This verse was revealed to clarify that what the ignorant, the foolish, and the stubborn among the disbelievers have rejected and found strange—that the insignificant things are used as examples—is not a matter for rejection or astonishment. This is because the use of examples is intended to reveal meaning and lift the veil from the desired purpose, bringing the imagined closer to the observed. If the thing being exemplified is great, then the example used will be similar; if it is insignificant, then the example will be likewise. Thus, greatness and insignificance in the example given are merely matters that the condition of the thing being exemplified necessitates and draws to itself. The one giving the example acts according to that situation. Do you not see how truth, being clear and evident, is exemplified by light and illumination? And how falsehood, being the opposite of its attribute, is exemplified by darkness? And since the condition of the deities that the disbelievers have made equals to Allah, glorified and exalted is He, is not lower and lesser, it is for this reason that the house of the spider is made an example of them in weakness and frailty. It is made lesser than the fly and of lower worth, and the mosquito is used as an example for what is beneath it. The one who uses it as an example is not rejected or thought strange, nor does he say to the one exemplifying: be ashamed of using the mosquito as an example, for he is correct in his exemplification, true in his words, driving the example according to the matter being exemplified, and following the example of what is judged and called for. This illustrates that the believers, who are accustomed to fairness and acting justly, and looking at matters with the eye of reason, when they hear such an example, know that it is the truth, which no doubt can approach, and the correctness that no error can surround.

And the disbelievers, who are overwhelmed by ignorance in their minds and blinded in their insight, do not perceive or reflect, or if they know it is the truth, the love of leadership and the desire for tradition prevent them from being fair. So when they hear it, they oppose it and resist it, declaring it false, and respond to it with denial. This is the reason for the increase in guidance for the believers and the immersion of the wicked in their error and misguidance. It is astonishing how they denied this, while people have always drawn examples from animals, birds, creeping things, insects, and pests. These are examples from the Arabs before them, prevalent in their cities and deserts, where they have exemplified the most insignificant things, saying: more gathered than a speck, bolder than a fly, more audible than a gnat, and weaker than a moth, and more consuming than weevils. They said of the mosquito: weaker than a mosquito, and more precious than the brain of the mosquito. I have been burdened by the brain of the mosquito. Indeed, examples have been drawn in the Gospel from insignificant things, such as tares and chaff, mustard seeds, pebbles, termites, worms, and wasps. The use of these things and even more insignificant ones as examples does not diminish their correctness and validity for one who has even the slightest grasp. However, the habit of the one who is refuted and bewildered, who has no evidence to cling to nor sign to hold onto, is to reject the obvious and deny the straightforward, relying on stubbornness and deception when he finds nothing else to rely upon. And from al-Hasan and Qatadah: when Allah mentioned the fly and the spider in His Book and used them as examples for the polytheists, the Jews laughed and said: this does not resemble the words of Allah.

So Allah, exalted and mighty is He, revealed this verse.

And shyness is a change and a breaking that occurs in a person from the fear of what he may be blamed for and criticized. Its derivation is from life.

