"And we sought to reach the heaven..."
Meaning: We attempted to attain it in order to listen to the speech of its inhabitants, or we sought its news. "Touching" (al-lams) is said to be a metaphor derived from "feeling" (al-mass) to signify seeking, similar to "feeling" (lams) and "seeking" (iltimas), just as one says "he sought it" (talabahu) and "he requested it" (atlabahu/tatallabahu). It appears that the metaphor here is linguistic, as it is a metonymy (majāz mursal) used for the necessary consequence of its meaning, while "listening" (al-samā‘) is taken according to its literal sense.
"...so we found it filled..."
Meaning: We encountered and reached it. "Found" (wajada) here is transitive to one object.
His saying (Exalted is He): "filled" (muli'at) is in the position of a circumstantial state (ḥāl), with or without the implied "qad". If "found" (wajada) is considered one of the verbs of the heart, then this sentence is in the position of the second object. Al-A‘raj read it as "muli-yat" with a ya instead of a hamza.
"...with guards..." (ḥarasan)
Meaning: Guardians. It is a collective noun (ism jam‘), like "servants" (khadam), as held by a group, because it is on a pattern that usually applies to singulars, like "sight" (baṣar) or "moon" (qamar). For this reason, it is attributed to, as in "ḥarsī" (a member of the guard). Some held that it is a plural, but the correct view is the former, hence it was described with a singular adjective, as it was said:
"...strong..." (shadīdan)
Meaning: Powerful. Similar is his saying:
*(I built it with a band from my wealth / Fearing a lowly foot-soldier and a mounting horseman.)*
If its meaning as a plural were observed, one would say "shidādan" (strong ones), but the view is toward the literal pattern "fa‘īl," in which the singular and plural are equal. What is meant by the guards are the angels (peace be upon them) who prevent them from approaching the heaven.
"...and burning flames" (shuhuban)
The plural of "shihāb" (shooting star/flame), which has already been discussed. Some allowed that what is meant by "guards" are the burning flames themselves, making the conjunction similar to the one in the saying:
*(And Hind, between her and me, came the distance and the farness.)*
This, however, is contrary to the literal appearance. Placing "And we sought to reach the heaven..." and most of the following sentences within the scope of "We have believed" is extremely obscure. The apparent interpretation is to imply a prefix such as: "We inform you of that which does not appear to be included in that," or to interpret "We believed" from the beginning in a way that extends to everything.
