Pairs of kinds, or males and females, as His saying, 'Or He marries them males and females.' And regarding Qatadah, may Allah be pleased with him: He means by saying, 'He marries some of them to others' with His knowledge in the state of it, meaning: except what is known to Him.

If you say: What is the meaning of His saying, 'And what is aged from an aged one'? I say: Its meaning is 'And what is aged from anyone.' And He named him aged by what he is destined to become. If you say: A person is either aged, meaning long-lived, or short-lived, meaning having a short life. As for it alternating between aging and its opposite, that is impossible. So how is His saying, 'And what is aged from an aged one, and not diminished from his age' correct? I say: This is from the speech that is tolerated, trusting in its interpretation by the understanding of the listeners, and relying on their reasoning to clarify its meaning, and that the confusion of length and shortness in one age does not occur to them. And this is like the common speech of people. They say: Allah does not reward a servant nor punish him except with justice.

And I have not enjoyed a land nor avoided it except that my stay therein is little. And there is another interpretation: that no person's life is prolonged or shortened except in a book, and its form is: It is written in the tablet: If so-and-so performs Hajj or goes out for battle, then his age is forty years, and if he performs Hajj and goes out for battle, then his age is sixty years. So if he combines both and reaches sixty, he has aged. And if one of them is singled out and does not exceed forty, then he has diminished from his age which is the limit, which is sixty. And to this, the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, referred in his saying, 'Charity and maintaining family ties prolong the homes and increase in ages.' And from Ka'b, it is said that when Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, was stabbed: If only Umar had asked Allah to delay his term. It was said to Ka'b: Has Allah not said, 'When their term comes, they do not delay an hour, nor do they advance it'? He said: Indeed, Allah has said, 'And what is aged from an aged one.' And it has become common on tongues: May Allah prolong your stay, and may He extend your term, and similar phrases. And from Sa'id ibn Jubair, may Allah be pleased with him: It is written in the record, 'His age is such and such years,' then it is written at the bottom of that: 'One day has passed, two days have passed,' until it reaches its end. And from Qatadah, may Allah be pleased with him: The aged one is the one who reaches sixty years, and the diminished from his age is the one who dies before sixty years. And the book is: the tablet. From Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with both of them: It may be intended by the Book of Allah: the knowledge of Allah, or the record of the person.

And it was read: 'And not diminished,' by naming the doer from his age with the lightening.