'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' His saying - glorified and exalted is He -: "Say, 'Indeed, my Lord has forbidden immoralities, both what is apparent of them and what is concealed, and sin, and oppression without right, and that you associate with Allah that for which He has not sent down any authority, and that you say about Allah that which you do not know.'" "And for every nation is a term; and when their term comes, they will not remain behind an hour, nor will they precede it." "O children of Adam, if there come to you messengers from among you recounting to you My verses, then whoever fears [Allah] and reforms - there will be no fear concerning them, nor will they grieve." "And those who deny Our verses and are arrogant toward them - those are the companions of the Fire; they will be in it eternally." When the denial of what the disbelievers have prohibited by their opinions was mentioned, it was followed by the mention of what Allah - glorified and exalted is He - has prohibited; and His decree. And "immoralities" refers to that which is foul and ugly; its origin is from ugliness in appearance; and among it is the saying of Imru' al-Qais: 'And a neck like that of a gazelle is not immoral if it is adorned.' Then it was used in reference to that which is bad in character; and the words of hardship; and lewdness; and among it is the hadith: "'He is not immoral'" in the description of the Prophet - blessings and peace be upon him -; and among it is his saying - blessings and peace be upon him - to Salamah ibn Salamah ibn Waqsh: "Did you speak immorally about the man?" in the hadith of the biographies; and among it is the saying of the sorrowful one, in Kuthayyir 'Azzah: 'A short shirt is immoral at his house.' And likewise, it was used in reference to that which is ugly; and repulsive in souls; and ugliness; and beauty in meanings is only received from the perspective of the law; and immorality is likewise; so His saying - glorified and exalted is He - here: "immoralities"; it is merely a reference to what the law has explicitly prohibited in other places; so everything that the law has prohibited is immoral; even if reason does not deny it; like the wearing of silk; and gold for men; and similar things. And His saying - glorified and exalted is He - "what is apparent of them and what is concealed"; it encompasses all types; because it is a division from which nothing escapes; and it is a general term for all immoralities; and Mujahid went to specify that by saying: what is apparent refers to the one who circumambulates naked; and the concealed refers to fornication; and other than this is said in the form of examples; and "what" is a substitute for "immoralities"; and it is a substitute of part from the whole; and the total of the two divisions comes as a substitute of the thing from the thing; and it is the same. And "sin"; its term is also general for all actions; and sayings; that are related to the one who commits them with sin; this is the saying of the majority; and some people said: it refers to wine; and this was supported by the saying of the poet: 'I drank sin until my mind flew away.'

(p-554) The judge Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: And this saying is rejected; because this surah is Meccan; and the Shari'ah was not concerned with the prohibition of wine except in Medina; after Uhud; because a group of the Companions took it with them on the day of Uhud; and they died as martyrs with it in their bellies; and also the verse of poetry is said to be fabricated; and if it is authentic, it is on the basis of an omitted addition; and it seems that the apparent meaning of the Quran - according to this saying - is that the prohibition of wine is from His saying, ﴿They ask you about wine and gambling. Say, 'In them is great sin'﴾ [Al-Baqarah: 219]; and in this verse it has been prohibited; so it follows from this that wine is a sin; and sin is prohibited; thus, wine is prohibited.

The judge Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: But this is not correct; because His saying: ﴿'In them is great sin'﴾ [Al-Baqarah: 219] is possible to mean that wine is associated with the corruption of the mind; and falsehood; and killing the soul; and other sins; as if he said: 'In wine are these sins'; meaning: they are because of it; and with it; and these things are certainly prohibited; and wine has exited from the prohibition on this; and the analogy that the one who mentioned what we have stated went to does not follow; and this is supported by the fact that we found the Companions drinking wine after the revelation of His saying ﴿Say, 'In them is great sin'﴾ [Al-Baqarah: 219]; and in some hadiths: 'A group left it due to the sin in it; and a group drank it for its benefits; and wine was only prohibited by the apparent meanings of the Quran; and the texts of the hadiths; and consensus.

And 'al-baghy' means: transgression; and exceeding the limit; whether the person is initiating this or defending himself; so if he exceeds the limit in defense, he is a transgressor; and His saying ﴿without right﴾ is an additional clarification; and it is not conceivable that there is transgression with right; because what is with right is not called 'transgression'.

﴿And that you associate with Allah that for which He has not sent down any authority﴾; what is meant by it are idols; and statues; and everything that is worshipped besides Allah, glorified and exalted is He; and 'authority' means: proof; and evidence. ﴿And that you say about Allah what you do not know﴾; such as that He prohibited al-bahira; and as-sayiba; and similar to them.

And His saying ﴿And for every nation is a term﴾; the verse contains a warning; and a threat; and the meaning is: 'And for every nation - meaning: group and community; and it is a term used for (many of the people) - there is a set term for the coming of punishment; if they disbelieve; and oppose the command of their Lord; so you, O nation, likewise'; this was said by Al-Tabari and others.

And Al-Hasan read: 'So when their terms come' in the plural; and this is the reading of Ibn Sirin; Abu al-Fath said: This is the more apparent; because for every person there is a term; as for the singular, it is because it is a genus; and its addition to the community makes the singular better; and like it is the saying of the poet:

؎ ....................... ∗∗∗ ∗∗∗ In your gathering is a bone and we have grieved.

