His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "And when it was said to them, 'Dwell in this city and eat from it wherever you wish, and say, 'Forgiveness,' and enter the gate prostrating, We will forgive you your sins, and We will increase the good-doers.'" "But those who wronged among them changed the saying to a statement other than that which had been said to them. So We sent upon them a punishment from the heaven because of what they were transgressing." "And ask them about the city which was by the sea when they transgressed in the Sabbath, when their fish came to them openly on the Sabbath day, and the day they did not observe the Sabbath, they did not come to them. Thus We test them by what they were defiantly disobeying." The meaning is: and remember when it was said to them, and the intended ones are those who preceded from the Children of Israel. This is because when they exited from the wilderness, it was said to them: 'Dwell in this city,' and the city in the speech of the Arabs is: the town where the houses are gathered. The reference here is to Bayt al-Maqdis. Al-Tabari said this. It was also said: to Ariha. And "wherever you wish" means: it is for you and its blessings are permitted. The seven reciters, al-Hasan, Abu Rujayh, Mujahid, and others read "forgiveness" in the nominative. Al-Hasan ibn Abi al-Hasan read "forgiveness" in the accusative. The nominative is on the news of a beginning, its estimation being: 'Our request is forgiveness.' The accusative is on the source, meaning: 'Remove our sins as forgiveness.' This is on the condition that they are tasked with saying a word whose meaning is: forgiveness. And a group said: they were tasked with a good saying which includes faith and gratitude to Allah so that it would be forgiveness for their sins. The speech - on this - is like your saying: 'Say good.' And the fulfillment of this is mentioned in Surah al-Baqarah. Ibn Kathir, Asim, Hamzah, and al-Kisai read: "We will forgive" with the pronoun "We" and "your sins" in the second person plural. Abu Amr read: "We will forgive" with the pronoun "We" and "your sins" similar to "your matters," which is the reading of al-Hasan and al-Amash. Nafi' read: "It will be forgiven" with a pronoun in the second person and "your sins" with a hamzah and the pronoun in the plural. This was transmitted by Mahbub from Abu Amr. Ibn Amer read: "It will be forgiven" with a pronoun in the second person and "your sin" singular with a hamzah and in the nominative. Abu Hatim said: al-A'raj and a group read: "It forgives" with a pronoun and opened it on the meaning that forgiveness forgives since it is the cause of forgiveness. "And 'changed' means: altered the wording without losing all of it. And 'exchanged' means: if it is lost and another wording is brought. The reference in the saying is to the saying of the Children of Israel: 'A grain in a hair or wheat in barley.' And the punishment that was sent upon them was a plague, it is said that seventy thousand died from it in one day. The comprehensive explanation of this verse has also been previously mentioned.

'And His saying, the Exalted: ﴿And ask them about the town that was by the sea﴾. Some of the interpreters said: The opposing Jews to Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, said: The Children of Israel had no disobedience or opposition to what they were commanded. So this verse was revealed reproaching them and affirming what was done by the people of this town. Their questioning was merely for the purpose of reproach. The town here is Madian, as said by Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him and his father. It was also said to be Aylah, as stated by Ibn Abbas, and Abdullah ibn Kathir, and Ikrimah, and Al-Suddi, and Al-Thawri. Qatadah said it is "

, " with a silent qaf. Ibn Zayd said it is Maqnah, the coast of Madian. It is said that in it is Maghna with a ghain open and a nun doubled. It was said to be Tabariyyah, as said by Al-Zuhri. And

And Ashhab narrated from Malik who said: Ibn Ruman claimed that they would take a thread and make a loop in it and throw it into the tail of the fish. On the other end of the thread, there was a weight attached, and they left it like that until Sunday. Then the people began to approach when they saw that whoever did this was not tested until the fishing of the fish became abundant and it was carried in the markets. The wicked ones proclaimed their catch and said: The sanctity of the Sabbath has gone. So a group from the Children of Israel rose up and forbade it and openly declared the prohibition and separated themselves. The worker in His saying: 'And on a day when they do not rest' means His saying: 'They will not come to him,' which is a preposition in advance.

And Umar ibn Abdul Aziz read: 'Their fish on the day of their resting.' And Nafi, Abu Amr, Al-Hasan, Abu Ja'far, and the people read: 'They rest' with a kasra on the ba. And Isa ibn Umar and Asim read differently: 'They rest' with a damma on it. And Al-Hasan ibn Abi Al-Hasan and Asim read differently: 'They are resting' from asabata when he enters into the Sabbath.

And the meaning of His saying: 'Thus' refers to the matter of the fish and their trial with it. This is for one who stops at 'They will not come to him.' And for one who stops at 'Thus,' the reference is to the abundance of the fish, meaning: what comes from it is little. And 'We will test them' means we will examine them for their wickedness and disobedience.

The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: And in the story of this verse, there is a narration and an elaboration which I have summarized and limited to what cannot be understood of the words of the verse except by it.