Then He indicated by the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the wrapping of each one of the two colors around the other, and the subjugation of the two lights, and their movement for a specified time, and the spreading of people despite their great number from one soul, and the creation of livestock while He is One, having no partner, overpowering and unconquerable. And the wrapping means: the folding and rolling. It is said: he wrapped the turban on his head and rolled it. And there are several interpretations, one of which is that night and day are successive; this one goes and this one covers its place. And when it covers its place, it is as if it has clothed it and wrapped it around it, just as clothing is wrapped around the wearer. And from this is the saying of Dhū al-Rummah in describing the mirage:

"The folds of the hills twist with their edges... the mirage is wrapped at the doors of the openings.

When the sun is still, it is a hot haze set for it... the swords of the people with the curved horses.

When a situation disputes, a place unknown is thrown... the edges of its rain are woven with silk.

The folds of the hills twist with their edges... the mirage is wrapped at the doors of the openings.

As if death is racing it... with the bright crests under the blowing wind."

This is Dhū al-Rummah describing the mirage. And the still sun refers to what falls from it onto the earth. And the hot haze is an exaggerated description, meaning: much heat. It is said: the fire blazed hotly: it ignited, and the heat intensified. And the male ostrich hastened: it moved quickly and has a rustling sound. And the matter mixed. And the haze is a white bird that flies swiftly resembling the ostrich. And the mirage is seen in extreme heat as white, as if it is moving, so it may be attributed to the ancients. And it may be attributed to the latter, because it resembles it, and the لام (lam) is for timing, and القواضب (al-qawadib) are the sharp swords.

And المهرية (al-mahariyyah) refers to the horses attributed to Mahir ibn Haydan, the father of a tribe from Yemen; their horses are the most prolific. And العوج (al-‘awj) is the plural of عوجاء (awja'), a good type among them as well. And the two situations refer to the elevation and lowering of the land. And المجهل (al-majhal) is the place that the traveler does not know. And القذف (al-qadhf) means: that which is thrown into it, so there is no one in it. And المطرد (al-mutarid) is the level mirage, likened to woven silk in its smoothness and whiteness. And الثنايا (al-thanaya) are the obstacles. And الحقو (al-haq) refers to the waist and the garment, and tightening it around is a metaphor for the side of the obstacle, and حواشي (hawashi) of the mirage are its sides. And الملاء (al-mala') in the plural and with elongation is the name of a group of ملاءة (milā'ah), which is the garment. And التفراج (al-tafarraj) is the small door and the garment made of silk. And الرهاة (al-rahah) is the plural of رهو (raho), meaning the elevated place, and it is also used for the low place. And it is said to be the name of a location. And الموت (al-mawt) refers to the wilderness. And الركض (al-rakd) means to strike the animal with the foot, and striking in general; here it is used metaphorically in a declarative manner. And الأعراف (al-a'raf) are the crests. And the crest of the rooster and the horse:

The highest hair of the neck and the sea and the flood: when its wave accumulates and rises like the ridges. And the white: the white cloud and the white water, and it is more suitable as it is under the wind. This is because the apparent meaning of the first contradicts His saying, 'The clouds carry little.' And the produced: that which the wind produces and drives until it drips. He says: 'And by the sun's stillness,' meaning the mirage due to intense heat or travel. I have set up the swords of my people facing its time with the noble horses when the low and high of the desolate land pull at the edges of the mirage. And he likened the encompassing of its sides and its accumulation at the sides of the hill to the folding of the garment at the doors of the openings. And 'twists': it is possible that it is a response to that and that it is a description of the continuous and its response. This is indicated by what precedes it, and he attributed it to the folds because they are the cause of the twisting. And 'the crowd': an absolute object, and 'the ridges': a news as if it were. And 'the runners': a current clause, and the subject that runs is either the pronoun of 'the crowd' or the pronoun of 'the runners,' because they seem to be colliding. And it was narrated: 'It drives it away,' and its subject is the pronoun of 'the runners' definitely, because 'the crowd' is the one being driven away. And the house of the uncovering: 'It twists the folds with its rights.' And 'the hip': its plural is 'hips,' and its original weight is 'af'al.' And from it: that each one of them obscures the other when it occurs to it, so he likened in its obscuring of it to something apparent that covers what obscures it from the sights of the eyes. And from it: that this one charges at this one repeatedly in succession, so he likened that to the succession of the coils of the turban one after another. Indeed, He is the Mighty, the Overcoming, capable of punishing the persistent. The Forgiving for the sins of the repentant. Mahmoud said: 'For the sins of the repentant.' Ahmad said: 'The truth is that He, the Exalted, is Forgiving for the repentant and for whom He wills from the persistent regarding what is less than polytheism and their despair of Allah's mercy. And indeed, Al-Zamakhshari has constrained the verse as you see.' Or the Overcoming who is able to hasten punishment upon them while He is forbearing towards them and delays them to a specified term. So He named the forbearance towards them: forgiveness.