Commentary
His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "Indeed, those who have tried the believers, both men and women, then did not repent, for them is the punishment of Hell, and for them is the punishment of the burning." "Indeed, those who have believed and done righteous deeds, for them are gardens beneath which rivers flow. That is the great success." "Indeed, the grip of your Lord is severe." "Indeed, He initiates and brings back." "And He is the Forgiving, the Loving." "Lord of the Glorious Throne." "Effectual for what He intends."
"Tried" means: burned. And I have tried gold and silver in the fire: I burned them. And "the trial" refers to the black stones of the hot stones because the sun seems to have burned them. And whoever says that these last verses are about Quraysh, he makes the trial a test and punishment. This interpretation is supported by His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "Then did not repent"; because this word in Quraysh is more definitive than in those who have known that they died upon their disbelief. As for Quraysh, there were among them at the time of the revelation of the verse those who repented afterward and believed in Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him. And "Hell and the burning" are two levels of fire. And whoever says that the fire came out and burned the disbelievers sitting, the burning was made in this world. And "the grip" is taking with strength and speed. "And He initiates and brings back". Al-Dahhak and Ibn Zayd said: Its meaning is: "He initiates" creation by bringing it into existence and "brings back" by resurrection. Ibn Abbas said its meaning is: This is general for all things. It is an expression that He does everything, that is, He initiates everything that is initiated and brings back everything that is brought back. And these two categories encompass all things. And Al-Tabari said: Its meaning is: He initiates the punishment and brings it back upon the disbelievers.
And "the Forgiving, the Loving" are two attributes of action. The first is covering over His servants, and the second is kindness towards them and goodness to them. And He specified the Throne by adding Himself to it as an honor and a reminder that it is the greatest of creations. Hamzah, Al-Kisai, Al-Mufaddal from Asim, Al-Hasan, Ibn Wathab, Al-Amash, and Amr ibn Ubaid read: "the Glorious" with the lowering of the dal as an attribute of the Throne. This is based on the fact that glory and magnificence can be described by many of the existents. They have said: The animal has become glorious when it has become fat, and it has been made glorious when it has done good to it. And they said: "In every tree, there is fire, and the marakh and the ifar have become glorious," meaning their fire has increased. The rest of the people and the majority read: "the Glorious" with the raising as an attribute of Allah, exalted and majestic is He. The majority read: "Lord of the Throne," and Ibn Amer narrated: "Owner of the Throne" as a description of His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "Indeed, the grip of your Lord."
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