His saying, glorified and exalted is He:

﴿They said, 'We were not of those who prayed.'﴾ ﴿And we were not feeding the poor.'﴾ ﴿And we used to engage in vain discourse with those who engaged in it.'﴾ ﴿And we used to deny the Day of Judgment.'﴾ ﴿Until there came to us the certainty.'﴾ ﴿So the intercession of the intercessors will not benefit them.'﴾ ﴿So what is [the matter] with them that they are turning away from the reminder?'﴾ ﴿As if they were frightened donkeys.'﴾ ﴿Fleeing from a lion.'﴾ ﴿Rather, every person among them desires that he be given scriptures spread about.'﴾ ﴿No! But they do not fear the Hereafter.'﴾ ﴿No! Indeed, it is a reminder.'﴾ ﴿So whoever wills may remember it.'﴾ ﴿And they will not remember except that Allah wills. He is worthy of fear and worthy of forgiveness.'

This is the confession of the disbelievers against themselves. In denying prayer, it includes belief in Allah, the Most High, and knowledge of Him, and humility before Him and worship. Prayer encompasses most of the religion and the commands of Allah, the Most High, and the obligations of beliefs. Feeding the poor encompasses obligatory and voluntary charity, and every possibility that the Shari'ah calls to by word or action. Engaging in vain discourse with those who engage in it is known in falsehood. Qatadah said: the meaning is that whenever a misguided person goes astray, they go astray with him. Denying the Day of Judgment is clear disbelief in Allah, the Most High.

And 'certainty' means to me: the truth of what they used to deny regarding returning to Allah, the Most High, and the Hereafter. The interpreters said: certainty is death, and that to me here is a misunderstanding; because the essence of death is certain to the disbeliever while he is alive. Rather, the certainty they meant in this verse is the thing they used to deny while they were alive in this world, so they became certain of it after death. And the certainty is explained by death in His saying, glorified and exalted is He: ﴿And worship your Lord until certainty comes to you.﴾ [Al-Hijr: 99].

Then He informed that the intercession of the intercessors will not benefit them. It is established from that that there are intercessors. There are authentic hadiths regarding this meaning. He, blessings and peace be upon him, said: "The angels will intercede, then the prophets, then the scholars, then the martyrs, then the righteous will intercede. Then Allah, the Most High, will say: 'My servants have interceded, and the intercession of the Most Merciful remains, so no one will remain in the Fire who had faith.'" And Al-Hasan narrated that Allah, the Most High, will admit to Paradise by the intercession of a man from this nation a number like the Rabiah and Mudar. In the narration of Abu Qilabah: more than the children of Tamim. Al-Hasan said: We used to narrate that the martyr intercedes for seventy of his family members.

Then Allah, the Most High, said: "So what is the matter with them that they turn away from the reminder?" This is in the state that is expected to be this described one. And His saying, the Most High, regarding the disbelievers who turn away and strive in aversion: "As if they were wild donkeys," is an affirmation of their ignorance, because donkeys are among the most ignorant of animals. Al-A'mash read: "donkeys" with a sukoon on the meem. And in the reading of Ibn Mas'ud: "wild donkeys." Nafi' and Ibn 'Amir, and Al-Mufaddal from 'Asim, read: "wild" with a fatha on the fa. The others read with a kasra on the fa. There is a difference regarding Nafi', Al-Hasan, Al-A'raj, and Mujahid. As for the fatha on the fa, its meaning is: it startled them from the lions. And as for the kasra on the fa, it is on the basis that "to flee" and "to be startled" have the same meaning, like "to be amazed" and "to be astonished" and "to mock" and "to cause to mock." So it is as if it fled itself. This is supported by His saying, the Most High: "It fled." With this, Abu Ali preferred the reading with the kasra.

The interpreters differed in the meaning of "the lions." Ibn 'Abbas, Abu Musa Al-Ash'ari, Qatadah, and Ikrimah said: "the lions" refers to the archers. Ibn 'Abbas also said, and Abu Hurairah, and a majority of linguists said: "the lions" refers to the lion. And the poet's saying:

A hidden one that the heroes fear, as if it were the lion of the wild.

And Ibn Jubair said: "the lions" refers to the men of hunting. This was also said by Ibn 'Abbas. It was said: "the lions" refers to the strong men. Labid said:

When we call out a call in our gathering, the stubborn men, the lions, come.

And Tha'lab said: "the lions" refers to the darkness of the beginning of the night, especially at its end. Or the word is taken from "qasr," which means dominance and oppression.

And His saying, the Most High: "But every man among them wants to be given scrolls spread out," means: from these turners away. That is, every person among them wants a book from Allah to be sent down to him. This was from the saying of Abdullah ibn Abi Umayyah and others. It has been narrated that some of them said: If he is writing in scrolls what he does, then let that scroll be presented to us, so the verse was revealed. And "spread out" means: not folded, spread out. And Sa'id ibn Jubair read: "scrolls" with a sukoon on the ha, which is a dialect of Tamim. And he read: "spread out" with a sukoon on the noon and a lightening of the sheen. This is on the basis that it resembles "I spread the garment" with "Allah raised the dead"; if it is like death. And the Tamimi reversed the analogy in his saying:

His deeds returned to him his life, as if he were from its spreading, spread out.

And it is not said of the dead that he lives: "spread out" except by analogy with the garment. As for the preserved language, it is "the page spread" and "Allah raised the dead," and it has come from them "Allah raised the dead."

'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' And His saying, exalted is He: "No!" is a response to their desire, meaning: the matter is not as such. Then He, exalted is He, said: ﴿Rather, they do not fear the Hereafter﴾. The meaning is: this is the reason and cause for their turning away. Their ignorance of the Hereafter was the reason for their refusal of guidance until they perished. Abu Haywah read: "You fear" with a 'taa' from above, and it was narrated from Ibn 'Amir. Then He, exalted is He, repeated the response and reprimand with His saying, exalted is He: "No!" And He informed that this saying and statement and this dialogue in its entirety is a reminder. So whoever wills, He will guide him to the remembrance of his return. Then He informed that the remembrance of a person of his return and his striving towards his success is all by the will of Allah, exalted is He, and nothing occurs except by it. And Nafi', the people of Medina, Salam, and Ya'qub read: "You will remember" with a 'taa' from above. And Abu Ja'far, Asim, Abu 'Amr, Al-A'mash, Talhah, Ibn Kathir, 'Isa, and Al-A'raj read: "They will remember" with a 'yaa' from below. And it was narrated from Abu Ja'far with a 'taa' from above and a strong 'dhaal', as if it is "You will remember" and he merged it. And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿He is the Lord of piety and the Lord of forgiveness﴾ is a news of certainty. Its meaning is that Allah, exalted is He, is worthy of His high attributes, and His countless blessings, and His punishments that cannot be repelled, to be feared and obeyed. One should beware of disobeying Him and opposing His command. And that He, exalted is He, by His grace and generosity is worthy of forgiving His servants if they are pious towards Him. Anas ibn Malik narrated that the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, explained this verse and said: "Your Lord, glorified is His greatness, says: I am worthy of being feared, so do not make any god with Me. And whoever fears that a god other than Me be made with Me, I will forgive him." And Qatadah said: He is worthy that His prohibitions be feared, and He is worthy to forgive sins. The interpretation of Surah [Al-Muddathir] is complete, and all praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds.