“They remember”: that is, they recognize. Sa‘id ibn Jubayr said: “It is a man who becomes angry, then remembers Allah, Exalted is He, and so restrains his rage.” Mujahid said: “It is a man who is about to commit a sin, then remembers Allah and abandons it.”

“And at once they see clearly”: that is, through recollection and reflection, they perceive where they have gone wrong. Al-Suddi said: “When they slip, they repent.” Muqatil said: “When a God-fearing person is afflicted by a prompting from Satan, he remembers and recognizes that it is an act of disobedience; then he sees clearly and refrains from disobeying Allah.”

“And their brethren draw them further into error, then they do not cease. (202) And when you do not bring them a sign, they say, ‘Why have you not contrived it?’ Say, ‘I follow only what is revealed to me from my Lord. This Quran is enlightenment from your Lord, and guidance and mercy for a people who believe.’ (203) And when the Quran is recited, listen to it attentively and remain silent, so that you may receive mercy. (204)”

His saying, “And their brethren draw them further”: this means the brethren of the devils among the idolaters; that is, the devils draw them further on. Al-Kalbi said: “Every disbeliever has a brother from among the devils.”

“Further into error”: that is, they seek to lead them astray until they persist in it. It was also said that they increase them in misguidance. The people of Madinah recited it as yumiddūnahum (“they reinforce them”), with a dammah on the yā’ and a kasrah on the mīm, deriving it from imdād (“reinforcement”); the others recited it as yamuddūnahum, with a fathah on the yā’ and a dammah on the mīm. Both are linguistic variants with the same meaning.

“Then they do not cease”: that is, they do not desist. Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said: “Neither do the people desist from the evil deeds they commit, nor do the devils refrain from them.” According to this interpretation, His saying, “then they do not cease,” refers to the actions of both the idolaters and the devils. Al-Dahhak and Muqatil said that it refers to the idolaters: they do not desist from misguidance, nor do they perceive it, unlike what He said concerning the believers: “They remember, and at once they see clearly.”

“And when you do not bring them a sign”: that is, when you do not bring the idolaters a sign, “they say, ‘Why have you not contrived it?’” That is, why have you not fabricated it and produced it of your own accord? The Arabs say that one has contrived speech when one has invented it. Al-Kalbi said: “The people of Makkah would demand signs from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, obstinately. When the signs were delayed, they accused him and said, ‘Why have you not contrived it?’ That is, why have you not brought it about and produced it yourself?”

“Say,” O Muhammad, “I follow only what is revealed to me from my Lord.” Then He said: “This”—meaning, the Quran—“is enlightenment”: that is, arguments, elucidation, and proof “from your Lord.” Its singular is baṣīrah; its root sense is a thing’s becoming manifest and firmly established, so that a person perceives it and is guided by it. That is, these are proofs that lead you to the truth. “And guidance and mercy for a people who believe.”

His words, Exalted is He, “And when the Quran is recited, listen to it attentively and remain silent, so that you may receive mercy”: the scholars differed concerning the reason for the revelation of this verse. A group held that it concerns recitation during the prayer. It is narrated from Abu Hurayrah that they used to speak ⦗143/a⦘