So I do not swear, its meaning is: so I swear. And there is no additional emphasis like it in His saying: 'so that the people of the Scripture may not know.' Al-Hasan read: 'So I swear.' Its meaning is: 'So I indeed swear,' the 'lam' is the lam of beginning. Mahmoud said: 'There is no additional emphasis like it in His saying: 'so that the people of the Scripture may not know.' He said: 'And Al-Hasan read: So I swear.' And the 'lam' in this is for beginning... I said: The summary of the response in this second way is that the context of the verse indicates that the swearing by the positions of the stars is actual, and the other reading indicates the addition of 'no': and the implication of making it a response to a omitted oath is that the swearing by the positions of the stars is not actual, but rather future. Thus, the two readings compete, and Allah is the Guide to what is correct. It entered upon a sentence of subject and predicate, which is: 'I swear,' like saying 'For Zayd is departing,' then the subject is omitted. And it is not correct for the 'lam' to be the lam of swearing for two reasons. The first is that it should be accompanied by the confirming 'no,' and neglecting it is weak and ugly. The second is that 'I will certainly do' in response to the oath is for the future, and the act of swearing must be for the present by the positions of the stars with their descents and settings. Perhaps Allah, the Exalted, has specific great actions at the end of the night when the stars descend to the west, or for the angels, specific acts of worship, or because it is the time for the devout and supplicants among His righteous servants, and the descent of mercy and pleasure upon them. For this reason, He swore by their positions, and emphasized that with His saying: 'And indeed, it is a great oath if you only knew.' Or He meant by their positions: their stations and paths, and for Him, the Exalted, in that is evidence of great power and wisdom that cannot be encompassed by description. And His saying: 'And indeed, it is a great oath if you only knew' is an interruption within an interruption, because it interrupts between the sworn and the swearing. Mahmoud said: 'His saying: 'And indeed, it is a great oath if you only knew' is an interruption within an interruption, so the main sentence is an interruption between the oath and the response...' Ahmad said: 'And according to this interpretation, the response to the oath is appropriate to the sworn, like His saying: 'By the clear Book, indeed We have made it an Arabic Qur'an.' And its valleys: And your incisors, indeed they are a source of pride, as previously mentioned.' It is upon it, which is His saying: 'Indeed, it is a noble Qur'an.' And it interrupted with 'if you only knew' between the described and its description. And it was said: The positions of the stars are the times of the occurrence of the stars of the Qur'an, meaning: the times of its noble descent, good, and pleasing in its kind from the books. Or abundant in benefits. Or noble to Allah in a hidden Book, preserved from others than the closest angels, who do not have access to it except them, and they are purified from all impurities, the impurities of sins and others. If you make the sentence a description of the hidden Book, which is the Preserved Tablet. And if you make it a description of the Qur'an, the meaning is that it should not be touched except by those who are in a state of purity among people, meaning the touching of what is written from it. And among the people are those who carried it upon the reading as well, and from Ibn Umar, it is dearer to me that it should not be read except while in a state of purity. And from Ibn Abbas in a narration that he permitted reading for the one in a state of janabah, and similar is the saying of the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him: 'The Muslim is the brother of the Muslim; he does not wrong him nor does he hand him over.' Meaning: he should not wrong him or hand him over. And it was read: 'the purified ones,' and 'the purifiers' with merging. And 'the purifiers,' from 'purified' meaning 'He purified him.' And 'the purifiers' meaning: they purify themselves or others by seeking forgiveness for them. And the revelation that descends upon them is a description of the Qur'an, meaning: revealed from the Lord of the worlds. Or described by the source, because it descended in stages from among all the Books of Allah, so it is as if in itself it is a revelation, and for that reason, it is treated as some of its names, so it is said: 'It came in the revelation thus,' and it was pronounced by the revelation. Or it is a revelation with the subject omitted. And it was read: 'a revelation,' as in: 'it descended as a revelation.'