The sinners from among the children of Adam—and likewise the beasts of the earth and, by Allah’s will, even the snakes and scorpions—say, “It is because of the sins of the children of Adam that we have been denied the rain.” ⦗1⦘

Someone else said: “The vermin that overpower the sinners in their graves come upon them because of the hardship their sins have brought them. Those very scorpions and snakes are the evil deeds they once practiced and took delight in during this worldly life; they have now turned into a punishment for them. We ask Allah for well-being.”

He also said, regarding the verse, “Surely man is to his Lord most ungrateful” (al-ʿĀdiyāt 100:6): it means utterly thankless.

Imām Aḥmad ⦗2⦘ reported: ʿUmar ibn Sulaymān narrated to us, Muslim Abū ʿAbd-Allāh told me, from Layth, from Mujāhid, who said, “Whoever feels no shame about taking what is lawful, his expenses become light and he brings ease to himself.”

ʿAmr ibn Zurūq narrated to us, Shuʿbah from al-Ḥakam, from Mujāhid, who said about Allah’s words, “He thought that We would not have power over him” (al-Anbiyāʾ 21:87): that is, he imagined that We would not punish him for his sin. ⦗3⦘

With this same chain he said: “I did not understand the meaning of the word zukhruf (ornament) until I heard it in ʿAbd-Allāh’s recitation rendered as ‘a house of gold.’” ⦗4⦘

Qutaybah ibn Saʿīd said: Khallaf ibn Khalīfah narrated to us, from Layth, from Mujāhid: “Allah—ʿazza wa jall (Mighty and Majestic)—rectifies a man’s children through the man’s own righteousness.” ⦗5⦘

He added: “It has reached me that Jesus (peace be upon him) used to say, ‘Glad tidings to the believer! How generously Allah looks after those he leaves behind.’”

Al-Fuḍayl ibn ʿIyāḍ narrated from ʿUbayd al-Muktib, from Mujāhid, concerning Allah’s words, “And all ties between them will be cut off” (al-Baqarah 2:166): it refers to the bonds that had existed between them in this world. ⦗6⦘

Sufyān ibn ʿUyaynah reported from Sufyān al-Thawrī, from Ibn Abī Najīḥ, from Mujāhid, with regard to Allah’s words, “They respect neither kinship nor covenant toward a believer” (al-Tawbah 9:10): al-ill means Allah—ʿazza wa jall (Mighty and Majestic). ⦗7⦘

And he said about the verse, “What remains with Allah is better for you” (Hūd 11:86): it means obedience to Allah—ʿazza wa jall (Mighty and Majestic).

And concerning His, the Most High’s, statement