It is said: The man is shy, just as it is said: He forgot, and the [UNTRANSLATED-LATIN: wahshi] and the [UNTRANSLATED-LATIN: shadha] of the horse, when these limbs are afflicted. [The saying "when these limbs are afflicted" refers to sciatica, the [UNTRANSLATED-LATIN: hasha], and the [UNTRANSLATED-LATIN: shadha]. In the authentic texts: the [UNTRANSLATED-LATIN: shadha] is a thin bone attached to the arm, and when it moves in its place, it is said: The horse has [UNTRANSLATED-LATIN: shadha].] The living being is made weak by what befalls him of breaking and change, diminished in strength and life, as they said: So-and-so perished out of shyness from such-and-such, and died out of shyness, and I saw destruction on his face from extreme shyness. And he melted from shyness, and froze in place out of embarrassment. If you say: How is it permissible to describe the Eternal, glorified and exalted is He, with this? [Mahamud, may Allah have mercy on him, said: "If you say how is it permissible to describe Allah, the Exalted, with shyness ... etc.?" Ahmad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: And one may say: What prompted him to interpret the verse while the shyness that is feared to attribute its apparent meaning to Allah, the Exalted, is negated in the verse, like saying: Allah is neither a body nor a substance in the context of glorification and sanctification. As for the interpretation of the hadith, it is straightforward, because shyness is established for Allah, the Exalted. And Al-Zamakhshari could respond that negation in such a case only applies to what can be attributed to the negated. The concept of denying shyness from Him in a specific matter implies the establishment of shyness in another. Thus, the need calls for its interpretation due to what its concept leads to. The question only arises if shyness were completely negated, like saying: Allah does not change or cease, for that would not be established and is impossible. Rather, it is said: He is sacred and absolutely exalted,] and change, fear, and blame do not befit Him. This is in the hadith of Salman, who said: The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, said: "Indeed, Allah is Living and Generous [This was narrated by Abu Dawood, Al-Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah, Ibn Hibban, and Al-Hakim from his narration with the wording: 'Indeed, your Lord is Living and Generous, He is shy of His servant when he raises his hands to Him to return them empty.' Al-Tirmidhi said: It is good and strange. Some narrated it without raising it. There are also reports from Anas, may Allah be pleased with him. It was narrated by Abdul Razzaq who informed us from Ma'mar from Aban from him. It was narrated by Abu Nu'aym in Al-Hilya through the route of Aban. Al-Hakim narrated it through the route of Hafs ibn Umar ibn Abdullah ibn Abu Talha who said: Anas ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with them both, told me that the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, said: 'Indeed, Allah is Merciful, Living, and Generous, He is shy of His servant raising his hands and then not placing anything good in them.' And from Jabir, it was narrated by Abu Ya'la. In it is Yusuf ibn Muhammad ibn Al-Munkadir who is abandoned. And from Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both, it was narrated by Al-Tabarani.] He is shy when His servant raises his hands to Him that He returns them empty until He places something good in them." I say: It is in the manner of an example, like His not disappointing the servant, and that He does not return his hands empty from His generosity, as He does not leave the one who raises his hands in need out of shyness from him. Likewise, the meaning of His saying: "Indeed, Allah does not shy away" means He does not refrain from giving an example with a mosquito, as one who is shy would not liken it due to its insignificance. This phrase may also occur in the speech of the disbelievers, as they said: Does the Lord of Muhammad not feel shy to give an example with a fly and a spider? It came in the manner of a counter and a comprehensive response to the question. This is a fine art of their speech, a wondrous style, such as the saying of Abu Tammam: Who will convey to the people of [UNTRANSLATED-LATIN: A'rab] all of them ... that I built the neighbor before the house? [By Abu Tammam. The courtyard of the house: what extends from its sides, and its plural is courtyards. It is said: It is from the courtyards of people, if it is not known from which tribe he is, meaning from their edges. [UNTRANSLATED-LATIN: Ya'rab] is the name of a tribe, and building the neighbor means taking him as a neighbor, it is called building in a figurative sense as it is paired with what is built, which is the house, and it is a metaphor due to the commonality of absolute taking or its mental or verbal neighboring relationship. This relationship applies in all figurative speech. Some did not accept it and preferred that if there is no relationship for it, it is a fourth category, neither reality nor metaphor nor metonymy.] And a man testified before Shurayh. He said: Indeed, you are the offspring of the testimony. The man said: It has not been twisted from me. He said:

May Allah bless your land, and before his testimony. So, that which justifies the building of the neighbor and the folding of the testimony is the consideration of similarity. If it were not for the building of the house, the building of the neighbor would not be valid. And the folding of the testimony would be prevented. Glorified and exalted is He, how remarkable is the matter of the revelation and its encompassing of the arts of eloquence and its branches. You can hardly find an art in it without encountering its most upright methods and most precise paths. And shyness has been borrowed in what is not valid for it:

When the water is shy, it presents itself... like a skin in a vessel of roses.

In a vessel of roses. The spring has sufficed the camels from its blessings... so it came to him, not hearing a call except for the thunder.

When the water is shy, it presents itself... like a skin in a vessel of roses.

This is by Al-Mutanabbi. And the camels are the she-camels. And the spring is the rain. And the call is the song for the camels, and the exception is connected by likening the thunder to the call, making it one of its individuals. That is: the abundance of the camels has sufficed our need, so much so that it is as if it presents itself to the she-camels. It is said: 'I was shy' and 'it was shy' as here, meaning if they feared presenting themselves to them, or refrained from it. And it was narrated 'they responded' with a single jīm, meaning they obeyed him in presenting themselves to them. And the phrase 'it presents itself' is in a state of being. And the skin has been borrowed, with the kashrah, which is the tanned hide with the acacia, for the lips of the she-camels in a way of explicitness. Likewise, the vessel of roses has been borrowed for the blessing that has increased in its flowers and light, even if that vessel does not exist, and 'in' means 'from'. And it is possible that he made the earth a container for drinking.

