His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "Leave Me and the one I created alone, And I granted him extensive wealth, And children as witnesses, And I prepared for him a smooth preparation. Then he desires that I should increase [it]. No! Indeed, he has been defiantly opposing Our signs. I will impose upon him a difficult ascent. Indeed, he pondered and calculated. So may he be killed, how he calculated! Then may he be killed, how he calculated! Then he looked. Then he frowned and scowled. Then he turned away and was arrogant. And he said, "This is nothing but magic that is taught. This is nothing but the speech of a human."

His saying, exalted is He: "Leave Me and the one I created" is a pure threat. The meaning is: I will suffice for his punishment and all his affairs. There is no disagreement among the interpreters that this verse was revealed about Al-Walid ibn Al-Mughira Al-Makhzumi. It is narrated that he was nicknamed "the alone" because there was no equal to him in his wealth and honor in his household. So the mention of "the alone" in the verse is in the context of the blessings that he was given. Even if this is not established, His saying, exalted is He: "I created him alone" means: I created him uniquely, with no one sharing in him. So "alone" is a state of the "I" in "I created."

As for "the extensive wealth," Mujahid and Ibn Jubair said: it is one thousand dinars. Sufyan said: I have been informed that it is four thousand. Qatadah said the same, and it is said: ten thousand.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: This is an increase in number.

And An-Nu'man ibn Salim said: It refers to land because it has been extended. And Umar ibn Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, said: The extensive wealth is the revenue that is continuously generated. So it is an extension in time that does not cease.

"And children as witnesses" means: present in succession. Mujahid and Qatadah said: He had ten children. Ibn Jubair said: He had thirteen. And "the smooth preparation" means the facilitation and arrangement. Sufyan said: The meaning is: I spread for him the means of living widely.

And His saying, exalted is He: "Then he desires that I should increase" describes the greed of Al-Walid and his desire for more of this world. And His saying, exalted is He: "No!" is a rebuke and a response to the wish of this mentioned one. Then He mentioned that he was obstinate and opposing to the signs of Allah and His lessons. It is said: A stubborn camel is one that walks contrary to the camels. And it is possible that by the signs, He means the signs of the Qur'an, which is the most correct in the interpretation of Al-Walid's words about the Qur'an being magic. And "I will impose upon him" means: I will burden him with difficulty and hardship. And "a difficult ascent" is a steep slope in Hell. And this was narrated by Abu Sa'id Al-Khudri from the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him. Whenever something of a human is placed upon it, it melts. And "ascent" in the language means a difficult slope.

His saying, exalted is He, informing about Al-Walid: "Indeed, he thought and calculated." The verse. A majority of the commentators have narrated that Al-Walid heard from the Qur'an what amazed him and praised it. Then he heard it likewise repeatedly until he nearly approached Islam. He entered upon Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him, several times. Then Abu Jahl came to him and said: "O Al-Walid, did you not know that Quraysh has condemned you for entering upon the son of Abu Quhafa? And you claimed that you only intended to eat his food? They have hated you for your closeness to the matter of Muhammad, and nothing will save you in their eyes except for you to say something in this matter that pleases them." So Abu Jahl seduced him and he was seduced. He said: "Do that." Then he thought about what he might say regarding the Qur'an. He said: "I will say it is poetry; it is not poetry. I will say it is a soothsayer; it is not a soothsayer. I will say it is magic that is passed down; it is the words of humans," meaning: it is not revealed from Allah, exalted is He. Most of the commentators said: So His saying, exalted is He: "So killed is he, how he calculated!" "Then killed is he, how he calculated!" is a curse upon him and a condemnation of his state, meaning that he is among those who deserve that. It has been narrated from Al-Zuhri and a group other than him that Al-Walid argued with Abu Jahl and a group from Quraysh regarding the Qur'an. He said: "By Allah, it has sweetness, and its origin is a date palm, and its branches are fruitful, and it rules over what is beneath it, and it rises and is not surpassed," and similar words. They opposed him and said: "It is poetry." He said: "By Allah, it is not poetry, and we have known poetry, its rhymes and its simplicity." They said: "Then he is mad." He said: "By Allah, he is not mad, and we have seen madness and its choking." They said: "It is magic." He said: "As for this, it resembles magic, and he says the sayings of his own self."

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

It is possible that His saying, exalted is He: "So killed is he, how he calculated!" may be a curse upon him in the sense of condemning his state. It is also possible that it may be a curse necessitated by the approval of his initial inclination in praising the Qur'an and in denying poetry, soothsaying, and madness from it. This runs parallel to the saying of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, to Abu Jandal bin Suhail: "Woe to his mother, the kindler of war," and similar to the saying of Abdul Malik bin Marwan: "May Allah fight many, as if he saw us when he said such and such." And this is a well-known meaning in the speech of the Arabs.

Then He described, glorified and exalted is He, his turning away and arrogance, and that he went astray at that time and disbelieved. If we say that this is a supplication against one whose action is commendable, then His saying, glorified and exalted is He, 'Then he looked' comes into play regarding what the Qur'an argued with. He saw what was in it of the high status of Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, so he frowned because of that and scowled, meaning he furrowed his brow and clenched what was between his eyes and his face became darkened out of envy for him. So he turned away, meaning he fell back into his misguidance, and his inclination first ceased to guide him, and arrogance overtook him. He said: 'This is magic that is reported,' and its meaning is: it is narrated and carried, meaning Muhammad carries it from others. And according to the first interpretation, the supplication against him is a supplication against one whose action is reprehensible. His saying, glorified and exalted is He, 'Then he looked' has the meaning repeated exactly; 'because he thought' and 'considered' necessitate it, but it is news of him repeating his look into the matter. It has been narrated that the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, called Al-Walid, and said to him: 'Look and think,' and when he thought, he said what has preceded.