A saying that is right, aimed at truth and correctness: the aim is towards truth, and the saying is with justice. It is said: he directed the arrow towards the target: if he did not deviate it from its direction, as they said: a directed arrow. The intended meaning is to prohibit them from what they engaged in regarding the story of Zainab without intention and justice in saying, and to encourage that their saying be right in every matter. For the preservation of the tongue and the correctness of the saying is the essence of all good. The meaning is: be mindful of Allah in preserving your tongues and correcting your words. If you do that, Allah will grant you what is the ultimate goal of accepting your good deeds and rewarding them, and of forgiving your sins and expiating them. It was said that the rectification of deeds is the success in bringing them forth in a sound and pleasing manner. This verse reaffirms what came before it; that was based on the prohibition of what harms the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, and this is based on the command to fear Allah in preserving the tongue. Thus, they are combined in prohibition and command, with the prohibition including the warning from the story of Musa, may peace be upon him, and the command including the great promise, which strengthens the deterrent from harm and the call to abandon it. When He said, 'And whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger,' and linked obedience to the great success, He followed it with the saying, 'Indeed, We offered the trust,' and He means by the trust obedience. He magnified its matter and elevated its status. There are two aspects to it: one is that these great bodies of the heavens, the earth, and the mountains have submitted to the command of Allah, the Exalted and Almighty, in a submission like that which is possible from inanimate objects, and they obeyed Him with an obedience that is valid and suitable for them, as they did not resist His will and desire in creation and formation and arrangement in various forms and shapes, as they said, 'They said, We come willingly.' As for man, his condition in what is valid for him from obedience and suitable for him in submission to the commands and prohibitions of Allah is not like that of those inanimate objects in what is valid for them and suitable for them in submission and non-resistance. The intended meaning of the trust is obedience, for it is necessary for existence, just as the trust is necessary for performance. Its presentation to the inanimate objects and their refusal and reluctance is metaphorical. As for carrying the trust, it is from the saying: such-and-such is a bearer of the trust and capable of it, meaning: he does not deliver it to its owner until it is removed from his responsibility and he is released from its burden, for the trust is as if it is riding upon the one entrusted with it, and he is carrying it. Do you not see them saying: debts have ridden him, and he has a right upon him? When he pays it, it no longer rides him, nor is he carrying it. And similarly, their saying: a master does not possess assistance for a master. They mean: he offers assistance to him and forgives him with it, and does not withhold it as the one who abandons does. From this is the saying of the poet: Your brother is the one who does not own the feeling of mercy itself... and he rushes when the angered matters arise.

That is, he does not hold onto the softness and kindness like a miser who clings to what is in his hand. Rather, he gives that and allows it. Hence their saying: 'Do you hate the right of your brother?' Because if he loves it, he does not give it to his brother nor fulfill it. But if he hates it, he gives it and fulfills it. The meaning is: 'So they refused to bear it, and man bore it.' They refused to fulfill it, while man insisted on being capable of it but did not fulfill it. Then he described him as unjust for leaving the fulfillment of the trust, and as ignorant for missing what brings him happiness while he is capable of it, which is fulfilling it. The second point is that what is required of man is so great and heavy that it was presented to the greatest and strongest of all that Allah has created, to bear it and be independent of it. But he refused to bear it and was afraid of it. Man bore it with his weakness and the frailty of his strength. Indeed, he was unjust and ignorant for having borne the trust and then not fulfilling it, and he guaranteed it and then was unfaithful to his guarantee regarding it. There is much similar speech in the Arabic language. The Quran came only in their ways and styles. From that is their saying: 'If the fat were asked: Where do you go?' It would say: 'To the straight path.' And how many examples they have on the tongues of animals and inanimate objects. The idea of fat negotiating is impossible, but the point is that fat in an animal beautifies its ugliness, just as thinness makes its beauty ugly. Thus, the effect of fat in it is depicted in a way that resonates more with the listener, is more endearing to him, and is more accurate. Likewise, the depiction of the greatness of the trust, the difficulty of its matter, and the heaviness of its burden. If you say: The reason for the analogy is known in their saying about one who does not stand firm on one opinion: 'I see you advance one leg and delay the other.' Because his state—of swaying and leaning between two opinions and not proceeding on one of them—is likened to one who hesitates in his going and does not gather his legs to proceed in his direction. Each of the one making the analogy and the one being likened is something straight that falls under correctness and knowledge. But this is not the case in this verse, for the presentation of the trust to inanimate objects and their refusal and fear is impossible in itself, not straight. So how can the analogy be valid based on the impossible? This example is like likening something to that which is unthinkable. I say: The one being likened in the verse and in their saying: 'If the fat were asked where do you go?' and in its like is hypothetical, and hypotheticals can be imagined in the mind just like realities: the state of obligation is depicted in its difficulty and the heaviness of its burden by the hypothetical state if it were presented to the heavens, the earth, and the mountains, they would refuse to bear it and be afraid of it. The 'lam' in 'to punish' is the lam of justification in a figurative way, because punishment is the result of bearing the trust, just as discipline in his strike for discipline is the result of the strike. Al-A'mash read: 'And He repents,' to make the reason limited to the action of the bearer, and begins: 'And Allah repents.' The meaning of the reading of the general public is: 'So that Allah punishes the bearer of the trust and repents upon others who did not bear it.' Because if He repents upon the one who fulfilled it, that would be a type of punishment for the treacherous. And Allah knows best. The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, said: 'Whoever recites Surah Al-Ahzab and teaches it to his family and what his right hand possesses, will be granted safety from the punishment of the grave.'