And He struck the example: its reliance and its making, like striking milk and striking a ring. And in the hadith, "The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, struck a ring of gold" [[Narrated by Muslim from the hadith of Anas, may Allah be pleased with him.]] And (what) is ambiguous [Mahamud said, may Allah have mercy on him: "And what is ambiguous ... etc." Ahmad said, may Allah have mercy on him: And there is a mistake by the Imam of the Two Sanctuaries in affirming the generality of the text in his saying, blessings and peace be upon him: "Any woman who marries without the permission of her guardian ... the hadith" for he affirmed the generality and ambiguity in 'any', then said: If it is added to it 'what' conditional, that would be more effective in necessitating the generality, he believed that the emphatic one is the conditional, and it is merely an additional particle for this purpose. As for 'what' conditional, it is a noun like 'who'. And Allah is the Guide.]] And it is that if it is combined with an indefinite noun, it makes it ambiguous and increases its commonality and generality, like saying: Give me a book, you mean any book. Or it is a means for emphasis, like that in His saying: (So for what they broke of their covenant) as if it were said: He is not shy to strike an example truly or at all. This is if you make it accusative with 'a mosquito', and if you raise it, then it is relative. [[Mahamud said: "This is if you make it accusative with 'a mosquito', and if you raise it, then it is relative ... until he said: And another beautiful aspect is that it could be ... etc." Ahmad said: To interpret it as interrogative in the sense he established: there is a view because His saying, the Exalted, "So what is above it" in terms of insignificance means: So what is below it. Or it is meant: So what is larger than it in size. And in both cases, the question is limited because it is only used in something like: what is one dinar and two dinars, meaning if he is generous with much, then what of the little. And if you take this approach in the verse, you would not find a basis for its correctness, as the response would be: Indeed, Allah is not shy to strike an example with the insignificant, so what is the mosquito and what is more insignificant than it. And we have assumed that it is in one of the two aspects an end in insignificances, and in the other aspect it is not an end, but the end is in His saying: (So what is above it) meaning below it. So if you take what comes after the question as the end in both cases, the mentioned indication would not be organized, but rather the purpose would be reversed in it, as the intended meaning in something like our saying: So-and-so does not care about giving thousands, so what of the single dinar - the indication that giving a little of it is confirmed by giving a lot of it by priority, and it does not become established in the verse on this estimate that He is not shy to strike an example with the insignificant that does not reach the end, so how could He be shy to strike an example with what reaches the end in insignificance like the mosquito. This is a reversal of the order of priority, and if the verse were an example presented in a different discourse like the saying of someone: Indeed, Allah is not shy to strike an example with the mosquito which is the end in insignificance, so what of the cattle which is more magnificent than the mosquito or further from insignificance in a way that is not hidden, then the establishment of Zamakhshari would be directed, and I do not see, and Allah knows best, except that he is mistaken in this regard. And I have prolonged the soul and expanded the expression in objection to him, except that it is a narrow place and a meaning that is difficult to grasp except with this additional elaboration. And enough of the place of reversal on the understanding of Zamakhshari, especially with his accustomed understanding and accuracy in weaving it, particularly in arranging meanings and detailing them, and Allah is the Guide. And what he boasted about finding the aspect that he thought Ru'bah ibn al-Ajaj considered in his recitation, is weak speech that he assumed that the reading is entrusted to the opinion of the reader and his directing it and his support of it with Arabic and eloquence in the language, and that is not the case, rather the reading in its various forms and after its letters: is a Sunnah that is followed, and hearing is concluded by its transmission, the eloquent and others equally, there is no way for the eloquent in the difficulty of anything of it from what he heard from it, and what can he do with his eloquence in the Quran which has dispelled all eloquence and isolated all rhetoric. So the correct and believed is that every reader is isolated except for what he has heard and retained, and has learned from the mouths, so he conveyed it until it reaches listening from the most sincere of those who spoke the 'Dhad': our master Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him. So contemplate this section, for few are those who understand it.]}

