'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' Allah, the Exalted and Almighty, enumerated His blessings. He intended to present first what is the most prior among the types of His blessings. [Mahamud said: 'Allah, the Exalted and Almighty, enumerated His blessings and wanted to present first what is the most prior among the types of His blessings...'] Ahmad said: 'We change from this saying his words: that the creation of man was the purpose in it. That is, the intent from it is that he should have knowledge of the books and revelation, and it is compensated by the intent of his creation: that he is called to that, not that it occurs from him. This is the general intent. Then among them are those whom Allah intended for them to have knowledge of the religion, so He facilitated that for them. And among them are those whom He intended for their misguidance and ignorance, so He distanced them and did not grant them success. And Allah is the Grantor of success to what is right.' And the types of His blessings are the blessing of religion. He presented from the blessing of religion what is in the highest ranks of it and the utmost of its levels: It is His bestowal of the Qur'an, its revelation, and its teaching. For it is the greatest revelation of Allah in rank, and the highest in status, and the best in the doors of religion in effect. It is the peak of the heavenly books and a proof upon them. He delayed the mention of the creation of man from its mention, then followed it: to know that he was created for the religion, and to have knowledge of His revelation and His books and what man was created for. It is as if the purpose in his creation was prior to him and preceded him. Then He mentioned what distinguished him from all other animals, which is the eloquent speech. [Mahamud said: 'Then He mentioned what distinguished him from all other animals, which is the eloquent speech that expresses...'] Ahmad said: 'And He specifically mentioned the first part to admonish man due to the closeness of its meanings to him. Do you not see that it is mentioned in it in utterance, implication, and omission indicated in the speech? It is explicitly stated in His saying: 'He created man' and implied in His saying: 'He taught him eloquence' and indicated by its omission in His saying: 'He taught the Qur'an,' for it is the second object. As for His saying: 'The sun and the moon by calculation, and the stars and the trees prostrate,' there is no mention of man in them at all. The main purpose of their mention is to highlight the greatness of Allah, the Exalted.' The eloquent speech expresses what is in the heart, and 'the Most Gracious' is the subject. These actions with their pronouns are news that are synonymous, and their being devoid of conjunction is due to their coming in the manner of enumeration, as you say: 'Zaid enriched you after poverty, honored you after humiliation, increased you after scarcity, did for you what no one did for anyone.' So what do you deny of His kindness? 'By calculation' means by a known account and equal estimation. They both run in their orbits and positions. In that are great benefits for people: among them is the knowledge of years and calculation, and the stars and the plants that grow from the earth without a stem, like vegetables, and the trees that have a stem. Their prostration is their submission to Allah in what they were created for, and they do not refrain, likening them to the prostrating of the accountable beings in their submission. If you say: 'How are these two sentences connected to the Most Gracious?' I say: 'In them, the verbal connection is replaced by the meaningful connection, as it is known that the calculation is His calculation, and the prostration is for Him and not for others, as if it were said: 'The sun and the moon by His calculation, and the stars and trees prostrate to Him.' If you say: 'How was the conjunction omitted in the first sentences, then it was brought later?' I say: 'The first sentences were brought in the manner of threat, so that each of the sentences is independent in reproaching those who denied the Most Gracious and His blessings, just as one reproaches a denier of the favors of the benefactor by enumerating them upon him in the example I presented. Then the speech was returned to its course after the admonition in connecting what must be connected for the appropriateness and closeness with the conjunction. If you say: 'What is the connection between these two sentences that the conjunction was placed between them?' I say: 'The sun and the moon are celestial, while the stars and trees are terrestrial, so there is a connection between the two kinds in terms of contrast, and that the sky and the earth are always mentioned as companions. And the movement of the sun and the moon by calculation is of the kind of submission to the command of Allah, so it is appropriate for the prostration of the stars and trees.' And it is said: 'He taught the Qur'an' made it a sign and a proof.

And from Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him: The human is Adam. And from him also: Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him.

And from Mujahid: The stars are the stars of the sky, and the sky He raised it, created it elevated and adorned, where He made it the source of His rulings, and the origin of His matters, and the place of His commands and prohibitions, and the dwelling of His angels who descend with revelation upon His prophets. And by this, He indicated the greatness of His affair, His kingdom, and His sovereignty. And He placed the balance, and in the reading of Abdullah: And He lowered the balance. He meant by it everything by which things are weighed and their amounts are known, such as scales, weights, measures, and standards, meaning He created it established low on the earth: where He suspended the rulings of His servants and their matters, and what He commanded them with regarding equality and moderation in their taking and giving, so that you do not transgress. Or it is that which is explained. And Abdullah read: Do not transgress without 'that', intending the saying: And establish the weight with justice, and measure your weight with fairness, and do not diminish the balance and do not reduce it: He commanded equality and prohibited transgression, which is aggression and increase, and prohibited loss, which is cheating and reduction.

And He repeated the word 'balance': intensifying the recommendation for it, and strengthening the command to use it and urging it. And it was read.

And the sky. In the nominative. And do not diminish with the opening of the 't' and the closing of the 's' and its opening. It is said: He diminished the balance, he diminishes it and he diminishes it. As for the opening, it is based on the original: And do not diminish in the balance, so the preposition was omitted and the verb was connected. And He placed it lowered, made it a resting place for creation, which is everything on the surface of the earth from creatures. And from Al-Hasan: Humans and jinn, it is like a cradle for them, they move above it, fruits of various kinds from which they enjoy, and the coverings are everything that covers, such as fibers and fronds and coverings. All of it is beneficial as one benefits from the covered parts, such as its fruits, shoots, and trunks. And it was said that the coverings are containers for dates: the singular is 'kum' with a broken 'k'. And the leaves are the leaves of crops, and it was said straw. And the basil is sustenance, which is the core: He meant in it what is enjoyed from fruits, and the commonality between enjoyment and nourishment is the fruit of the date palm, and what one feeds on is grain.

And it was read: And the basil, with a broken 'b'. And its meaning is: And the grain with the leaves, which is fodder for livestock, and the basil which is food for people. And with the closed 'b' on: And the one with basil. So the addition was omitted and the added was placed in its place.

And it was said: Its meaning is: And in it is the basil that is smelled. And in the manuscripts of the people of the Levant: And the grain with the leaves and the basil, meaning: And He created the grain and the basil: or and specifically the grain and the basil. And it is possible that it is meant: And the one with basil, so the addition is omitted and the added is placed in its place. And the address in 'Your Lord, do you deny?' is for the two weights, by indication of the creation upon them. And His saying: We will surely free you, O two weights.