dead, and it would then be slaughtered. (1)

Al-Kalbi said: There was an Arab man who would go without food for two or three days, then raise the side of his tent. Camels would pass by him, and he would say, “I have never seen camels or sheep finer than these today.” They would not go far before a group of them—a considerable number—would fall dead. The disbelievers asked this man to afflict the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, with the evil eye and do the same to him. But Allah protected His Prophet and revealed:

“And indeed, those who disbelieve would almost strike you down with their eyes.” (2)

That is, they almost would do so. The emphatic lām occurs in layazliqunaka because of the particle inna (“indeed”). ⦗173/b⦘ The people of Medina recited it as layazliqunaka, with the initial yāʾ pronounced with a short a vowel, whereas the others recited it with a short u vowel. Both are valid Arabic usages: one may say zalaqahu yazluquhu zalqan or azlaqahu yuzliquhu izlâqan, both denoting causing someone to slip or fall.

Ibn Abbas said: Its meaning is: they would pierce you. An arrow is said to have slipped through when it has pierced its target.

Al-Suddi said: They would afflict you with their eyes. Al-Nadr ibn Shumayl said: They would cast the evil eye upon you. It was also said: They would remove you.

Al-Kalbi said: They would knock you down. It was also said: They would turn you away from conveying the message entrusted to you.

Ibn Qutaybah said: It does not mean that they would afflict you with their eyes as one who casts the evil eye afflicts what he admires with his eye. Rather, it means that, when you recite the Quran, they look at you with such intense hostility and hatred that their gaze almost makes you fall. (3)

Al-Zajjaj said: Because of the intensity of their enmity, they almost strike you down with their hostile gaze. This is an established expression in Arabic speech. One may say, “He looked at me with a look that nearly knocks me down,” or, “a look that nearly devours me.” The soundness of this interpretation is shown by the fact that this gaze is connected to their hearing the Quran, as in His saying, “when they hear the Reminder.” They hated it with the utmost hatred, and so they fixed upon him their hateful gaze, saying, “Indeed, he is surely mad”—that is, they ascribe madness to him when they hear him reciting the Quran. Allah, Exalted is He, then said:

“And it is nothing but a reminder to all peoples.”

Ibn Abbas said: It is an admonition for the believers. He said: