Commentary
And this is the one after which the speech begins. The speech is the conditional sentence, and the punishment is their killing on the Day of Badr. Or the hunger when the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, called upon them, saying: "O Allah, intensify Your grip on Mudar and make it upon them years like the years of Yusuf." [Agreed upon from the hadith of Ibn Mas'ud, and it will come complete in the tafsir of Al-Dukhan.] So Allah tested them with drought until they ate carcasses, dogs, burnt bones, and [UNTRANSLATED-LATIN: al-qad] and children. The joo'ar is the screaming in supplication. He said: "The joo'ar of the hours of sleep to his Lord."] It is said to them then: Do not joo'ar, for the joo'ar is of no benefit to you from Us. You will not be supported, nor will you be helped from Us or from our side. You will not receive victory or assistance. They said: The pronoun in it refers to the ancient house or to the sanctuary. They used to say: No one can prevail over us because we are the people of the sanctuary. What justified this implicit reference is their fame for arrogance regarding the house, and that they had no pride except that they were its guardians and those who maintained it. It is permissible that it refers to My verses, although it was mentioned because it is in the meaning of My Book. The meaning of their arrogance regarding the Qur'an is their denial of it out of arrogance. The meaning of 'mutakabbir' includes that of 'mukadhib,' so it is a transitive verb. Or it may happen that listening to it is out of arrogance and tyranny, so you are arrogant because of it. Or the 'ba' may relate to Samara, meaning: you continue to mention the Qur'an and to insult it. They used to gather around the house at night to engage in conversation, and most of their conversation was about the Qur'an, calling it magic and poetry, and insulting the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him. Or they would engage in idle talk. The samir is like the present in reference to the group. It was read as 'samra' and 'samara.' And 'tahjuroon' and 'tahjuroon' from 'ahjara' in his speech if he was excessive. And 'hijr' - with a dammah - is excessiveness, and from 'hijr' which is an exaggeration in 'hijr' if he babbles. And 'hijr' - with a fatha - is babbling.
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