and his father, who said: “They are the People of the Book: they divided their religion and distorted words from their proper places. So Allah confounded them just as they had confounded themselves.” Al-Zuhri recited it as walalabbasnā (“We would surely have confounded”), with a doubled consonant, denoting repetition and emphasis.

“Messengers before you were certainly ridiculed,” just as you, O Muhammad, have been ridiculed. In this, He consoles His Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. As for “then there befell,” al-Rabiʿ ibn Anas (1) said: “Then there came down”; ʿAta’ said: “Then there occurred”; and al-Dahhak said: “Then there encompassed.” “Those who mocked them were overtaken by that which they used to ridicule”: that is, the punishment and retribution for their mockery.

Say, O Muhammad, to these deniers and mockers: “Travel through the land,” reflecting and taking heed. This may mean travelling with the mind and thought, or it may mean travelling on foot. “Then see what was the end of those who denied the truth”: that is, how their affair ended, and how He caused their disbelief and denial to bring them to ruin. Thus, He warned the disbelievers of Mecca of the punishment that befell bygone nations.

“Say, ‘To whom belongs whatever is in the heavens and the earth?’ Say, ‘To Allah.’ He has prescribed mercy for Himself. He will surely gather you on the Day of Resurrection, about which there is no doubt. Those who have lost themselves—they do not believe. (12) And to Him belongs whatever dwells in the night and the day. And He is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing. (13)”

His saying, glorified and exalted is He, “Say, ‘To whom belongs whatever is in the heavens and the earth?’”—if they answer you, then so be it; otherwise, say yourself: “To Allah.” He commanded him to give the answer immediately after the question, so that it would have a greater effect and constitute a more conclusive proof. “He has prescribed,” that is, decreed, “mercy for Himself.” This is an encouragement from Him, exalted is He, for the believers to turn to Him, informing them that He is merciful to His servants: He does not hasten punishment, and He accepts repentance and return to Him.

Abu ʿAli Hassan ibn Saʿid al-Maniʿi informed us; Abu Tahir al-Ziyadi informed us; Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn al-Husayn al-Qattan informed us; Ahmad ibn Yusuf al-Sulami related to us; ʿAbd al-Razzaq related to us; Maʿmar related to us from Hammam ibn Munabbih, who said: Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, related to us that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “When Allah decreed the creation, He wrote in a Book, which is with Him above the Throne: ‘Indeed, My mercy has overcome My wrath.’” (2)

Abu al-Zinad also narrated from al-Aʿraj, from Abu Hurayrah: “Indeed, My mercy [has preceded] (3) My wrath.” (4)