“A revelation from the Almighty, the Most Merciful, so that you may warn a people whose forefathers were not warned, and so they are heedless. The decree has indeed become binding upon most of them, so they do not believe. Indeed, We have placed shackles upon their necks, reaching up to their chins, so their heads are held aloft.” (5–8)

“A revelation from the Almighty, the Most Merciful”: Ibn ‘Amir, Hamzah, al-Kisa’i, and Hafs recited “a revelation” in the accusative, as though the meaning were: “It was sent down as a revelation.” The others recited it in the nominative: that is, “It is a revelation from the Almighty, the Most Merciful.”

“So that you may warn a people whose forefathers were not warned”: It was said that “not” is negative; that is, their forefathers were not warned, for no prophet came to Quraysh before Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. It was also said that it means “that which”; that is, so that you may warn a people with that by which their forefathers were warned. “And so they are heedless”: of faith and right guidance.

“The decree has indeed become binding”: that is, punishment has become inevitable “upon most of them, so they do not believe.” This is like His saying: “But the decree of punishment has become binding upon the disbelievers” (al-Zumar 71).

“Indeed, We have placed shackles upon their necks”: This was revealed concerning Abu Jahl and his two Makhzumi companions. Abu Jahl had sworn that if he saw Muhammad praying, he would crush his head. He came to him while he was praying, carrying a stone with which to split his skull. But when he raised it, his hand became fastened to his neck, and the stone stuck to his hand. When he returned to his companions and told them what he had seen, the stone fell.

Then a man from Banu Makhzum said, “I will kill him with this stone.” He came to him while he was praying in order to throw the stone at him, but Allah Most High blinded his sight. He could hear his voice but could not see him. He then returned to his companions, yet he could not see them until they called out to him. They asked, “What did you do?” He replied, “I did not see him, though I heard his voice. Something resembling a great male camel, flicking (1) its tail, came between me and him. Had I drawn near to it, it would have devoured me.” Thereupon Allah Most High revealed: “Indeed, We have placed shackles upon their necks.” (2)

The scholars of meaning said: This is by way of parable; there were no actual shackles. Its meaning is: We prevented them from faith by means of impediments, and so He made the shackles a parable for that. Al-Farra’ said: Its meaning is that We restrained them from spending in the path of Allah, as in His saying: “Do not keep your hand chained to your neck” (al-Isra’ 29); that is, do not withhold it from spending.