His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "Indeed, those who fear [Allah], when a touch from the devil touches them, they remember [Allah], and then they are seeing." "And their brothers increase them in error, then they do not cease." "And when you do not bring them a sign, they say, 'Why have you not chosen it?' Say, 'Indeed, I only follow what is revealed to me from my Lord. This is insight from your Lord and guidance and mercy for a people who believe.'"

"Fear [Allah]" here is general in fearing shirk and avoiding sins, as evidenced by the fact that the term is used in praise of them. Therefore, there is no reason to limit it to only fearing shirk. Also, the one who fears and seeks refuge may be touched by a touch from the devil, as infallibility is only for the prophets, peace be upon them.

Nafi', Asim, Ibn 'Amir, and Hamzah read "a touch" while Ibn Kathir, Abu 'Amr, and Al-Kisai read "a shadow." Sa'id ibn Jubair read "a fleeting thought." The term is either from طافَ (ṭāfa) meaning to circle, or from طافَ (ṭāfa) with a fatḥah on the yā', and it is established among the Arabs. Abu 'Ubaidah recited in this regard:

"How the imagination has come to you, circling around, and its circuit is a remembrance and a thought for you."

So, "a touch" is a noun of the doer like "a speaker" from قالَ (qāla) meaning he said, and like "a seller" from باعَ (bā'a) meaning he sold. And "a shadow" is also a noun of the doer, like "a dead person" from ماتَ (māta), or like "a seller" and "a soft one" from باعَ (bā'a) meaning he sold and لَانَ (lāna) meaning he softened. And "a shadow" can be a softened form of "a fleeting thought" like "a dead one" from مَيِّتٍ (mayyit). If we consider the term from طافَ (ṭāfa), then "a shadow" is a source, and to this Abu Ali Al-Farisi inclined, making the touch like a fleeting thought, and said Al-Kisai: "a shadow" is a fleeting thought, and "a touch" is what circles around a person.

The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

And how is this when Al-A'sha said:

"And you rise from the depths of the night as if a touch from the jinn has come to you."

And the meaning of the verse is: when anger touches them and the devil beautifies for them what is not appropriate. And His saying: "they remember [Allah]" is an indication of the seeking refuge that was previously commanded, and of what belongs to Allah, exalted and majestic is He, from the commands and prohibitions in the situation where the devil's exposure occurs. Ibn Al-Zubair read: "from the devil, they reflect, and then they are..." And in the manuscript of Ubayy ibn Ka'b: "when a touch from the devil touches them, they reflect." And the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, said: "Indeed, anger is a soldier from the soldiers of the jinn. Do you not see the redness of the eyes and the swelling of the veins? So when that occurs, the earth, the earth!" And His saying: "they are seeing" is from insight, meaning: then they have distinguished the truth and inclined towards it.

And His saying, exalted is He: "And their brothers increase them in error," the verse has implications in these pronouns. Al-Zajjaj said: This verse is connected in meaning to His saying: "And they are not able to help them, nor themselves can they help."

The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

And in this is a consideration.

The majority said: The verse is established in its place, except that the pronoun in His saying: ﴿And their brothers﴾ refers back to the devils, and the pronoun in His saying: ﴿They extend them﴾ refers back to the disbelievers, who are meant by the brothers. The devil in the verse before this is for the genus, and for that reason, the pronoun of the plural returns to them here. The interpretation based on this understanding is: And the brothers of the devils extend them, the devils, in misguidance. And Qatadah said: The two pronouns in the 'he' and 'them' refer to the disbelievers.

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

Thus, the verse comes as a counterpart to the one before it, meaning: The state of the righteous is such and such, and these disbelievers are extended by their brothers from the devils, and they do not stop.

And His saying: ﴿In misguidance﴾ may relate to His saying: ﴿They extend them﴾, and upon this, the interpretation we mentioned first from the majority is based. It may also relate to the brothers, so on this, it is possible that both pronouns return to the disbelievers as we mentioned from Qatadah, and it is possible that both return to the devils. The meaning would be: And the brothers of the devils in misguidance, unlike the brotherhood in Allah, extend the devils, meaning: By their obedience to them and their acceptance from them. This interpretation does not follow that it relates to ﴿In misguidance﴾ with regard to the extension, because humans do not mislead the devils. The intent of this verse is to describe the state of the disbelievers with the devils as He described the state of the righteous with them earlier.

All seven reciters, except Nafi, read: "They extend them" from 'madadtu'. Nafi alone read: "They extend them" with the 'ya' pronounced from 'amdadtu'. Abu Ubaidah and others said: 'He extended' something if the increase is from its kind, and 'he extended' it if it is from something else.

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

And this is not consistent. The majority said: They are of one meaning, except that the term used for the beloved is 'amadd', hence His saying: ﴿Indeed, We extend them with wealth and children﴾ [Al-Mu'minun: 55], and His saying: ﴿And We extended them with fruits﴾ [At-Tur: 22], and His saying: ﴿Do you extend me with wealth?﴾ [An-Naml: 36]. The term used for the disliked is 'madad', hence His saying: ﴿And He extends them in their transgression﴾ [Al-Baqarah: 15]. The extension of the devil to the disbelievers in misguidance is the beautification for them and the continuous temptation. So whoever reads in this verse "They extend them" with the 'm' pronounced, he is following the commonly used method, and whoever reads "They extend them" is restricted by His saying: ﴿In misguidance﴾, just as it is permissible to restrict the good news and say: "I gave him good news of good."

And Al-Jahdari read: "They extend them."

And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿Then they do not stop﴾ refers back to all, meaning: These do not stop in obedience to the devils and disbelief in Allah, the Mighty and Majestic. The majority of the people read: "They do not stop" from 'aqsara', and Ibn Abi Abla and Isa ibn Umar read: "They do not stop" from 'qasara'.

And His saying, exalted is He: "And when they do not come to them with a sign." The reason for this, as has been narrated, is that the revelation would sometimes be delayed upon the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him. The disbelievers would say: "Why did you not choose it?" The meaning of the word in the speech of the Arabs is: you selected it and chose it. Ibn Abbas, Qatadah, Mujahid, Ibn Zayd, and others said: The intended meaning of this word is: "Why did you not choose it and fabricate it from yourself?" The meaning is: since all your words are like that, as Quraysh claims. Ibn Abbas also said, along with Al-Dahhak: The intended meaning is: "Why did you not receive it from Allah and choose it over Him, since you claim that you are a Prophet and that your status with Him is the status of messengership?" So Allah, exalted and mighty, commanded him to respond by submitting to Allah, exalted is He, and that the matter of the revelation to him is sent down whenever He wills; there is no one to reverse His judgment in that. He said: "Say, I only follow what is revealed to me from my Lord." Then he indicated by his saying: "This" to the Qur'an. Then he described it as "insights," meaning signs of guidance and lights that illuminate the hearts. A group said: The meaning is: This is one with insights. The statement is correct without the need to assume the omission of a possessive, for what is referred to by "this" is indeed chapters, verses, and wisdoms. It is permissible to refer to it with "this" because its name is masculine, and it is permissible to describe it with "insights" because it is chapters and verses.

"And guidance and mercy for a people who believe," meaning for these specifically. Al-Tabari said: As for one who does not believe, he is upon blindness as a punishment from Allah, exalted is He.