The biting of the hands and fingers, and the falling into the hand, and eating the fingers, and the burning of the teeth and the molars. [His saying "and the burning of the teeth and the molars" in the authentic texts: I burned something, meaning I rubbed it and scraped some of it against another. From this comes their saying: I burned my tusk, meaning I crushed it until it made a sound. And so-and-so burns the molars upon you in anger. It is also said: He bit down on something, meaning he bit it, and he also ate it, and the molars are the back teeth, as if it is a plural of 'arm.' It is said: So-and-so burns the molars upon you, if he becomes angry and grinds his teeth against each other. (A)] And striking them is a metaphor for anger and regret, because it is one of its companions. The companion is mentioned, and it indicates the accompanied, thus elevating the speech to a level of eloquence. The listener finds in himself a sense of awe and appreciation that he does not find in the word that is metaphorically referred to. It is said that it was revealed concerning 'Uqbah ibn Abi Mu'ayt ibn Umayyah ibn Abd Shams, who frequently sat with the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him. It is said that he hosted a meal and invited the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, but he refused to eat from his food until he uttered the two testimonies. He did so, and Abu Jahl was his friend, and he reproached him and said: 'Have you turned to another religion, O 'Uqbah?' He said: 'No, but I vowed not to eat from my food while he is in my house, so I felt ashamed of him and bore witness for him, although the testimony was not in my heart.' He said: 'My face is forbidden to you if you meet Muhammad and do not step on his neck, spit in his face, and strike his eye.' He found him prostrating in the Dar al-Nadwa, and he did that. The Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, said: 'I will not meet you outside of Mecca except that I will strike your head with the sword.' He was killed on the Day of Badr: Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, ordered him to be killed. It is said that he was killed by 'Asim ibn Thabit ibn Aflah al-Ansari, who said: 'O Muhammad, to where is the captive?' [His saying "and said, O Muhammad, to where is the captive" in the authentic texts: 'the captive' refers to a woman who is taken captive.] He said: 'To the Fire.' The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, struck Abu Jahl on the Day of Uhud, and he returned to Mecca and died. [This was narrated by Abu Nu'aym in the Dalail through Muhammad ibn Marwan from al-Kalbi from Abu Salih from Ibn Abbas, and he mentioned it in detail until he said: 'So 'Uqbah was captured on the Day of Badr and was killed in captivity. No one else was killed from the captives on the Day of Badr except him. He was killed by Thabit ibn Abi Aflah.' Al-Tabari narrated from the path of Mujahid regarding the saying of Allah, the Exalted: 'And the Day the wrongdoer will bite his hands.' He said: 'Uqbah ibn Abi Mu'ayt invited the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, to a meal he prepared until he said: 'I bore witness for him, although the testimony was not in my heart.' And from the path of Muqsim, similarly, but briefly, he said: 'Uqbah was killed on the Day of Badr in captivity.' As for Abu Jahl, the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, killed him by his own hand on the Day of Uhud. They are the two whom Allah, the Exalted, mentioned in: 'And the Day the wrongdoer will bite his hands.' Al-Thalabi and then al-Wahidi mentioned it without a chain.] The 'lam' in 'the wrongdoer' may be for a specific reference, referring specifically to 'Uqbah. It may also be for the general category, encompassing 'Uqbah and others. He wished that he had accompanied the Messenger and followed him on a single path, which is the path of truth, and not have diverged into paths of misguidance and desire. Or he meant that he was misguided and had no path at all, so he wished he had found a way to accompany the Messenger. And it is recited: 'O woe to me' with the 'ya,' which is the original, because the man calls out to his woe, which is his destruction, saying to it: 'Come, for this is your time.' The 'ya' was changed to an 'alif' as in: 'sahari,' 'madari.' 'So-and-so' is a metaphor for proper names, just as 'the women' is a metaphor for species. If the wrongdoer refers to 'Uqbah, the meaning is: 'I wish I had not taken Abu Jahl as a friend,' thus referring to his name metaphorically. If it refers to the general category, then anyone who takes one of the misled as a friend will have a proper name for his friend, thus making it a metaphor for him. 'From the mention' refers to the mention of Allah, or the Qur'an, or the admonition of the Messenger. It may also refer to his utterance of the testimony of truth and his intention for Islam. 'The devil' refers to his friend, whom he called a devil because he misled him as the devil misleads, and then abandoned him and did not benefit him in the end. Or he meant Iblis, who urged him to associate with the misled and oppose the Messenger, and then abandoned him. Or he meant the general category, and everyone who has become devilish from among the jinn and mankind. It is possible that 'and the devil' is a narration of the words of the wrongdoer, and that it is the speech of Allah. 'I took' is read with assimilation and with clarity, and the assimilation is more common.