They are degrees, meaning they are different as the degrees are different, as His saying: "Is there a burden for death that befalls them... my men or are they the degrees of the floods?" [This was narrated by Sibawayh from Ibn Hadmah, and the hamzah is for questioning, and it is from the ignorance of the knowledgeable for the purpose of astonishment and sadness. The burden: the intended target aimed at with arrows, and it is like 'fals' or 'wafq' by weight, and it may be that its origin is like 'anq' so it was made silent for the weight, or like 'kataba' so it was made silent likewise. This is more fitting in meaning. It has been said about each of them. And he likened his men to it in a profound comparison regarding the continuity of each being struck by misfortune. And 'they are afflicted by it': a circumstantial clause. And 'the degrees of the floods': the places of their descent, he likened them to it due to the gradual disappearance of everything little by little.] And it is said: they are possessors of degrees. The meaning is the difference in the ranks of those rewarded among them and the ranks of those punished, or the difference between reward and punishment. And Allah is All-Seer of what they do, knowing their deeds and their degrees, so He will reward them accordingly. Certainly, Allah has bestowed favor upon the believers, upon those who believed with the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, from his people. And He specified the believers among them because they are the ones who benefit from his mission from themselves, of their kind, Arabs like them. And it is said from the offspring of Isma'il, just as he is from his offspring. If you say: What is the aspect of favor upon them in that he was from themselves? I say: If he was from them, the tongue was one, so it was easy to take what they must take from him, and they were aware of his conditions in truthfulness and trustworthiness, so that was closer for them to believe in him and trust him. And in being from themselves is honor for them, as His saying: "And indeed, it is a reminder for you and your people." And in the reading of the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, and the reading of Fatimah, may Allah be pleased with her: from themselves, meaning from their noblest. Because Adnan is the peak of the offspring of Isma'il, and Mudar is the peak of Nizar bin Ma'ad bin Adnan, and Khindaf is the peak of Mudar, and Mudrikah is the peak of Khindaf, and Quraysh is the peak of Mudrikah, and the peak of Quraysh is Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him. And in the speech of Abu Talib in the marriage of Khadijah, may Allah be pleased with her - and Banu Hashim and the leaders of Mudar were present with him: "Praise be to Allah who made us from the descendants of Ibrahim and the offspring of Isma'il and the progeny of Ma'ad and the element of Mudar, and made us the guardians of His House and the custodians of His Sanctuary, and made for us a House that is visited and a secure sanctuary, and made us the rulers over the people." Then indeed, my nephew Muhammad bin Abdullah is one whom no youth from Quraysh can be weighed against except that he outweighs him, and by Allah, after this, he has a great news and a significant matter. And it is read: for whom Allah has bestowed favor upon the believers when He sent among them. And there are two aspects: that it is intended for whom Allah has bestowed favor upon the believers from him, or His sending when He sent among them, so it was omitted for the sake of indication, or 'when' is in the position of raising like 'if' in your saying: The prince is at his best when he is standing, meaning for whom Allah has bestowed favor upon the believers at the time of His sending. He recites to them His verses after they had been people of ignorance who had not heard anything of revelation. And He purifies them and cleanses them from the filth of hearts with disbelief and the impurity of all limbs by engaging in prohibitions and all abominations. And it is said: And He takes from them the zakat and teaches them the Book and the Wisdom, the Qur'an and the Sunnah after they had been the most ignorant of people and the farthest from studying knowledge. And if they were before the mission of the Messenger, they were certainly in clear misguidance, if it is the lightened form of the heavy. And the 'lam' is the differentiator between it and the negator. And its estimation is: And indeed, the affair and the matter were before in clear misguidance, with no doubt in it.