And the living either begins an action or returns to it. If it perishes, there remains for it neither beginning nor returning. Thus, they made their saying: "neither begins nor returns" a metaphor for perishing. From this is the saying of 'Obaid:

"Abid is desolate of his people... So today he neither begins nor returns" [[This is from 'Obaid ibn al-Abrass. And 'desolate' means that 'Obaid has become empty or perished from his people. The beginning and returning are among the necessities of life, so denying them is a metaphor for denying life through death. Al-Mundhir ibn Ma' al-Sama would go out on one day each year to bestow gifts upon everyone he met, and on another day he would kill the first person he encountered. On one such day, he encountered 'Obaid, and it was said to him: "Praise him in poetry, perhaps he will pardon you." He replied: "The state of choking prevents the poetry," meaning that the obstruction of grief prevented him from composing poetry. He used this as a metaphor and recited this line afterward in regret. In Majani al-Adab, it is mentioned that Al-Mundhir said to him: "Recite to me: 'Desolate of his people is Malhub,' and he replied: 'More desolate than his people is 'Obaid.' Malhub is the name of a place. He realized that he was being asked for an old poem and understood that it implied his demise, so he said: 'I have no ability to begin new poetry, nor to return to old poetry.' The line contained a metrical irregularity, and among the faults is cutting, thus it became 'Mustaf'ilun' in the form of 'Must'ail' with the lam being silent, as in his saying 'his people.' ]]

And the meaning is: Truth has come and falsehood has perished, as His saying, the Exalted, states: "Truth has come, and falsehood has perished." And from Ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him: The Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, entered Mecca and around the Kaaba were three hundred sixty idols. He began to strike them with a twig and said: "Truth has come, and falsehood has perished. Indeed, falsehood was bound to perish. Truth has come, and what falsehood begins and what it returns to" [[Agreed upon, and it has been mentioned in Al-Isra.]]. And the truth is: the Qur'an. It was said: Islam. It was said: the sword. And it was said that falsehood is: Iblis, may Allah curse him, meaning: he does not create anything nor return it. The Creator and the Initiator is Allah, the Exalted. And from Al-Hasan: He does not begin for his people good nor return it, meaning: he does not benefit them in this world or the Hereafter. And Al-Zajjaj said: What can Iblis create or return? He made it a question. And it was said to the devil: falsehood, because he is the master of falsehood, or because he is perishing, as it was said to him: the devil, from 'shat' meaning to perish.