Indeed, Allah has the ability to manifest in relation to partners and the insignificance of their status with something that is smaller and lesser than it, as if He manifested with the indivisible part and with that which cannot be perceived, due to its extreme smallness, except for Him alone by His grace, or with the nonexistent, as the Arabs say: 'So-and-so is less than nothing in number.' And indeed, His saying: (Indeed, Allah knows what they invoke besides Him of anything) relates to this. This reading is attributed to Ru'bah ibn al-Ajajj, who was the most eloquent among the Arabs regarding the plant known as 'shayh' and 'qaysum,' and he was known for his eloquence. They used to liken him to al-Hasan, and I do not think he intended in this reading except for this meaning, which corresponds to his eloquence. The word (B'UDH'AH) is in the accusative as an apposition to (MATHALAN). Or it is an object for the verb 'to strike,' and (MATHALAN) is a circumstantial phrase for the indefinite noun that precedes it. Or both are accusative objects, so the verb 'to strike' is treated like 'to make.' The derivation of 'b'udhah' is from 'b'ud,' which means to cut, like 'b'dh' and 'a'dhb.' It is said: 'Some of it is the mosquito.' And it has been said: 'What a good house is the house of Abu Dithar, when some of the people fear some of the mosquitoes.' The intended meaning of the house is the shelter that protects from mosquitoes during the summer nights for those inside it: and Abu Dithar is a man's name. And 'dithar' is what is worn over clothing when fearing some of the people from some of the mosquitoes, meaning it cuts and stings. It is possible that the meaning is: what a good refuge and shelter is the house of Abu Dithar, fearing some people from the harm of others. In it is a play on words, which is a feature of eloquent speech. And from it: part of something because it is a cut from it. The mosquito in its origin is an adjective in the form of 'fa'ul' like 'qatu' and it has predominated. Likewise, 'khumush' [the term 'khumush' in the dictionaries refers to mosquitoes]. So, what is above it has two meanings: one is that it exceeds it and increases upon it in the meaning for which it was made an example, which is scarcity and insignificance, like when you say to someone who says: 'So-and-so is the lowest and most despicable of people': he is above that, meaning he is more pronounced and deeper in what he has been described with in terms of lowliness and contemptibility. The second is that it exceeds it in size, as if he intended by that to refute what they found objectionable in making an example of the fly and the spider, because they are larger than the mosquito. Just as you say to your friend—after he has criticized someone you know who is stingy with the least of things, saying: 'So-and-so is stingy with a dirham and two dirhams'—he does not care to be stingy with half a dirham or more, meaning by 'more' what he is stingy with, which is the dirham and the two dirhams, as if you said: let alone the dirham and the two dirhams. And similarly in the two possibilities is what we heard in Sahih Muslim from Ibrahim from al-Aswad who said: A group of young men from Quraysh entered upon Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, while she was in Mina and they were laughing. She said: 'What makes you laugh?' They said: 'So-and-so fell on the tent's edge and his neck or eye almost went.' She said: 'Do not laugh. I heard the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, say: 'No Muslim is pricked by a thorn or anything above it except that a degree is written for him and a sin is erased from him.' This implies what is beyond the thorn and exceeds it in scarcity, which is like the elite of the ant in his saying, peace be upon him.

Whatever afflicts a believer of hardship is an expiation for his sins, even the bite of an ant. [[I did not find it. The origin of the hadith—without what is at the end—is narrated through many chains.]] It is its bite. It is possible that there is something more severe than a thorn and more painful, like a fall on the tent peg. If you say: How can a parable be struck with something less than a mosquito, which is the smallest? I say: It is not so, for the wing of a mosquito is less than it and smaller by degrees. The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, struck it as a parable for the world [[As if he is referring to the hadith of Sahl ibn Sa'd, which is raised: 'If the world were to be equal to Allah in worth of a mosquito's wing, He would not give a disbeliever a drink of water.' Narrated by al-Tirmidhi.]], and in the creation of Allah, there are creatures smaller than it and its wing. Perhaps you have seen in the folds of ancient books a tiny creature that can hardly be seen by sharp eyesight except when it moves, and when it is still, stillness conceals it. Then, if you wave your hand at it, it veers away from you and avoids its harm. Glorified is He who perceives the form of that and its apparent and hidden limbs and the details of its creation, and sees its sight and knows its innermost thoughts. Perhaps in His creation, there is something smaller than it and smaller (Glorified is He who created all pairs of what the earth produces, and of themselves, and of what they do not know). And I recited for some of them: O You who sees the stretch of the mosquito's wing... in the darkness of the pitch-black night. And sees the veins of its ligature in its throat... and the marrow in those thin bones.

