Before them, the people of Makkah denied Our servant, meaning Noah. If you say: What is the meaning of His saying, 'So they denied' after His saying, 'The people of Noah denied before them'? Ahmad said: His words have already been addressed regarding His saying, 'And those before them denied, and they did not reach a tenth of what We had given them. So they denied My messengers.' He answered it with two responses, one of which is not applicable here, and the other is possible. It is that this is like saying: So-and-so committed disbelief and denied Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him. I have already provided two responses, one of which can be applied here. Its essence is that the question does not arise, because the first is general and the second is specific, so it is not repetition. It is like His saying in this surah, 'So he took part and then he slaughtered.' His taking part is the same as his slaughtering, but it is mentioned in a general sense, and then from the aspect of specificity for elaboration. It is like mentioning it twice. Another response here is that the first denier is omitted, indicated by the mention of Noah. It is as if He said: The people of Noah denied Noah, and then He brought their denial a second time, adding it to His saying, 'Our servant,' thus describing Noah with the specific attribute of servitude and adding it to him as an honor. Therefore, the denial mentioned a second time is more disgraceful to them than the first mention due to that nuance. And Allah knows best. I say: Its meaning is: They denied, so they denied Our servant, meaning: they denied him with a denial following a denial, every time a group of deniers passed, another group of deniers followed. Or the people of Noah denied the messengers, so they denied Our servant, meaning: since they were deniers of the messengers, outright rejecting prophethood, they denied Noah because he is among the messengers. 'He is a madman' is what they said, and they rebuked him with insults, beatings, and threats of stoning in their saying, 'You will surely be among the stoned.' It is said that this is part of their saying, meaning: they said he is mad, and the jinn rebuked him and struck him, taking away his mind and flying away with his heart. It was read: 'Anni,' meaning: he called out that he was overwhelmed. And 'Inni' is intended as a saying, so he called out saying: 'Indeed, I am overwhelmed.' [The phrase 'he called out saying: I am overwhelmed' may mean: he called out and said.] His people have defeated me, so they did not listen to me, and despair has settled regarding their response to me. So take vengeance on them with a punishment that You send upon them. He only called for that after the matter became overwhelming for him and the flood reached its peak. [The phrase 'the flood reached its peak' may refer to the collection of heights, which is what rises from the ground like a hillock. This is derived from the correct sources, but it mentions in the letter of the zay: 'and the zabiya is the elevated place that water does not rise above.' And in the proverb: 'The flood has reached the zabiya.' The zabiya is a pit dug for a lion in a high place for hunting it.] It has been narrated that one of his nation would meet him and choke him until he fell unconscious. He would regain consciousness and say: 'O Allah, forgive my people, for they do not know.' It was read: 'So We opened' in a lightened and a strengthened form, and likewise 'And We caused to gush forth' in a pouring manner, abundant and continuous, which did not stop for forty days. 'And We caused the earth to gush forth springs,' and We made the entire earth as if it were springs gushing forth. This is more eloquent than saying: 'And We caused the springs of the earth to gush forth.' And its counterpart in structure is: 'And the head became white with age.' 'So the waters met,' meaning the waters of the heavens and the earth. It was read: 'the two waters,' meaning the two types of water, heavenly and earthly. And similarly, your saying: 'I have two types of dates,' meaning: two kinds of dates: Barni and Ma'qili. He said: 'We have two camels in them what you know.' [We have two camels in them what you know... So choose from either of them as you wish.] He says: We have two herds of camels in them the hospitality for guests and support for the poor, so take what you wish from them on your backs, meaning: take it and separate it from the rest. Or the meaning is: turn away from them and depart from what you intended from them in the expanse of the earth, for we are their protectors.

And whichever of them: with the sukoon is a linguistic form of 'any' with a shadda. And 'what you wish': is a substitute for it. It is permissible that 'what' is extra, meaning: so in whichever of them you wish, then disperse in the expanses of the earth and its paths, distancing yourselves from both of them. It is permissible that 'what you wish' is an object, or a specific object preceding its doer, and the second 'fa' is a repetition of the first. It is permissible that it refers to what is in the action of meaning of condition, meaning: so either from whichever of them. Or so either what you wish, then avoid, meaning: keep away.

