'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' He, exalted is He, said: "And We did not send in any city a prophet except that We seized its people with hardship and adversity so that they might humble themselves. Then We exchanged in place of the bad deed the good deed until they increased and said, 'Our forefathers were touched by hardship and ease.' So We seized them suddenly while they did not perceive. And if the people of the cities had believed and been conscious of Allah, We would have opened up to them blessings from the heavens and the earth, but they denied, so We seized them for what they used to earn." This verse is news from Allah, exalted is He, that He did not send a prophet in a city - and it is the village - except that He seized its people who denied him with hardship, which is the calamities in wealth and worries and the trials of time, and adversity, which is the calamities in the body, such as diseases and the like. This is the saying of Ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him, and many of the people of language. And Al-Suddi reported that the two terms overlap, so each one can be said in both meanings. And 'so that they might humble themselves' is a supplication according to the beliefs and assumptions of people, and 'they might humble themselves' means they submit to faith. And thus is their saying: 'The fever has humbled me to You.' Then He, exalted is He, said that after the execution of the decree upon the former ones, He replaced for the creation the bad deed - which is hardship and adversity - with the good deed - which is ease and blessing - and this is according to what is with people. Otherwise, the matter may come as the poet said: 'Certainly, Allah may bestow blessings through trials, even if they are great, and Allah tests some of the people with blessings.' Abu Muhammad Al-Qadi, may Allah have mercy on him, said: This is only correct when considering the Hereafter and the recompense therein. The absolute blessing is that which has no punishment in it, and the absolute trial is that which has no reward upon it. And 'until they increased' means: until they became numerous. It is said: 'The plants grew and the foliage increased' when its growth became abundant. And from this meaning is the saying of the poet: 'But it is that we bite the sword from it, in the markets of the abundant fat.' And upon this is his saying, blessings and peace be upon him: 'Trim the mustaches and let the beards grow.' And 'increased' also in the language means to decay and wear out. Some people said it is one of the terms that are used for both opposites. As for the saying of Zuhair: '...upon the traces of those who have gone, the decay has occurred,' it can have three meanings: supplication for decay, informing of it, and supplication for growth and vegetation, as it is said: 'The rains were generous to him and the waters nourished him.' And for what Allah has changed their state to good, out of kindness to them, they grew. The creation then saw after that - for the disbelief they are in - that the affliction of adversity and ease is indeed by coincidence, and it is not intended, as the Prophet informs. And they believed that what befell them from that was merely like the coincidence that was for their forefathers, so they made it an example, saying: 'Certainly, this befell our forefathers, so it is not appropriate for us to deny it.' So Allah, exalted is He, informed that He seized these groups who hold this belief.

(p-7) And His saying: ﴿بَغْتَةً﴾ means suddenly, and it is a taking of regret and a grasping for the previous misfortune that they had in His ancient knowledge. And السَرّاءُ: is happiness and joy. ﴿وَهم لا يَشْعُرُونَ﴾ means: and they are disbelievers who do not sense anything of it, nor do they perceive it through reasoning or otherwise.

And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿وَلَوْ أنَّ أهْلَ القُرى آمَنُوا واتَّقَوْا﴾, the meaning in this verse is that if they had been among those who were destined in Allah's knowledge to acquire faith and obedience and to possess piety, then that would have followed from Allah's grace, mercy, and bounty what was mentioned of the blessings of rain and vegetation. However, since they were among those whose disbelief and denial had preceded them, that resulted in Allah's taking them for the evil they had committed. And everything is decreed, and reward and punishment are related to the actions of humans. Because of this, actions are attributed to them in His saying: ( آمَنُوا واتَّقَوْا ) and in ( كَذَّبُوا ). And the six of the seven reciters read: "لَفَتَحْنا" with a light ت, which is the reading of the people. And Ibn 'Amir alone, and 'Isa al-Thaqafi, and Abu 'Abd al-Rahman read: "لَفَتَّحْنا" with a doubled ت. And the opening of blessings is their descent upon the people, and from it is His saying, exalted is He: ﴿ما يَفْتَحِ اللهُ لِلنّاسِ مِن رَحْمَةٍ﴾ [Fatir: 2]. And from it, the Sufis said: openings and blessings are growth and increases. And "مِنَ السَماءِ" refers to the rain, wind, and sun, and "والأرْضِ" refers to the growth and preservation of what sprouts. This is what human sight can perceive, and for Allah are servants other than that whose number cannot be counted, and what is in Allah's knowledge is greater.