Forgive a servant who has repented from his excesses... what was from him in the earlier time. [This is for Al-Zamakhshari, and although it is his habit in the book not to attribute his poetry to himself. He says: O Allah, O Seer of the hidden, until the mosquito stretches its wing in the darkness of the night. Al-Bahim: the dark, due to the obscurity of things in it. Al-Aleel: a comparative form of night - even though it is a noun - for the sake of emphasis on darkness. Al-Nayat: a thick vein connected to the heart, to which thin veins are attached. Al-Nahr: the lower part of the neck, and Al-Makh: what is in the midst of the bones. Al-Nahl: the plural of Nahil, meaning thin. Al-Faratat: his sins that he neglected. And 'what was' is the object of 'forgive.' The earlier time: the time of youth.] As for 'fa' (فَأَمَّا), it is a particle that has the meaning of condition, and thus it is answered with 'fa.' Its benefit in speech is that it gives it the advantage of emphasis. You say: Zayd is going. If you intend to emphasize that he is certainly going and is on the verge of going, and that he has made a firm decision, you say: As for Zayd, he is going. Therefore, Sibawayh said in his interpretation: Whatever happens, Zayd is going. This interpretation serves two benefits: it clarifies that it is an emphasis, and that it has the meaning of condition. In presenting the two sentences prefixed with it - even if he did not say: 'And those who believed know, and those who disbelieved say' - there is great praise for the matter of the believers, and a recognition of their knowledge that it is the truth, and a reproach to the disbelievers for neglecting their share and their obstinacy and throwing them with foolish words. And the established truth that cannot be denied. It is said: The truth of the matter, when it is established and obligatory. And the word of your Lord has been fulfilled, and a garment that is established: well woven. And 'what' has two aspects: that it is a relative pronoun meaning 'which,' thus it would be two words. And that 'what' is combined with 'that' to form one name, thus it is one word. On the first aspect, it is raised in position as a subject, and its predicate is 'that' with its connection. And on the second, it is in the accusative position in the sense of 'what' alone if you said: What did Allah intend? The more correct in its response is that it comes on the first as raised, and on the second as accusative, to match the response to the question. They have permitted the opposite of that, you say - in response to one who said: What did you see? - Good, meaning the seen is good. And in response to 'What did you see?' - Goodness, meaning I saw goodness. And the saying of Allah, the Exalted: 'They ask you what they should spend, say: the surplus' has been recited in the nominative and accusative on both estimates. And the intention is the opposite of dislike, and it is the source of wanting something when your soul seeks it and your heart inclines towards it. In the limits of the theologians: intention is a meaning that necessitates for the living a state for which an action occurs from him in one way rather than another. They have differed regarding the intention of Allah; some hold that the Creator has a quality of intending like ours, which is purpose, and it is something additional to Him being knowledgeable and not heedless. Others hold that the meaning of His intention for His actions is that He performed them while not heedless or compelled. And the meaning of His intention for the actions of others is that He commanded them. And the pronoun in 'that it is the truth' refers to the example, or to strike. And in their saying 'What did Allah intend by this example' there is a disdain and belittlement, as Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, said about Abdullah ibn Amr ibn Al-As [He is part of a narration reported by Muslim in the Book of Menstruation from the narration of Ubaid ibn Umayr, who said: 'Aisha heard that Abdullah ibn Amr ibn Al-As was instructing women that when they bathe, they should undo their hair. Aisha said: O how strange is this son of Amr! ... the narration.]. O how strange is this son of Amr? 'Example' is in the accusative as a specification, like saying to someone who answered with a foolish answer: What did you intend by this answer?

