Or do they say, "He has fabricated it"? This is a shift from mentioning their labeling of the verses as magic to mentioning their saying: "Indeed, Muhammad has fabricated it." The meaning of the hamzah in "Am" is denial and astonishment, as if it were said: Leave this and listen to their words that are rejected, from which astonishment arises. This is because Muhammad was not capable of saying it or fabricating it against Allah. If he were capable of it, without the Arab nation, his ability to do so would be a miracle that breaks the norm. If it were a miracle, it would be a confirmation from Allah for him, and the Wise does not confirm the liar, so he cannot be a fabricator. The pronoun refers to the truth, and it is meant by it the verses. Say, "If I have fabricated it, then let Allah hasten upon me a punishment for my fabrication against Him. You cannot stop it from reaching me, nor can you bear to repel any of His punishment from me. So how could I fabricate it and expose myself to His punishment?" It is said: A person does not possess himself when he is angry, nor can he control himself when he is determined. The same applies to: "Who can possess anything from Allah if He intends to destroy the Messiah, son of Mary?" And whoever Allah intends to test, you will not possess anything from Allah for him. And from it is his saying, blessings and peace be upon him, "I do not possess anything for you from Allah." When the verse "And warn your closest relatives" was revealed, the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, called the Quraysh and they gathered. He addressed both the general and the specific. He said: "O sons of Ka'b ibn Lu'ay, O sons of Murrah ibn Ka'b, O sons of Abd Shams, O sons of Abd Manaf, O sons of Hashim, O sons of Abd al-Muttalib, I do not possess anything for you from Allah" - the hadith. Then he said, "He is most knowing of what you are pouring forth in it," meaning what you are engaging in of disparagement of the revelation of Allah, and the attack on His verses, and calling it magic at one time and a fabrication at another. "Sufficient is He as a witness between me and you," He witnesses for me with truth and delivery, and He witnesses against you with falsehood and denial. The meaning of mentioning knowledge and witness is a warning of the recompense for your pouring forth, and He is the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful, a promise of forgiveness and mercy if they return from disbelief and repent and believe, and an indication of Allah's forbearance towards them despite the enormity of what they have committed. If you say: What is the meaning of attributing the action to them? It was said: There is a consideration in that the speech was conducted as a hypothesis and estimation. Whenever the fabrication is hypothesized, it cannot be imagined that it is done with sincerity, for sincerity is an invitation to what is beneficial, and nothing benefits the one obligated in an apparent or hidden action except that which is commanded by Allah. There is no way to know that except through true revelation and nothing else. Therefore, sincerity cannot be imagined with fabrication. This is only valid according to the doctrine of the Mu'tazila who claim that reason is a path that leads to knowing the ruling of Allah. For if He commands obedience in one of the acts of obedience, such as monotheism, for example, and says: "Indeed, Allah has made it obligatory upon you to believe in monotheism, and I am His Messenger to you," and it is not hindered, then he is correct in commanding monotheism, because reason has indicated its obligation to them, even if he is fabricating in claiming to be a messenger from Allah, the Exalted. This principle has been invalidated by decisive evidence. It is possible in applying the verse according to the doctrine of the Ahl al-Sunnah that the attribution of the action to them is in the sense of alerting to the opposite through the concept. The meaning is: If I am fabricating, then the punishment will befall me, and you cannot repel it from me. Its implication is that if I am truthful and you are fabricators, then the punishment will befall you, and I cannot repel it from you. This meaning is supported by His saying, "Say, If I have fabricated it, then upon me is my crime, and I am innocent of what you commit," and similar statements are many, and Allah knows best.