His saying, exalted and majestic is He:

﴿So if you encounter them in war, scatter by them those who are behind them, perhaps they will remember﴾ ﴿And if you fear treachery from a people, throw back to them on equal terms. Indeed, Allah does not like the treacherous﴾ ﴿And let not those who disbelieve think they have escaped. Indeed, they will not cause failure﴾

The letter 'noon' has entered with "So if" for emphasis, and to differentiate it from "if" which is a particle of separation in your saying: "Zayd came to me or Amr." (And "you encounter them") means: you capture them and obtain them in your grasp, or you meet them in a state of weakness that you can overpower them in. This is necessary from the wording due to His saying: ﴿in war﴾. It is said that "to encounter" means to take quickly, and from that is their saying: "a clever man is quick."

And some people said: its meaning is: you meet them, towards this are some sayings that do not connect in meaning, because the one who meets can prevail and thus scattering can occur by him, and he may not prevail. And "to encounter" in the language is what is used to tighten the spear and similar things, and from it is the saying of the poet:

Indeed, my spear is a spring that does not despair, Biting the tightness and neither oil nor fire.

And another said:

You call out to Qu'ayn while the iron has bitten it, Biting the tightness on the deaf pipes.

And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿So scatter﴾ means: drive away, frighten, and distance them from similar to their actions. And "the scattered" is the one who is distanced from a homeland or similar. The meaning is: by an action you do to them, such as killing or similar, it will be a fright for those behind them, meaning for those who come after them with similar to what they brought. Whether they are contemporaneous with them or not.

And what has preceded is before them, and what has come after is behind them. So the meaning of the verse is: if you capture these violators in your war against them, then do to them from the punishment that will be a scattering for those who come behind them in a similar manner to theirs. And the pronoun in "perhaps they will remember" refers back to the scattered group. And Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said: the meaning is: punish those behind them. And a group said: "scatter by them" means: make them hear about them, as reported by Al-Zahrawi from Abu Ubaidah. And the meaning is close because making them hear about them is within what we explained first. And in the Mushaf of Abdullah, it is written "So scatter" with a dotted 'dh', and this is the reading of Al-A'mash. And "scatter" has not been preserved in the language of the Arabs, and there is no basis for it except that the dotted 'dh' is replaced by the 'd' as they said: meat is kharadhil and kharadhil. And Abu Haywah read - and Al-Mahdawi reported it from Al-A'mash with a difference from him - "behind them" with a kasra on the 'm' of "who" and a genitive on the 'f' of "behind them". And the expectation in His saying "perhaps they will remember" is according to humanity, and ﴿they will remember﴾ means: they will take heed.

And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿And if you fear﴾, the majority of the authors in tafsir said: This verse is about Banu Qurayzah. Al-Tabari narrated this from Mujahid. What appears from the words of the Qur'an is that the matter of Banu Qurayzah had concluded at His saying, exalted is He: ﴿So scatter with it those who are behind them﴾. Then, blessed and exalted is He (p-221) began in this verse with His command regarding what He will do in the future with those whom he fears treachery from, until the end of time. Banu Qurayzah were not among those whose treachery is feared, so this verse does not apply to them. Their treachery was evident and well-known. Thus, this verse, in my view, is about those whose situation is to be faced in the future from other people, not Banu Qurayzah. The fear of treachery is that the signs of evil may appear from the side of the allies, and statements may be conveyed from them, and the principles of betrayal may be sensed from them. Those principles are known, and the treachery that is their ultimate goal is feared but not certain. At that time, he should declare to them equally. If they adhere to peace as they should, otherwise they will be fought. Banu Qurayzah abandoned the covenant twice. Yahya ibn Salam said: "You fear" in this verse means: "You know."

The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

And it is not so. And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿treachery﴾ necessitates the existence of a covenant. Because whoever has no covenant between you and him, his fighting you is not treachery. So Allah, blessed and exalted is He, commanded His Prophet Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, that if he senses from the people of the covenant what we mentioned and fears their treachery, he should declare to them their covenant, which is the abandonment. The implied meaning of His saying: "So declare" is omitted; its estimation is: to them their covenant.

The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

And the strength of this word necessitates urging to fight them and confront them if they do not remain upright. And His saying: ﴿equally﴾ it was said: Its meaning is: until the matter is clear and the knowledge of it is equal between you and them, so you will be in it, that is, in the awareness of war - equally. And it was said: The meaning of His saying: ﴿equally﴾ is in fairness, that is: that is justice and equality in truth. Al-Mahdawi said: Its meaning is: openly, not secretly.

(p-222) The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

And this is similar to the first. And Al-Walid ibn Muslim said: ﴿equally﴾ its meaning is: at ease, as He, exalted is He, said: ﴿A declaration from Allah and His Messenger to those with whom you made a covenant from the polytheists﴾ [At-Tawbah: 1] ﴿So roam the earth for four months﴾ [At-Tawbah: 2].

The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

And the language rejects this saying. Al-Farra' mentioned that the meaning is: declare to them in a balanced and equal manner, that is: make clear to them according to what has appeared from them, do not exceed nor surprise them with war, but do to them as they did to you.

