Tafsir of Ash-Shu`ara' 26:28

(He said), peace be upon him, by way of explaining his first response and removing its ambiguity, so that it may be known that the diversion was only due to the manifest nature, clarity, and proximity of that which he turned to, regarding that with which he was accused—far be it from him!—while also pointing to the impossibility of explaining the reality through persisting in answering with the attributes: “(He is) the Lord of the East and the West and what is between them.” This is because the first answer did not explicitly state that the motions of the heavens and what they contain, the changes in their states and positions, and the earth being sometimes dark and sometimes illuminated, are all attributed to Allah the Exalted. In this response, there is a guidance toward that, for the mention of the East and the West indicates the rising and setting of the sun, which are dependent upon the motions of the heavens and what they contain in a marvelous manner, resulting in these precise conditions. All of these are created matters that undoubtedly require a Creator, Who is All-Powerful, All-Knowing, All-Wise. He, peace be upon him, employed sharpness here, just as he had done with him [Pharaoh] by saying: “if you were to understand,” meaning: if you understand anything at all, or if you are among those who possess intellect, you would know that the matter is as I have stated and pointed toward. For in this is an allusion that they are far removed from the circle of reason, and that they are the ones who truly deserve the accusation of madness that they leveled against him.

‘Abdullah, his companions, and al-A‘mash read it as: “Lord of the Easts and the Wests,” in the plural form for both. When the accursed one heard from him, peace be upon him, those statements founded upon the basis of consummate wisdom, and witnessed the intensity of his firmness and the strength of his resolve to carry out his mission, and that he was someone who could not be contested in the arena of debate...