And for whoever carries a bad weapon. How can you benefit from this weapon? Or in the manner of his saying: "This is the she-camel of Allah for you as a sign." And his saying: "He leads astray many by it and guides many by it" is valid in the interpretation and explanation of the two sentences that begin with 'but.' And that a group of the scholars affirm that it is the truth, while a group of the ignorant mock it, both are described as numerous. And that knowledge of it being true is from the guidance that has increased the believers' light to their light. And that ignorance of its good source is from the misguidance that has increased the ignorant in their darkness. If you say: Why are the guided ones described as numerous, while the fewness is their attribute? [Mahamud may Allah have mercy on him said: If you say: How are the guided ones described as numerous... etc.? Ahmad may Allah have mercy on him said: Its answer is correct, and its analogy with the verse is that the poet only meant that the number of the noble, even if few in themselves, the one among them is equivalent to a thousand of his kind in terms of the general benefit and the spread of his generosity. And the number of the base, even if they are many, the most among them is counted as one of the others, perhaps due to their hands being restrained from generosity and the lack of their benefit extending to others, as in the saying of Ibn Yazid: "People are a thousand of them like one... and one is like a thousand if he commands with honor." And as for the verse, its content is that the number of the guided is many in itself, and the content of the other verses is that their number is few in comparison to the great number of the misled. So it is expressed sometimes as numerous in regard to itself, and sometimes as few in regard to others. Thus, the meaning of the verse is not related to the meaning of the poem at all.] And (and few of My servants are grateful), (and few are they), people are like a hundred camels, you do not find among them a rider. Did you find people to inform you of their fewness? I said: The people of guidance are many in themselves, and when they are described as few, it is only in comparison to the people of misguidance. Also, the few among the guided is truly many even if they are few in appearance, so they are called many in reference to the truth: "Indeed, the noble are many in the land, even if they are few, just as others are few even if they are many." [The 'few' - with the opening vowel - means the little, which is intended. And with the closing vowel: it means the fewness, and it is also used to mean the little. And with the middle vowel: it means trembling with anger. He says: Indeed, the noble in this world are many due to their abundance of good, because the noble is equivalent to a thousand base. And while they are few in number, just as others - meaning the base - are few in good even if they are many in number. So the point of similarity is the gathering of abundance and fewness in each on distribution.] And attributing misguidance to Allah, the Exalted, is attributing the action to the cause. [Mahamud may Allah have mercy on him said: "And attributing misguidance to Allah, the Exalted, is attributing the action to the cause... etc. Ahmad may Allah have mercy on him said: It follows the principle of causation in the belief that associating partners with Allah and misguidance are among the created things outside of His creations, rather they are from the creations of the servant for himself according to the claim of this group - exalted is Allah above what the wrongdoers say in great exaltation. And look at the narrowness of the noose, for the predominance of the narratives has led to the releases of the scholars, which have been arranged upon the truths of beliefs. This is from the committing of desires and entering into destruction. How ugly is the statement that Allah is the cause of misguidance, not its creator, just as the basket is the cause of placing the shackles on the legs of the imprisoned. And attributing the action to Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, is a metaphor, not a reality, just as attributing the action to the land is likewise! What a representation it has become, and an analogy that has led to straying from the correct view, rejected in detail and in general. We ask Allah, the Exalted, for protection from such a slip, and He is the Guardian of success.] For when the example was struck, some were favored by it and some were guided by it, it caused their misguidance and guidance. And from Malik ibn Dinar may Allah have mercy on him, he entered upon a prisoner who had been taken for his money and was shackled, and he said: O Abu Yahya, do you not see what we are in of shackles? Malik raised his head and saw a basket. He said: Whose basket is this? He said: Mine, so he ordered it to be lowered, and there were chickens and scraps.

These have placed the shackles on your leg. And Zayd ibn Ali read: "He leads astray by it many." Likewise: "And none leads astray by it except the transgressors." And transgression is to deviate from the intended purpose. Ru'bah said:

"And a transgressor from its purpose, wandering... They go in Najd and in a deep valley."

This is by Ru'bah ibn al-Ajajj, and it was said to Dhul-Rummah, describing Nuf who walks in the wilderness, deviating from the straight path, surpassing its limits.

And he clarified that by saying: "They go," and it was narrated: "They hasten," meaning they speed up sometimes in a high place, and sometimes in a low place: meaning in a place of great depression. So "Ghawran" is in the accusative as an adverbial expression. And "Ghayran" is an emphatic description.

The transgressor in the Shari'ah is one who deviates from Allah's command by committing a major sin, and he is in between the two positions.

The saying "he is in between the two positions" is according to the Mu'tazilah, while according to the Ahl al-Sunnah, he is a believer, and transgression does not remove him from faith.

That is, he is between the position of the believer and the disbeliever. They said that the first one to define this limit was Abu Hudhayfah Wasil ibn Ata, may Allah be pleased with him and his followers.

