“Does he think that no one has seen him? Have We not given him two eyes, a tongue, and two lips, and shown him the two high roads? Yet he has not attempted the steep ascent.”

“Does he think that no one has seen him?” Sa‘id ibn Jubayr—and Qatadah—said: Does he suppose that Allah has not seen him and will not question him about his wealth: where he acquired it and where he spent it?

Al-Kalbi said: He was lying when he said, “I have spent such-and-such,” for he had not spent all that he claimed. That is, does he think that Allah did not see this of him, and so does not know the extent of his expenditure? Then He reminded him of His blessings so that he might take heed, saying: “Have We not given him two eyes, a tongue, and two lips?”

Qatadah said: Allah’s blessings are manifest and abundant; He sets them before you so that you may give thanks. It is related in a hadith that Allah says: “Son of Adam, if your tongue urges you toward what I have forbidden you, I have given you two coverings to help you restrain it, so close them. If your sight draws you toward some of what I have forbidden you, I have given you two coverings to help you restrain it, so close them. And if your private parts urge you toward what I have forbidden you, I have given you two coverings to help you restrain them, so close them.” (2)

“And shown him the two high roads”: Most exegetes said that these are the paths of good and evil, truth and falsehood, guidance and misguidance, as in His saying: “Indeed, We guided him to the way, whether he be grateful or ungrateful.”

Muhammad ibn Ka‘b related from Ibn Abbas concerning “And shown him the two high roads” that he said: They are the two breasts. This was also the view of Sa‘id ibn al-Musayyib and al-Dahhak. A high road is a road that rises upward. ⦗193/a⦘

“Yet he has not attempted the steep ascent”: That is, why did he not spend his wealth in that by which he could cross it, such as freeing slaves and feeding the hungry? This would have been better for him than spending it in hostility toward Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. This is the view of Ibn Zayd and a group of scholars.

It was also said: “Yet he has not attempted the steep ascent” means that he did not undertake it or pass beyond it. To undertake such an ascent means to enter into a difficult matter. Here, the steep ascent is a parable Allah has set forth for striving against one’s lower self, desires, and Satan through deeds of righteousness. He likened it to one who burdens himself with climbing a steep ascent. That is, he did not impose hardship upon himself by freeing a slave or providing food. This is the meaning of Qatadah’s statement.

It was also said that He likened the burden of sins upon their perpetrator to a steep ascent. Thus, when one frees a slave and feeds others, he is like one who has undertaken the steep ascent and passed beyond it.

It is narrated from Ibn Umar that this steep ascent is a mountain in Hell. (3)