'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' His saying - exalted and mighty is He -: "The elite who were arrogant from his people said, 'We will surely expel you, O Shu'ayb, and those who have believed with you from our city, or you must return to our religion.' He said, 'Even if we were unwilling?" "We would have certainly fabricated a lie against Allah if we returned to your religion after Allah has saved us from it. And it is not for us to return to it unless Allah, our Lord, should will. Our Lord has encompassed all things in knowledge. Upon Allah we have relied. Our Lord, judge between us and our people in truth, and You are the best of those who give judgment.'" And the saying has preceded regarding the meaning of 'the elite'; and the meaning of arrogance; and their saying: "We will surely expel you, O Shu'ayb"; is a threat of expulsion; and 'the city' is the gathering place of people; because it has 'settled' (taqarra); meaning it has gathered; and their saying: "Or you must return to our religion"; its meaning is: or you must become like us; and 'returned' (ada) comes in the speech of the Arabs in two ways; one of them is: something has returned to a state it was in before; and in this regard, it does not exceed; if it is exceeded, it is by a letter; and from it is the saying of the poet: 'If the scorpion returns, we will return to it, and the sandal will be present for it.' And from it is the saying of another: 'Oh, I wish the days of youth would return, and the era that has passed, O Buthayn, would come back.' And from it is His saying, exalted is He: "And if they were returned, they would return to that which they were forbidden." [Al-An'am: 28] And from it is the saying of the poet: 'If the days have been better once, then they have returned to me with sins.' And the second way is that it means 'to become'; and it acts as its action; and it does not imply that the state was previously advanced; and from this is the saying of the poet: 'Those virtues are not two cups of milk, and they have become after that urine.' And from it is the saying of another: 'And my head has returned like the thistle.' And from it is His saying, exalted is He: "Until it has returned like the old palm branch." [Ya-Sin: 39] On the condition that this is possible; for His saying in the verse: "Or you must return" - and Shu'ayb - peace be upon him - was never a disbeliever - implies that it means 'to become'; and as for in the case of the believers after their disbelief, the other meaning is established and Shu'ayb - peace be upon him - is excluded from it unless they intend his return to a state of his silence before he was sent. And His saying, exalted is He: "Even if we were unwilling"; is a stopping point for them on the heinousness of disobedience; and a request for them to acknowledge with their tongues the coercion of the believers in Allah, exalted is He, to expel them unjustly and oppressively. And it appears in His saying, exalted is He: "We would have certainly fabricated a lie against Allah if we returned to your religion" that it is a report from him; meaning: we would have committed a great sin and fabricated lies against Allah, exalted is He, in returning to disbelief; and it is possible that it is in the sense of an oath which is in the form of a supplication; like the saying of the poet: 'I remained with my abundance...'

And as you say: "I have fabricated against Allah, the Most High, if I spoke to so-and-so"; and "we have fabricated"; its meaning is: we have split by saying; and we have differed; and from it is the saying of Aisha - may Allah be pleased with her -: "Whoever claims that Muhammad - blessings and peace be upon him - saw his Lord has indeed committed a great falsehood against Allah."

And the salvation of Shu'ayb from their religion was from the very beginning of his matter; and the salvation of those who believed with him was after the encounter with disbelief.

And His saying: ﴿Except that Allah wills﴾; it is possible that He means: "Unless there precedes upon us from Allah, the Most High, a previous evil; and a decree from Him, the Most High, is executed that cannot be rejected."

Qadi Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: And the believers are those who are permitted to this; and Shu'ayb has been protected by prophethood; and this is the clearest meaning that the saying can bear; and it is possible that He means the exception of what the believers can worship Allah, the Most High, with; from what the disbelievers do of acts of devotion; so when he said to them: "Indeed, we will not return to your religion"; then he feared that Allah might be worshipped by something from the actions of the disbelievers; and a heretic might oppose that; and say: This is a return to our religion; he excluded the will of Allah - blessed and exalted is He - in what can be worshipped by Him; and it is possible that He means by that a sense of exclusion; as you say: "I will not do such-and-such until the raven turns gray; and until the camel enters the eye of the needle"; and it is known that this is impossible; so it is a reference to something impossible.

Qadi Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: And this interpretation is only for the Mu'tazila, whose doctrine is that disbelief and faith are not by the will of Allah, the Most High; so this interpretation does not apply except with them; and this interpretation has been narrated by the interpreters; and they were unaware of what is in it; and it is said that this exception is merely a concealment and politeness.

Qadi Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: (p-616) And this interpretation is questioned from the perspective of receiving the exception; and if the speech had been "If Allah wills"; this interpretation would be strengthened.

And His saying: ﴿And our Lord's knowledge encompasses all things﴾; its meaning is: "And the knowledge of our Lord, the Most High, encompasses all things"; as you say: "Zayd sweated"; meaning: the sweat of Zayd; and "encompassed"; means surrounded.

And His saying: "Open"; its meaning is: "Judge"; and "the opener"; and "the judge": the judge; in the language of Himyar; and it is said: in the language of Murad; and some of them said:

"O let me convey to the sons of 'Usm a message ∗∗∗ ∗∗∗ for indeed I am free from your opening."

And Al-Hasan ibn Abi Al-Hasan said: Whenever a prophet wanted Allah, the Most High, to destroy his people; He commanded him to pray against them; then Allah, the Most High, responded to him; and destroyed them; and Ibn Abbas - may Allah be pleased with them both - said: I did not know the meaning of this word until I heard the daughter of Dhiyazan saying to her husband: "Come, let me open a case against you"; meaning: "I will judge you."

And His saying: ﴿Upon Allah we have relied﴾ is submission to Allah, the Most High, and holding onto His kindness; and this supports the first interpretation in His saying: ﴿Except that Allah wills﴾.