His saying, exalted and majestic is He:

"Indeed, the nasi' is an increase in disbelief. By it, those who disbelieve are led astray. They make it lawful for a year and make it unlawful for a year, so that they may align with the count of what Allah has forbidden, and thus make lawful what Allah has forbidden. Their evil deeds have been adorned for them, and Allah does not guide the disbelieving people."

"Nasi'" is on the pattern of Fa'il, a noun meaning delay. The Arabs say: Allah has delayed your term, and he has delayed your term. From this is the saying of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him: "Whoever is pleased with the delay in term and the abundance in provision, let him maintain the ties of kinship." This is the reading of the majority of people and the seven reciters. Ibn Kathir read, in what was narrated from him and a group with him in the rare reading: "Nasiyy" with a doubled yā. He also read, in what was narrated from him by Ja'far ibn Muhammad and az-Zuhri: "Nasi'". He also read, in what was narrated from him: "Nas'" on the pattern of "Nas'". A group read: "Nasy." As for "Nasi'" with the elongation and the hamzah, Abu Ali said: It is a noun like Nakir and Nadhir and Adhir of the tribe, and it is not permissible for it to be Fa'il in the meaning of Maf'ul; for the meaning would be: Indeed, the delayed one is an increase, and the delayed one is the month, and the month cannot be an increase in disbelief.

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

And Abu Hatim said: It is Fa'il in the meaning of Maf'ul, and it is separated from the obligation of Abu Ali by having a noun implied, as if the meaning is: Indeed, the delay of the nasi'. And at-Tabari said: It is from the meaning of increase, that is, their increase in the months. And Abu Wail said: "Nasi'" was a man from Banu Kinana.

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

And this is weak. As for "Nasy," it is the first one, its hamzah was softened. It is said that the hamzah was turned into a yā and the yā was assimilated into the yā. As for "Nas'", it is a noun from Nasā if he delayed. And as for "Nasy," it is said to be the softening of the hamzah of "Nas'" and that is not according to analogy. And at-Tabari said: It is a noun from Nasiya, he forgets if he leaves.

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

And the nasi' is the act of the Arabs in delaying the sacred months. And His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "an increase in disbelief" means: it is in accordance with their disbelief in Allah, and a contradiction from them to the truth. Thus, disbelief is multiplied by this act, which is false in itself.

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

And from what has been found in their poetry of this meaning is the saying of some of them:

And among us is the one who delays the month, the Qalammas.

And the other said:

They delayed the months by it, and they were its people, ∗∗∗ before you, and honor did not change.

And from it is the saying of Jithl al-Ti'an:

And indeed, Ma'ad knew that my people ∗∗∗ ∗∗∗ are the noble people, indeed they have nobles.

So which of the people has missed us with a single one? ∗∗∗ ∗∗∗ And which of the people has not raised your reins?

Are we not the ones who delay Ma'ad ∗∗∗ ∗∗∗ the months of permissibility we make them forbidden?

Ibn Kathir, Nafi', Abu Amr, Asim, and Ibn Amir read "yadillu" with a fatḥa on the ya and a kasra on the dad. Ibn Mas'ud, Al-Hasan, Mujahid, Qatadah, and Amr ibn Maymun read "yudillu" with a ḍamma on the ya and a kasra on the dad. This can either mean: Allah misleads, or it can mean: He misleads through it those who disbelieve, their followers. Thus, "those" in the first interpretation is in the accusative case, and in the second it is in the nominative case. Asim also read, along with Hamzah, Al-Kisai, and Ibn Mas'ud - as narrated from him - "yudallu" with a ḍamma on the ya and a fatḥa on the dad, referring to the object whose doer is not mentioned. This is supported by His saying, glorified and exalted is He: "(zuyyina)" for the sake of harmony in the wording. Abu Rija' read "yadillu" from ḍalla yadillu, in the form of fa'ila with a kasra on the 'ain and yaf'alu with a fatḥa on it. These are two dialects; it is said: ḍalla yadillu and ḍalla yadallu, and the form we mentioned differentiates between them. Likewise, it is narrated from the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him: "Until a man is misled to not know how many prayers he has performed" with a fatḥa on the dad and a kasra on it.

And His saying, glorified and exalted is He: "They make it lawful one year and unlawful another year" means: one year of the years, and He does not mean that there was an exchange in the month itself, a lawful year and an unlawful year.

Judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: Some people have interpreted the story to mean that when the succession of the sacred months became difficult for them, it became lawful for them to make the unlawful month lawful and to make Safar unlawful instead of it. Then the months continued straight according to their known names. When the next year came, they made the unlawful month unlawful in its right, and made Safar lawful, and the months continued straight. This group saw that this was the state of the people.

Judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: What we have presented before is more fitting with the wording of the verses, and it has been clarified by Mujahid and Abu Malik, and it is the implication of the Prophet's saying, blessings and peace be upon him: "Indeed, time has turned" while the matter has all been decreed. And Allah knows which of that was.

And His saying: "liyuwaṭi'ū" means: to agree, and muwaṭa'a means: agreement. Two men agree on something if they are in accord about it. The meaning of "liyuwaṭi'ū 'iddata ma ḥarrama Allah" is: to preserve in every year four months in number.

Judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: They have removed the virtue that Allah has specifically granted to the sacred months alone, as if one were to break the fast of Ramadan and fast a month of the year without illness or travel. And His saying: "zuyyina" can imply that this beautification is attributed to Allah, the Exalted, and it means His creation for their disbelief and their acknowledgment of it and making it beloved to them. It can also be attributed to their misleaders and those who mislead them from among humans and jinn. Then He informed, glorified and exalted is He, that He does not guide them nor direct them, and this is a general meaning with a specific implication for those who comply, or it is an absolute generality, but there is no guidance from where they are disbelievers.

Abu Ali al-Baghdadi mentioned regarding the matter of the Nasi' that when the people returned from Mina, a man named Naim ibn Thalabah would stand and say: 'I am the one who is not criticized and my judgment is not rejected.' They would say: 'Delay us a month,' meaning postpone the sanctity of Muharram and make it in Safar.

The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: 'The name Naim is not known in this context, and I see that only as what al-Naqqash from Banu Fuqaim narrated. They were called the Qalamisa, and one of them was called Qalamisa. They would give fatwas to the Arabs during the season. Their elder would stand in the Hijr, another would stand at the door, and another would stand at the corner and they would give fatwas.'

The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: 'Thus, they are a group, among them Naim and Safwan, and among them the descendants of Qalamisa, Hudhayfa and others.'

The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: 'And the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, said: "There is no contagion, nor is there any bad omen, nor is there Safar." Some people said that by his saying: "There is no Safar," he meant this Nasi', and it was said otherwise.