His saying, exalted and majestic is He:

﴿In it is a flowing spring﴾ ﴿In it are raised couches﴾ ﴿And cups placed﴾ ﴿And cushions arranged﴾ ﴿And carpets spread﴾ ﴿Do they not look at the camels, how they are created﴾ ﴿And at the sky, how it is raised﴾ ﴿And at the mountains, how they are erected﴾ ﴿And at the earth, how it is spread﴾ ﴿So remind, for you are only a reminder﴾ ﴿You are not over them a controller﴾ ﴿Except for he who turns away and disbelieves﴾ ﴿Then Allah will punish him with the greatest punishment﴾ ﴿Indeed, to Us is their return﴾ ﴿Then indeed, upon Us is their reckoning﴾

"A spring" in this verse is a noun of genus, and it is possible that it refers to a specific spring mentioned in a manner of honoring it. The raising of the couches is more honorable for them, and "the cups" are vessels like the ewers that have no handles or spouts, and their shape is known among the Arabs. "Placed" means: prepared with its drinks, and "the cushion" is the pillow, and it is said "nimrīqah" with the noon and the ra broken. And Zuhair said:

؎ Old men and young men, handsome are their faces on raised couches and cushions

(p-601) And "the carpets" is singular "zarabiyyah," and it is said with the opening of the zay, and it is like the carpets that have a nap, as said by Al-Farra. They are colorful, and "spread" means: many and scattered.

Then the Exalted established the proof against those who deny His ability to resurrect bodies by directing them to the place of reflection in His creations. And "the camels" in this verse are the known camels; this is the saying of the majority of the interpreters. In the sentences are signs and lessons for those who reflect. There is no creature that stands from the brooks carrying it except for them. And despite their strength, they are the utmost in submission. Al-Thalabi said in some interpretations: A mouse ran with the reins of a she-camel, and it followed her until it entered the burrow, and the she-camel knelt and lowered her head to the mouth of the stone. And Shuraih the judge used to say to his companions: Let us go out to the pasture to see how the camels are created. And Abu Abbas Al-Mubarrid said: The camels here refer to the clouds because the Arabs may call them that when they come in groups like camels, and they are driven as camels are driven. And sometimes in their form, they resemble camels and ostriches, and from this is the saying of the poet:

؎ Like the clouds, they are like ostriches attached to the legs

And Abu Amr read - with a difference - and Isa "the camels" with a heavy lam, and it is the clouds according to what some linguists and the commentators mentioned. And the majority read: "created" with the opening of the qaf and the damma of the kha. And Ali ibn Abi Talib read: "I created" with the opening of the kha and the sukoon of the qaf, in the form of speaking. And likewise [it was raised, and it was erected, and it was spread]. And Abu Haywah read: "it was raised, and it was erected, and it was spread" with emphasis in them. And "it was erected" means: it established a standing in the air that does not collide. And the majority read: "it was spread" with the lightening of the ta, and Harun Al-Rashid read: "it was spread" with emphasis on the ta for exaggeration, and this is the reading of Al-Hasan. The apparent meaning of this verse is that the earth is flat, not spherical, and this is what the people of knowledge hold. The saying of its sphericity - although it does not diminish a pillar of the religion - is a saying that the scholars of the religion do not affirm.

Then Allah, the Most High, commanded His Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, to remind with these verses and similar ones. Then He negated that He would be dominant over the people, meaning overpowering them with arrogance and tyranny. It is said, 'So-and-so dominates us.' Some people read: 'Bimusaytirin' with a sin, and some of them read 'Bimusaytirin' with a sad. Harun read 'Bimusaytarin' with a fatha on the ta, which is the dialect of Tamim. And there is no speech of the Arabs on this form except for 'Musaytirin', 'Mubaytirin', 'Mubayqarin', and 'Muhayminin'. And in the names: 'Mudaybarin', and 'Mujaymirin', which is the name of a valley. It is possible that these two are diminutives.

His saying, the Most High: 'Except for he who turns away and disbelieves.' Some of the interpreters said: 'The exception is connected, and the meaning is: except for he who turns away and disbelieves, then you are dominant over him.' So this verse has no abrogation in it. Others among them said: 'The exception is separate, and the meaning is: 'You are not dominant over them.' And the speech is complete. And it is a verse of reconciliation that has been abrogated by the sword. Then Allah, the Most High, said: 'Except for he who turns away and disbelieves, then He will punish him.' And this is the correct saying; because the surah is Meccan, and fighting was revealed in Medina. And 'who' means 'the one who'. Ibn Abbas, Zayd ibn Aslam, Qatadah, and Zayd ibn Ali read: 'Ala man tawalla' with a fatha on the hamzah, meaning the beginning of the speech, and 'who' - according to this reading - is conditional. And 'the greater punishment' is the punishment of the Hereafter; because they have been punished in this world with hunger, killing, and other than that. Ibn Mas'ud read: 'For indeed, Allah will punish him.'

The majority read: 'Iyabahum', a source from 'aba ya'ubu' when he returns, which is the gathering and returning to Allah, the Most High. Abu Ja'far ibn al-Qaqa' read: 'Iyabahum' with a stress on the ya, in the form of 'Fialin' with a kasra on the fa, its origin is 'Fayal', from 'Ayb' whose action is originally 'Fayal'. It is correct that it could be from 'Awaba', thus it would come as 'Iwaaban', and the hamzah was facilitated. And it was necessary in the idgham to return it to 'Iwaban', but the ya was preferred in it without following the norm.

The interpretation of Surah [Al-Ghashiyah] is complete, and all praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.