“And that it is He who enriches and grants possessions; and that it is He who is the Lord of Sirius; and that it is He who destroyed the former tribe of ‘Ad.”

Regarding His words, “And that it is He who enriches and grants possessions”: Abu Salih said: “He enriches people with wealth and grants possessions—that is, He gives them property, capital assets, and what they save beyond their needs.”

Al-Dahhak said: “He enriches with gold, silver, and various kinds of wealth, and grants possessions in the form of camels, cattle, and sheep.”

Qatadah and al-Hasan said: “Grants possessions” means, “He provides servants.”

Ibn Abbas said: “He enriches and grants possessions” means, “He gives, and thereby satisfies.”

Mujahid and Muqatil said: “Grants possessions” means, “He makes one satisfied and content with what He has given.”

Ibn Zayd said: “He enriches” means, “He increases,” while “He grants possessions” means, “He decreases.” He recited: “Indeed, your Lord extends provision for whom He wills and restricts it.” (The Night Journey, 30) Al-Akhfash said: “Grants possessions” means, “He impoverishes.” Ibn Kaysan said: “He gives children.”

Regarding His words, “And that it is He who is the Lord of Sirius”: it is a star behind Orion. There are two Sirii: one is called al-‘Abur, and the other al-Ghumaysa’. The latter was given this name because it is more hidden than the other, and the Milky Way lies between them. What is meant here is Sirius al-‘Abur. The tribe of Khuza‘ah used to worship it. The first to institute this practice among them was one of their noblemen, a man called Abu Kabshah. He worshipped it and said: “The stars traverse the sky crosswise, whereas Sirius traverses it lengthwise; thus, it differs from them.” So Khuza‘ah worshipped it. When the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, came forth differing from the Arabs in religion, they called him “the son of Abu Kabshah” because he differed from them, just as Abu Kabshah had differed from them in worshipping Sirius. (1)

Regarding His words, “And that it is He who destroyed the former tribe of ‘Ad”: the reciters of Madinah and Basrah read it with a doubled lam after the dal; Qalun, reporting from Nafi‘, pronounced its waw with a hamzah. The Arabs do this, saying, “Qum lan ‘anna,” meaning, “Qum al-ana” (“Get up now”). In this reading, one pauses at “‘Adan” and begins “ula,” with a single open hamzah followed by a dammah on the lam. [It is also permissible to begin “lula”] (2), omitting the open hamzah.

The other reciters read: “‘Adan al-ula.” They were the people of Hud, who were destroyed by a bitterly cold wind. They had descendants, who were known as the latter ‘Ad.