Al-Qurtubi

يُنزِلُ رَبُّنَا تَبَارَكَ وَالتَّعَالَى That Allah causes an angel to descend.

And Imam Al-Qurtubi, he said in conclusion to this, that by doing this, by understanding it in this way, as opposed to , and then utilizing this various other hadith in order to support that understanding, the difficulty, any problem has been resolved here.

We have no problem whatsoever to understand it in that way.

We don't have to try and make a , we don't have to try and manage this narration whatsoever.

The commentators who explained the word read it as a lowering.

Al-Qurtubi's first derivation is the root for letting a bucket down into a well on its rope.

And Al-Jalalayn puts it as bringing them down from the standing they had.

The Arabic words page has the alternatives.

They are people whose good and bad deeds came out equal, held between the two places until Allah decides.

Al-Qurtubi records other views as well, among them the righteous and learned, the martyrs, and the prophets.

The Ayah itself says three things.

They recognize both groups, they greet the people of Paradise, and they have not entered it yet, though they long to.

As certain as you are that you are speaking right now, Allah wants you to be certain that what He promised is true.

There is a powerful story that Imam Al-Qurtubi reported from Al-Asma'i, one of the great early scholars of the Arabic language.

He once met a Bedouin who asked him to recite some of the words of the Most Merciful.

Al-Asma'i began Surah Al-Dhariyat until he reached, "And in the heaven is your provision." The man said, "O Asma'i, that's enough." He slaughtered his camel, distributed its meat, broke his sword and bow, and left for the desert repeating, "Wa fi assama'i rizqukum wa ma tu'adun." Years later, Al-Asma'i met him again during Hajj, and he asked him to recite again.

"Wallahu sami'un 'alim." And then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala concludes by saying that indeed Allah, He hears all, He knows all.

And Imam Al-Qurtubi Rahimahullahu ta'ala, the famous mufassir of the Quran, he says that the reason why these attributes are mentioned here, Allah hears all and He knows all.

Because Allah hears what you're saying with your tongue, but Allah also knows what's actually within your heart.

Whether you believe in this really truly from the depths of your heart or not.

Al-Jalalayn says that Allah knows best what they mean.

Al-Qurtubi records this position alongside other interpretations.

We'll leave their meaning with Allah and turn to the next ayah, which introduces the book itself.

كتاب أنزل إليك فلا يكن في صدرك حرج منه لتنذر به وذكرى للمؤمنين

Allah says, But they denied the truth when it came to them, so they are in a state of confusion.

Imam Al-Qurtubi mentions that Qatada said, regarding this verse, Whoever abandons the truth, his affairs become confused for him, and his religion becomes unclear to him.

And Ibn Uthaymeen mentions, Because of this denial, they fell into a confused and unsettled state.

They have no stability and no sense of calm.

The excessiveness here is also tied to our adornments and the way we look, what we do with our bodies.

Imam Al-Qurtubi and Hafidh Ibn Hajar Al-Asqalani said the meaning of this verse is when someone totally eradicates the root of their features or tattooing because of Shaitan's influence of rejecting your natural, divinely engineered physical makeup and identity.

It's as if you're saying, O Allah, I'm not really happy with the way that you created me.

I don't really like the fact that my eyebrows are not as good as what's being now shown on social media, for example.