poor with what remained. It is said that he would carry the poor with him at the time of his harvest and would give them from it. Then the old man died, and his son said: We are a group, and our father's action was a mistake, so let us go to our garden, and no poor person should enter it upon us, nor should we give anything from it. So they spent the night with this plan and resolve. Then Allah sent a fire by night or something else, and it was burned. It was said: It became blackened, and it was said: White like the dried, harvested crop. When they arose to their garden, they did not find it, so they thought they had missed the way. Then they recognized it and knew that Allah, the Most High, had afflicted them in it. So they repented at that time and turned back, and they were believers from the people of the Book. Allah, the Most High, likened Quraysh to them, in that He tested them with Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, and guided him just as those were tested by the actions of their father and by the commands of their religion. Just as punishment befell those in their garden, so too will it befall these in all their worldly affairs and lives. Then repentance is offered to whoever remains among them just as those repented. Many of the interpreters said: The seven years that afflicted Quraysh are equivalent to what afflicted those in their garden.

And His saying, the Most High: "They will surely harvest it," means: they will find it. And the harvest of the date palms is the fruit of it, and likewise in every tree. And "in the morning" means: when they enter in the morning. And His saying, glorified is He: "And they will not make exceptions" means: they will not stop in that nor will they turn away from the opinion that prevents the poor. Mujahid said: It means: they will not say "If Allah wills," rather they resolved on that with the resolve of one who controls his affair. And "the night" refers to the matter that comes at night, this specification was mentioned by al-Farra'. And it is countered by His saying, the Most High: "When a touch from the devil touches them" [Al-A'raf: 201]. And "the harvest" was said by al-Farra' and Mundhir and a group: He meant by it the night, in that their corpses became blackened. Others said: He meant by it the morning, in that it became white like the harvested crop. This was said by Sufyan al-Thawri. And "the harvest" is said for both night and day in that each one of them separates from its companion. Ibn Abbas said: "the harvest" is the black ash in the language of Judhaymah. Ibn Abbas also said, and others: "the harvest" is a barren sand in Yemen known for not growing, and he likened their corpses to it.