deprive him of an atom’s weight that remains to his credit; rather, He rewards him for it and multiplies it for him. This is the meaning of His saying, exalted is He: “If there is a good deed, He multiplies it.” The people of the Hijaz read “a good deed” in the nominative case, meaning: if a good deed is found. The others read it in the accusative case, meaning: if the weight of an atom is a good deed, He multiplies it—that is, He makes it many times over.

“And He gives from Himself a great reward.” Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, said: “When Allah, exalted is He, speaks of a great reward, who can measure its magnitude?”

“How will it be when We bring a witness from every community, and bring you as a witness against these people? On that Day, those who disbelieved and disobeyed the Messenger will wish that the earth could be levelled over them; nor will they conceal from Allah any statement.”

His saying, exalted is He: “How will it be when We bring a witness from every community”—that is, what will their condition be, and what will they do, when We bring a witness from every community? (1) This means its prophet, who will testify concerning what they did. “And bring you,” O Muhammad, “as a witness against these people”: a witness who will testify concerning all the communities, those whom he saw and those whom he did not see.

Abd al-Wahid al-Mulayhi informed us; Ahmad ibn Abdullah al-Nu'aymi informed us; Muhammad ibn Yusuf informed us; Muhammad ibn Isma'il informed us; Muhammad ibn Yusuf informed us; Sufyan informed us, from al-A'mash, from Ibrahim, from Ubaydah, from Abdullah ibn Masud, may Allah be pleased with him, ⦗85/b⦘ who said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Recite to me.” I said, “O Messenger of Allah, shall I recite to you when it was revealed to you?” He said, “Yes.” So I recited Surah al-Nisa until, when I reached this verse—“How will it be when We bring a witness from every community, and bring you as a witness against these people?”—he said, “That is enough for now.” I turned toward him, and his eyes were flowing with tears. (2)

His saying, exalted is He: “On that Day”—that is, on the Day of Resurrection—“those who disbelieved and disobeyed the Messenger will wish that the earth could be levelled over them.” The people of Medina and Ibn Amir read the verb with an initial a-vowel and a doubled s, meaning “that they be merged with the earth”; the second t was assimilated into the s. Hamzah and al-Kisa'i read it with an initial a-vowel and an undoubled s, with the initial t of the reflexive form omitted, as in His saying, exalted is He: “No soul will speak except by His permission” (Hud 11). The remaining reciters read it with an initial u-vowel and an undoubled s, in the passive sense: that the earth be levelled over them, so that they and the earth become one thing.

Qatadah and Abu Ubaydah said: It means that they would wish for the earth to split open so that they might sink into it and return to it, and then for the earth to be levelled over them.

It was also said: They will wish that they had never been resurrected, since they had only been brought forth from the dust, while the earth had been level above them.