And being in between means that his ruling is the ruling of the believer in that he can marry, inherit, be washed, prayed over, and buried in the graves of the Muslims. And he is like the disbeliever in terms of blame, cursing, and disavowing him, and the belief in his enmity, and that his testimony is not accepted.

The opinion of Malik ibn Anas and the Zaidiyyah is that prayer behind him is not valid. And the rebellious leaders among the disbelievers are called transgressors. Both usages have come in the Book of Allah: "Wretched is the name of disobedience after faith." It refers to mockery and calling names. "Indeed, the hypocrites are the transgressors."

Annulling is the breaking and dismantling of a structure. If you say: From where is the use of annulling permissible in invalidating a covenant?

I say: From the fact that they call the covenant a rope metaphorically, due to the stability of the connection between the parties to the covenant. And from it is the saying of Ibn al-Tihhan in the pledge of Aqabah: "O Messenger of Allah, indeed between us and the people are ropes, and we are cutting them, so we fear that if Allah, the Exalted, honors you and grants you victory, you may return to your people."

And this is one of the secrets of eloquence and its subtleties that they remain silent about mentioning the borrowed thing, then they allude to it by mentioning something of its companions. They indicate by that allusion its place. An example of this is your saying: a brave one who preys on his peers, and a scholar from whom people draw. And when a woman marries, she is made exclusive. You did not say this except that you have indicated the brave one and the scholar as being a lion and a sea, and about the woman as being a bed. The covenant is the binding agreement. To entrust him with something means to advise him about it and bind him to it. To take a pledge from him means to stipulate it and to secure it from him. The intended meaning by these who break the covenant of Allah are the obstinate Jewish scholars, or their hypocrites, or all disbelievers. If you ask: what is meant by the covenant of Allah? I say: what is established in their minds as evidence for monotheism, as if it were a command that He entrusted them with and bound them to it. This is the meaning of His saying: (And We took a covenant from the Children of Israel, and We raised up among them twelve leaders). Or He took a pledge from them that if a Messenger were sent to them - whom Allah would support with miracles - they would believe in him and follow him, and they would not conceal his mention in the previous scriptures revealed to them, as in His saying: (And fulfill My covenant, I will fulfill your covenant). And His saying in the Gospel to Jesus, peace be upon him: "I will send down to you a Book containing news of the Children of Israel, and what I showed them of the signs, and what I bestowed upon them, and what they broke of their covenant which they made, and what they neglected of His covenant to them." And His good treatment of those who upheld the covenant of Allah, the Exalted, and fulfilled their pledge, and His support for them, and how He unleashed His punishment and wrath upon those who betrayed and broke their covenant and did not fulfill their pledge. Because the Jews did in the name of Jesus what they did in the name of Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon them, of distortion and denial, and they disbelieved in him as they disbelieved in Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him. It is said that it is Allah's taking the covenant from them not to shed each other's blood, nor to wrong one another, nor to sever their ties of kinship. It is said that the covenant of Allah with His creation consists of three covenants: the first covenant which He took from all the descendants of Adam, the acknowledgment of His Lordship, which is His saying: (And when your Lord took from the Children of Adam their descendants). And the covenant specifically taken from the prophets to convey the message and establish the religion and not to divide in it, which is His saying: (And when We took from the prophets their covenant). And the covenant specifically taken from the scholars, which is His saying: (And when Allah took the covenant from those who were given the Scripture, that you should make it clear to the people and not conceal it). The pronoun in His covenant refers to the covenant, which they secured with Allah's covenant by accepting it and binding themselves to it. It may also mean its securing, just as the appointment and birth mean the promise and birth. It may also refer back to Allah, the Exalted, meaning after He secured it upon them, or after He secured His covenant with them through His signs and books and the warning of His messengers. And the meaning of their cutting off what Allah commanded to be connected is their severing of kinship and their allegiance to the believers. It is said that they cut off the connection and unity among the prophets in their belief in some and their disbelief in others. If you ask: what is the command? I say: it is the request for action from someone beneath you and urging him to do it. And thus it is called the command which is one of the matters because the caller who calls to it resembles a commander who commands it, so it is called a command, naming the object by the source as if it were commanded, just as it is said to be a matter. And the matter is the request and intention. It is said: I intended his matter, meaning I aimed at his aim. They are the losers because they exchanged breaking for fulfilling, severing for connecting, corruption for righteousness, and its punishment for its reward.