He also said:

Section

Several learned scholars have discussed Allah’s words:

“On the Day a man will flee from his brother”

“and his mother and his father,”

asking: Why does He begin with the brother, when the Arabs customarily begin with what is most important?

When I was asked about this, I said:

In every context, one begins with whatever is appropriate to it. Sometimes this calls for beginning with what ranks higher, and sometimes with what ranks lower. Here, it is appropriate to begin with the lower, because the purpose is to describe his flight from his relatives in detail, one after another. Had the nearest relative been mentioned first, there would have been little benefit in mentioning the more distant, since it is understood that someone who flees from his nearest relative will flee from those more distant. Nor would the listener have gained a detailed sense of the severity of the ordeal. Thus, the passage begins with his rejection of the more distant relative, proceeding from there to the nearer. First, it says:

“A man will flee from his brother.”

This makes it clear that there is an ordeal severe enough to make him do so. He might flee from others, or he might not. Then it says:

“and his mother and his father.”

This makes it clear that the ordeal is even more severe, compelling him to flee from his parents. Then it says:

“and his wife and his children.”

This makes it clear that it is an overwhelming calamity, so severe that it compels him to flee