His saying, exalted and majestic is He:

﴿So they called out to one another in the morning﴾ ﴿To go to your harvest if you are going to cut it﴾ ﴿So they set out while whispering﴾ ﴿That no poor person should enter upon you today﴾ ﴿And they went out in a determined manner﴾ ﴿But when they saw it, they said, 'Indeed, we are lost'﴾ ﴿Rather, we are deprived﴾ ﴿The middle of them said, 'Did I not tell you, if only you would glorify [Allah]?'﴾ ﴿They said, 'Glory be to our Lord, indeed we were wrongdoers.'﴾

"They called out" means: some of them called to one another to proceed to their appointment. Some of the seven reciters read: "To go to your harvest" with a dammah on the noon, and some of them with a kasrah. This has been mentioned several times before. And His saying, exalted and majestic is He: ﴿If you are going to cut it﴾ could mean from "the cutting of the date palms," and it could mean: if you are of those who are determined and resolute in your opinion, as in your saying: "A sharp sword."

And "whispering" means: they spoke in a low voice. From it is His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "And do not whisper with it," (p-374) and this whispering was out of fear that the poor might sense them. Their words with which they were whispering were: ﴿That no poor person should enter upon you today﴾. Ibn Mas'ud and Ibn Abi 'Ablah read: "no poor person should enter upon you" without the "that."

And His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "In a determined manner" could mean: in a state of prevention, from their saying: "The camels have become scarce" when their milk is lessened and they are prevented from it. And "the year has become barren" when it is desolate and has no produce. From it is the saying of the poet:

؎ And the barren land has become desolate, and there was no successor for the pot of the borrowers.

And it could mean by "determined" intention, and this is how some linguists have interpreted it, and they recited:

؎ A flood came from Allah ∗∗∗ that intends the intention of the garden.

Meaning: it aims for its purpose. And it could mean by "determined": anger. It is said: "The man became angry" when he was enraged, and from it is the saying of Ashhab ibn Rumaylah:

؎ Fierce lions met hidden lions ∗∗∗ they drank upon the determination of the blood of the lions.

(p-375) And His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "In a determined manner" could mean they are capable in their claim, and it could mean from the estimation, as if they had estimated against the poor, meaning they made it difficult for them. From it is His saying, exalted and majestic is He: ﴿And whoever is restricted in his provision﴾ [At-Talaq: 7]. And His saying, exalted and majestic is He: ﴿But when they saw it﴾ means: burning, they thought they had lost their way, and that it was not that one. But when they confirmed it, they knew that it had been struck, and they said: "Rather, we are deprived," meaning: we have been deprived of its yield and blessing. Then the one who was most just in speech, reason, and character among them, who was the middle one, said to them, and from it is His saying, exalted and majestic is He: ﴿A just nation﴾ [Al-Baqarah: 143], meaning: a fair choice. And "you would glorify [Allah]" it was said: it is an expression of obedience to Allah, exalted and majestic is He, and glorifying Him and acting in accordance with His obedience. Mujahid and Abu Salih said it was an expression of exception among them.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

And this refutes their saying: "Glory be to our Lord." So the people hastened at that moment, and they repented at that moment, and they glorified and acknowledged their wrongdoing in their belief of preventing the poor.