The pronoun in "O would that it were the death" refers to death: he says, "O would that the death I experienced were the decisive one," meaning the one that would cut off my matter, so that I would not be resurrected afterwards, nor would I face what I have faced. Or it refers to the state, meaning: would that this state were the death that has decreed upon me, for he saw that state as more horrific and bitter than what he tasted of the bitterness and severity of death. He wished for it at that time what was of no benefit, or a question in the form of denial, meaning: what has benefited me of what I had of wealth? My sovereignty and control over people have perished, and I remain poor and humiliated. And from Ibn Abbas: it was revealed concerning Al-Aswad ibn Abd Al-Ashad. And about Fana-khsera, nicknamed Al-‘Udh, when he said:

"The support of the state and the son of its pillar... the king of kings, overpowering fate.

[Drinking from the cup is only in the rain... and the singing of maidens in the dawn.

Beautiful maidens stealing reason... delicate in the folds of the string.

Chilled cups from their beginning... pouring cups from beyond humanity.

The support of the state and the son of its pillar... the king of kings, overpowering fate.

Al-Hasan ibn Ali Al-Tusi. And it was said to the support of the state himself, saying: there is no drinking of wine of complete pleasure except in the state of rain, and in the state of the singing of maidens at dawn. Maidens: beautiful ones residing in the eyes, chaste. Stealing: robbing of reason, the plural of 'naheeya' which is intellect. Delicate: meaning indulged. In the folds of the string: related to singing. And it is narrated: 'Naghimat', with the emphatic 'gh', meaning: beautifying their voices during the sound of the string, which is the taut thread in the musical instrument. And 'raha': wine. And the support of the state: a substitute for the relative who is the pourers. And 'support' in its origin: a metaphor for the praised one because it gives strength, like the support for a person. And 'pillar' is likewise a metaphor for his father, also implying strength, and it is closer to likening the state to a person at times and to a building at other times, in a figurative manner. However, they are now titles for the praised one and his father, and mentioning the pronoun and returning it to the state while it is part of the knowledge in the two places for the original matter is like a metaphor. And 'fate': what Allah has decreed and ordained. And in describing his praised one as overpowering fate, there is evident immorality of women, and thus it is narrated that he went insane and his tongue was restrained until he died. And about the Prophet ﷺ: "The most enraged person against Allah on the Day of Resurrection and the most wicked is a man who is called the king of kings, and there is no king except Allah."

He did not succeed after him and went insane, so his tongue would not speak except with this verse. And Ibn Abbas said: My argument has gone astray.

And its meaning is: my argument that I used to argue with in this world has become invalid.