And Al-Hasan read: 'al-mawan', by turning the hamzah into a waw, as they say: 'alibawan' on a matter that has been decreed in a state that Allah has decreed as He willed. And it was said: in a state that has come predetermined and equal: which is that the amount that has been sent down from the sky is equal to the amount that has been brought forth from the earth, equally. And it was said: on a matter that has been decreed in the tablet that it will be, which is the destruction of the people of Noah by the flood on boards and nails, meaning the ship, and it is from the attributes that take the place of the described and substitute for it and fulfill its meaning. In such a way that it does not separate between it and it. And similar to this:

......... But ... my shirt is woven from iron [[My saddle is on the horse but ... my shirt is woven from iron

The saddle: is the seat of the rider on the back of the horse. He says: my saddle is on my horse's back. And my shirt: is a coat of iron with a continuous weave, meaning he is not of the people of luxury, but of the people of the desert and raiding. And the addition is from the category of following praise with what resembles blame, an exaggeration in praise.]] He meant: but my shirt is armor, and likewise:

Even in the eyes of the grazing locusts with their legs [[And I strive to fulfill my rights diligently ... even in the eyes of the grazing locusts with their legs

He says: and there must be diligence in recovering my rights and taking them, even if they were in the most hidden and farthest place like the eyes of the locusts grazing with their legs, meaning thin legs, the plural of 'kraa': so the described is omitted and referred to by the grazing, its description flowing as a name. And it was said:

The meaning is there must be taking my camels even if they are very thin to the extent that they are seen in the eyes of the locusts, meaning: even if they were as if they were such.]

He meant: even in the eyes of the locusts. Do you not see that if you combined between the ship and this description, or between the armor and the locusts and these two descriptions: it would not be correct, and this is from eloquent speech and its wonders. And the nails:

The plural of 'dassar': which is the nail, a form from 'dasara' if he pushed it, because it is pushed with it in its passage as a recompense for what has been presented from the opening of the doors of the sky and what follows it, meaning we did that as a recompense for him who was disbelieved, which is Noah, blessings and peace be upon him, and made it disbelieved because the Prophet is a blessing from Allah and a mercy. Allah, the Exalted, said: 'And We have not sent you except as a mercy to the worlds.' So Noah, blessings and peace be upon him, was a blessing that was disbelieved. And from this meaning is what is narrated that a man said to Al-Rashid:

'Praise be to Allah upon you,' he said: 'What does this saying mean?' He said: 'You are a blessing I praised Allah for.' And it is permissible that it is on the assumption of omitting the preposition and connecting the action. And Qatadah read: 'kafar', meaning a recompense for the disbelievers. And Al-Hasan read: 'jazaa', with a kasra: meaning recompense. The pronoun in 'we left it' refers to the ship. Or to the action, meaning: we made it a sign to be reflected upon. And from Qatadah: Allah preserved it in the land of the island. And it was said: on Al-Judi for a long time, until the early ones of this nation looked at it. And 'the admonisher': the one who reflects. And it was read: 'muthakkir', on the original. And 'mudhakkir', by turning the ta into dha and merging the dha in it. And this is similar to: 'muthajir'. And 'the warnings': the plural of 'nadhir' which is the warning. 'And We have certainly made the Qur'an easy for remembrance', meaning we facilitated it for reflection and admonition, by which we filled it with healing admonitions and we varied in it between promise and threat, so is there any who will reflect? And it was said: 'And We have certainly made it easy for memorization and assisted in it for whoever wanted to memorize it, so is there any seeker of memorization to be assisted in it?' And it is permissible that the meaning is: 'And We have prepared it for remembrance', as one prepares his camel for travel: when he saddles it, and prepares his horse for raiding, when he saddles and bridles it. He said:

And I approached him with the bridle made easy ... there he rewards me for what I used to do [[I see that Umm Sahl is still grieving ... she blames and I do not know what she grieves for

She blames for me granting the rose to a she-camel ... and the rose does not equal the hour of fright.]}

When she stood up, bare-faced and swift, my heart is disappointed, her head does not cover. And I approached her with the bridle, prepared. There, I will be rewarded for what I used to do. For the one-eyed, the meaning is external. And 'to grieve' and 'to hurt' originally had two letters, one of which was omitted for ease. And 'why' is a question about the reason for the pain. And 'to grant' means to give, and 'the rose' is the name of his horse. And 'the suckling' is the milk. And 'bare-faced' means uncovered face. And 'swift' means quick in running. And 'the hollow' means empty and void. And the intended meaning is that she has lost her mind and her head, 'what covers' means what conceals due to her astonishment and shyness. And the phrase 'the first rose' is the object, and 'the second' is the accompaniment: this is the state of Umm Sahl. As for the state of his mare, it is clarified in the saying: 'And I approached her prepared and ready with the bridle.' Or facilitating it for her, indicating that she was difficult without the bridle. And 'there' refers to the place of war, or to its time. 'Will reward me' means will give me the reward for my actions with her, and he likened it to one from whom recompense is due in a figurative manner, and 'my actions' refers to giving her milk. It is narrated that the books of the people of the religions, like the Torah and the Gospel, are not recited by their people except with consideration, and they do not memorize them outwardly like the Qur'an.