'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' The evil before the good is like the punishment before the well-being. And the kindness to them is by granting them respite. This is because they asked the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, to bring them the punishment, mocking him for his warning. And certainly, punishments like theirs from the disbelievers have passed before them. So why do they not take heed from them and not mock? The punishment is called 'mithlah' in the same way as 'samarah'. The 'mithlah' is what is between the punishment and the one being punished, in terms of similarity. And the recompense for an evil deed is an evil deed like it. It is said: I made the man similar to his companion and I recounted it to him. The example is the retaliation. And 'al-mathalat' is read with two dhammas due to the following of the fa' and 'ayn. And 'al-mathalat' is pronounced with a fatḥah on the meem and a sukoon on the thaa, as it is said: 'samarah'. 'Al-mathalat' with a dhammah on the meem and a sukoon on the thaa is a reduction of 'al-mathalat' with two dhammas. 'Al-mathalat' is the plural of 'mithlah' like 'rukbah' and 'rukbat'. 'Certainly, your Lord is the Most Forgiving for the people despite their wrongdoing', meaning with their wrongdoing against themselves through sins. Its position is in the state, meaning they are wrongdoers to themselves. And there are several opinions regarding this. It may refer to the minor sins that are expiated for those who avoid the major sins. Or it may refer to the major sins on the condition of repentance. Or it may mean by forgiveness the covering and the granting of respite. It has been narrated that when this was revealed, the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, said: 'If it were not for Allah's forgiveness and His overlooking, no one would have enjoyed life, and if it were not for His warning and punishment, everyone would have become careless.'