About the reminder, which is the admonition, he means: the Qur'an or other admonitions.

And 'mu'ridīn' is in the accusative as a state, like saying: 'Your wealth is standing.' And 'al-mustanfirah' means the one that is greatly frightened, as if it seeks to flee from its own essence in gathering it and carrying it.

And it has been read with the opening: it is the one that drives away, carried upon fleeing. And 'al-qasurah' refers to a group of archers who hunt it. It was said to be the lion. It is said: 'Liyūth Qasāwir,' and it is a form of 'qasr,' which means overpowering and dominance. In its measure is 'al-ḥaydarah,' one of the names of the lion.

And from Ibn Abbas: the people and their voices. And from Ikrimah: the darkness of the night. He likened them in their aversion to the Qur'an and listening to the reminder and admonition, and their straying from it, to wild donkeys that have become frightened in their fleeing from what has terrified them.

And in likening them to donkeys: there is a clear blame and a disparagement of their state, as in the saying: 'Like the example of the donkey carrying books,' and a testimony against them of foolishness and lack of intellect.

And you do not see the like of the fleeing of wild donkeys and their running when they are startled. Therefore, most of the comparisons of the Arabs in describing camels and their swift running are with donkeys, and their running when they come to water and feel it with a hunter.

'Asfārā' means scrolls that are spread out and read like the books that are written. Or books that were written in the sky and brought down by the angels at the moment they were written, spread out in their hands, fresh and moist, not yet folded.

This is because they said to the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him: 'We will not follow you until each one of us is given a book from the sky, addressed from the Lord of the worlds to so-and-so, commanding us to follow you.'

And similar to his saying: 'And they said: We will not believe you until you bring down to us a book that we can read.' And he said: 'And if We had sent down to you a book on a parchment and they touched it with their hands...' the verse.

And it was said: they used to say: 'We have heard that a man from the Children of Israel would wake up with his sin and atonement written on his head, so bring us something like that.' And this is from the spread out scrolls, except that it is cold with the spread out scrolls.

The evident writings that are uncovered. And Sa'id ibn Jubayr read: 'suhufan munsharah' with both letters lightened, on the basis that 'anashar' the scrolls and 'nasharaha' are one, as 'anzalah' and 'nazalah'. He rebuked them with His saying 'No' regarding that intention, and forbade them from proposing the signs. Then He said, 'But they do not fear the Hereafter,' so they turned away from the reminder, not because of the refusal to bring forth the scrolls. Then He rebuked them for their turning away from the reminder and said, 'Indeed, it is a reminder,' meaning a significant and sufficient reminder, the matter of which is ambiguous in its sufficiency. So whoever wills to remember it and not forget it and makes it before his eyes, he may do so, for the benefit of that returns to him. The pronoun in 'Indeed, it' and 'He mentioned it' refers to the reminder in His saying, 'So what is [the matter] with them that they are turning away from the reminder?' It was mentioned because it is in the meaning of the mention or the Qur'an. 'And they do not remember except that Allah wills,' meaning: unless He compels them to remember and forces them to it. Because they are sealed upon their hearts. It is known that they do not believe by choice. 'He is the One deserving of piety and the One deserving of forgiveness.' He is worthy that His servants fear Him and fear His punishment, so they believe and obey, and He is worthy to forgive them if they believe and obey. Anas narrated from the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him: 'He is deserving to be feared, and deserving to forgive those who fear Him.' [Narrated by Al-Tirmidhi, Al-Nasa'i, Ibn Majah, Al-Tabarani in Al-Awsat, Ibn Adi, Al-Hakim, Ahmad, Abu Ya'la, and Al-Bazzar, all from the narration of Sahl ibn Ibrahim Al-Attafi from Thabit from Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, from the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, that he said regarding this verse: 'Allah, the Exalted, said: I am deserving to be feared - until the end of it.' Al-Tirmidhi, Al-Tabarani, and Ibn Adi said: Sahl is unique in this. Al-Hakim Al-Tirmidhi narrated it in the seventy-seventh after the hundred, with the wording: 'He said: He is deserving to be feared. So whoever fears, he is deserving to be forgiven.' There is a supporting narration from Abdullah who said: I heard three men from the companions of the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him: Abu Huraira, Ibn Umar, and Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them, saying: The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, was asked about His saying, the Exalted.' And it was read: 'yadhkurun' with the pronoun and the feminine, lightened and emphasized. From the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him: 'Whoever recites Surah Al-Muddathir, Allah will grant him ten good deeds for each person who believed in Muhammad and each person who denied him in Mecca.' [Narrated by Al-Thalabi, Ibn Mardawayh, and Al-Wahidi with their chains to Abu ibn Kab.]