Al-Hasan and Ibn Kaysan said: It was revealed concerning the hypocrites among the People of the Book, who recognized the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, as they recognized their own sons.

Qatadah said: This is a parable that Allah, Exalted is He, has set forth for anyone to whom guidance was presented but who refused to accept it. This is the meaning of His saying: “Recite to them the account of the one to whom We gave Our signs.” Ibn ‘Abbas and al-Suddi said: the Greatest Name of Allah. Ibn Zayd said: He would ask Allah for nothing except that He granted it to him. In another report, Ibn ‘Abbas said: He was given a book from among the books of Allah, then cast it off—that is, he departed from it as a snake sheds its skin. “Then Satan followed him,” meaning that he caught up with and overtook him, “and so he became one of those who went astray.”

“Had We willed, We could have elevated him thereby, but he clung to the earth and followed his own desires. So his example is that of a dog: if you drive it away, it pants; or if you leave it, it pants. That is the example of the people who denied Our signs. So relate the stories, that perhaps they may reflect.” (176)

“Had We willed, We could have elevated him thereby,” meaning: We would have raised his rank and standing ⦗141a⦘ through those signs. Ibn ‘Abbas said: We would have raised him by his knowledge of them. Mujahid and ‘Ata’ said: We would have removed disbelief from him and protected him through the signs. “But he clung to the earth,” meaning: he settled upon the worldly life and inclined towards it. Al-Zajjaj said: the verbs khalada and akhlada have the same meaning. Their root is perpetuity, meaning continuance and abiding. One says, “So-and-so remained in a place,” when he took up residence there. Here, “the earth” is an expression for the worldly life, because its open lands and dwellings are all earth, and all its other enjoyments are extracted from the earth.

“And he followed his own desires”: he yielded to what his desires called him to. Ibn Zayd said: His desire was to side with the people. ‘Ata’ said: He sought the worldly life and obeyed his devil. This is the gravest verse as a warning to the scholars, for Allah has informed us that He had granted him [a sign] (1) through His Greatest Name, answered supplications, knowledge, and wisdom; yet, through his attachment to the worldly life and his following of desire, he incurred the removal of this blessing from him and the stripping away of it. Who can be safe from these two traits except one whom Allah protects?

Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn ‘Abd Allah ibn Abi Tawbah informed us; Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn al-Harith informed us; Muhammad ibn Ya‘qub al-Kisa’i informed us; ‘Abd Allah ibn Mahmud informed us; Ibrahim ibn ‘Abd Allah al-Khallal informed us; ‘Abd Allah ibn al-Mubarak informed us, from Zakariyya ibn Abi Za’idah, from Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Sa‘d ibn Zurarah, from Ka‘b ibn Malik al-Ansari, from