The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

It means a balance and a comparison. And His saying, exalted is He: "Indeed, Allah does not love the treacherous" may imply a criticism of the traitors among those with whom the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, made a covenant. It may also mean: 'So declare to them on equal terms until you distance yourself from treachery.' For indeed, Allah does not love the treacherous. Thus, the declaration—according to this interpretation—is because Allah does not love the treacherous.

And 'equal' in the speech of the Arabs can mean justice and fairness. From this is His saying, exalted is He: "To a word equal between us and you" [Al-Imran: 64]. And from this is the saying of the poet:

'So strike the faces of the treacherous enemies until they respond to you with equality.'

And it can also mean the middle. From this is His saying, exalted is He: "In the middle of Hell" [As-Saffat: 55]. And from this is the saying of Hassan ibn Thabit:

'O woe to the supporters of the Prophet and his people after the one who is hidden in the middle of the grave.'

And His saying, exalted is He: "And let not those who disbelieve think that they have escaped. Indeed, they will not cause failure" has been read by Nafi', Ibn Kathir, Abu Amr, Asim, and Al-Kisai as "And let not think" with the 'taa' addressing the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, and with a kasra of the 's'—except for Asim, for he opened it. "Those who disbelieved" is the first object, and "have escaped" is the second object. The meaning is: they have surpassed by themselves and saved themselves. "Indeed, they will not cause failure" with a kasra of the alif of "Indeed" in the context of separation and beginning. And "will not cause failure" means: they will escape and will not be able to be caught. It is transitive, as in "Zayd was unable, and another made him unable." Also, it is said: 'He made him unable.' Suwayd said:

'And Abu Layla Tufayl made us unable, strong of skin from the effects of the weapon.'

It has been narrated that the verse was revealed concerning those who escaped from the disbelievers in the war against the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, such as Quraysh in Badr and others. The meaning is: do not think that they are saved; rather, they are caught. It has also been said that its meaning is: they will not be able to escape in this world, and it has been said that the intended meaning is in the Hereafter. Abu Hatim said: Mujahid, Ibn Kathir, and Shibl read: 'And do not think' with a kasra on the ta. Al-A'raj, Asim, and Khalid ibn Ilyas read: 'Do not think' with a fatha on the ta from above and a fatha on the seen. Al-Amash read: 'And let him not think' with a fatha on the seen and ya from below and omitting the noon. Abu Ja'far ibn al-Qaqa', Abu Abd al-Rahman, Ibn Muhaysin, and 'Isa read: 'And let him not think' with a ya from below, a kasra on the seen, and a doubled noon. Hafs from Asim, Ibn 'Amir, and Hamzah read: 'And let him not think' with a ya as a reference to an absent one and a fatha on the seen. Either there is a pronoun of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, in the verb, or the estimation is: and let no one think, and his saying: 'Those who disbelieved' is the first object, and 'have preceded' is the second object. Or 'Those who disbelieved' are the doers, and the first object is implied, and 'have preceded' is the second object. The estimation of this view is: and let those who disbelieved not think of themselves that they have preceded. Or 'Those who disbelieved' is the doer, and 'that' is implied, so the estimation is: and let those who disbelieved not think that they have preceded. And 'that they have preceded' takes the place of the two objects. Al-Farisi said: This is as Sibawayh interpreted in His saying, exalted and glorified is He: 'Say, is it other than Allah you order me to worship?' [Surah Az-Zumar: 64], so the estimation is: 'to worship.'

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

And similar is the saying of the poet:

'Oh you who call me, be present at the battle...'

Abu Ali said: 'That' has been omitted, and it is with its connection in the place of the doer. Ahmad ibn Yahya recited in this:

'And what startled us was only a small amount with a condition...'

And Ibn 'Amir alone from the seven recited: 'That they will not be able to escape' with a fatha on the alif of 'that they.' Its meaning is to be estimated as: for they will not be able to escape, meaning: do not think that they will be saved because they will not escape. The majority read: 'They will not be able to escape' with a sukoon on the 'ain. Some people read, as mentioned by Abu Hatim: 'They will incapacitate' with a fatha on the 'ain and a shadda on the jeem. Ibn Muhaysin read: 'They will not be able to escape' with a kasra on the noon, and its meaning is 'They will not incapacitate me' by adding the pronoun. Al-Zajjaj said: The choice is to open the noon, and it is permissible to break it on the meaning: 'Indeed, they will not incapacitate me,' and the first noon is omitted due to the gathering of the two noons, as the poet said:

'You see him like a deer, smelling musk...'

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

The verse is for Amr ibn Ma'dikarib, and Abu al-Hasan al-Akhfash said regarding the saying of Mutammim ibn Nuwaira:

'And I have certainly known, and without a doubt, that I...'

'For the events, so do you see me despairing?'

This is permissible in cases of necessity. A group said: The first نون (noon) has been omitted, and its omission is not permissible because it is the place of إعراب (i'rab). Abu al-Abbas al-Mubarrid said: I see in cases like this the omission of the second one. And thus he used to say regarding the verse of Amr ibn Ma'dikarib.

And in the Mushaf of Abdullah: "And let not those who disbelieve think that they have escaped; indeed, they will not cause failure." Abu Amr al-Dani said: With a ياء (yaa) from below and without نون (noon) in "يَحْسَبُ".

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, mentioned that al-Tabari stated it with نون (noon).