in the third person, out of reluctance to address the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, with such stern and severe words, and so that no member of this nation might fall into anything similar. Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, has described His Noble Book as being in a clear Arabic tongue, and this is one aspect of its clarity.

These verses also indicate that it is permissible to identify a person by an epithet describing him, such as “the blind,” “the lame,” or “the bleary-eyed.” The scholars used to do this: al-Araj narrated from Abu Hurayra, al-Amash from Ibn Masūd, and so forth. The scholars stated that there is no harm in an epithet referring to a defect when its purpose is to identify the person. If, however, it is intended to shame him, then it is forbidden. In the first case—where the intent is to identify the person—there is a need for it. In the second—where the intent is to shame him—the purpose is not identification but malicious gloating. It is related in a report: “Do not gloat over your brother’s misfortune, lest Allah have mercy on him and afflict you.” (1)

﴾May man perish! How utterly ungrateful he is! * From what did He create him? * From a sperm-drop He created him and determined his course. * Then He made the way easy for him. * Then He caused him to die and had him buried. * Then, whenever He wills, He will resurrect him. * No indeed! He has not yet fulfilled what He commanded him. * Let man, then, consider his food: * how We pour down water in abundance, * then split the earth open, * causing grain to grow in it, * along with grapes and fresh fodder, * olives and date palms, * gardens dense with lofty trees, * fruit and pasture, * as provision for you and your livestock.﴿

﴾May man perish!﴿ Some scholars have said that “may he perish” means “may he be cursed.” What appears correct, however, is that it means “may he be destroyed,” because killing results in destruction. This is an idiom the Arabs use to condemn the state a person is in.