And His saying, exalted is He, "an hour"; is a term by which the small part of time is specified; and what is meant is all of its parts; that is: they will not be delayed an hour; nor less than it; nor more; and this is similar to His saying - blessed and exalted is He -: ﴿Indeed, Allah does not do injustice even to an atom's weight﴾ [An-Nisa: 40]; for it is merely a phrase in which the part stands in place of the whole.

The judge Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: It appears that there is a contradiction between this verse and His saying, exalted is He, "and He will delay you to a specified term"; because that one necessitates a promise of delay if they believe; and a threat of immediate punishment if they disbelieve.

The judge Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: The truth is the position of the people of the Sunnah; that everyone has only one term; which will neither be delayed nor advanced; and among the people of Noah, there were some who were known in the knowledge of Allah, exalted is He, to disbelieve; so they are punished immediately; and that is their destined term; and among them are those who believe; so they are delayed to their destined term; and the specification of the two groups was concealed from Noah; so he called everyone to the path of salvation; while he knew that the group would either be punished immediately; or delayed according to their term; so he seems to say: "If you believe, we know that you are among those whom Allah, exalted is He, has decreed for faith; and the delayed term; and if you disbelieve, we know that you are among those whom it has been decreed for the immediate term; and disbelief."

The judge Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: And on this basis, it is the call of Muhammad - blessings and peace be upon him - to the path of Paradise; and he knew that among them were those who would disbelieve and enter the Fire; and likewise is the matter of the captive; he is told: "Either you believe and you will be released; or you will be killed."

And His saying, exalted is He, ﴿O Children of Adam﴾; the address in this verse is to all of mankind; and "if"; the conditional has entered upon it "what"; confirming it; and for this reason, the heavy noon may enter upon the verb; and if "what" were not there, the heavy noon would not be permissible to enter.

And Ubayy ibn Ka'b and Al-A'raj read: "They will surely come to you"; according to the wording of the messengers; and "they narrate"; according to the meaning; and this address was to all nations; both ancient and modern; it is established for them; and it is derived from it for the contemporaries of Muhammad - blessings and peace be upon him - that this is the judgment of Allah, exalted is He, in the world; since He created it; and "they will surely come to you"; is a future tense placed in the position of the past; to understand that the coming remains at the time of the address; to strengthen the indication of the truth of the prophethood to Muhammad - peace be upon him -; and this is in consideration of the time of the revelation of the verse; and Al-Tabari attributed to Abu Sayyar Al-Sulami that Allah, exalted is He, made Adam - peace be upon him - and his offspring in His palm; and He said: ﴿O Children of Adam, if there come to you messengers from among you﴾; the verse; he said: Then He looked at the messengers; and said: ﴿O messengers, eat from the good things and do righteous deeds; indeed, I am All-Aware of what you do﴾ [Al-Mu'minun: 51] ﴿And indeed, this is your nation, one nation, and I am your Lord, so fear Me﴾ [Al-Mu'minun: 52]; then He spread them.

The judge Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: And there is no doubt that this address is in the eternal past; and it was said: The intended meaning of the messengers is Muhammad - blessings and peace be upon him.

The judge Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: From the perspective that there is no prophet after him; it is as if the addressees are those intended by the children of Adam; and no one else; for others have not received the address; this was mentioned by Al-Naqqash; and "they recount"; its meaning is: they narrate; and they present; and "the signs"; is a comprehensive term for the signs of the revealed books; and for the signs that are associated with the prophets; and His saying, the Exalted, ﴿So whoever fears [Allah] and reforms﴾; it is valid that "whoever"; is conditional; and its response is: there is no fear upon them; and this sentence is in (p-557) the response to the first condition which is: "If the messengers come to you"; and it is valid that "whoever"; in His saying: ﴿So whoever fears [Allah]﴾; is relative; and it is as if he intended by the words to categorize the people; so he made the first category ﴿So whoever fears [Allah]﴾; and the second category: ﴿And those who denied Our signs﴾; and this categorization came as a response to the condition in His saying, the Exalted, ﴿If the messengers come to you﴾; it is as if he said: "If messengers come to you, then the righteous have no fear upon them; and the deniers are the companions of the Fire"; meaning: this is the fruit and benefit of the message. ﴿So who is more unjust than one who invents a lie against Allah?﴾ [Al-A'raf: 37]; meaning: there is no benefit for the liar; nor any worldly gain; for the verse is a vindication for the Prophet - blessings and peace be upon him - from the accusation; and a reprimand for the liars among the disbelievers; and "no"; in His saying - blessed and exalted is He -: "So there is no fear"; means "there is not".

And Ibn Muhaisn read: "So there is no fear"; without tanween; and its aspect is: either the tanween is omitted due to frequent usage; or it is based on its omission with "no"; and it is a vindication that establishes; resembling the state of raising in construction with the state of being accusative; and it was said: that the intended meaning is: "So there is no fear"; then the alif and the lam were omitted; and the fa remained as it is; to indicate the omitted; and the negation of fear and sorrow encompasses all types of the soul's adversities; and its denials; and it seems that fear is for what is to come from matters; and sorrow is for what has passed.

﴿And those who denied Our signs and were arrogant﴾; [These are two states that encompass] all who turn away from the message of the Messenger - blessings and peace be upon him; either they deny according to their belief; or they are arrogant; so they deny even if they are not resolute in their belief in denial.

The judge Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: And this is akin to disbelief out of stubbornness.