Tafsir of Al-`Alaq 96:16

His (Exalted is He) saying: "A forelock (nasiyah)" is a substitute (badal) for the preceding "forelock." It is permissible for a noun to be substituted for a definite noun while being indefinite, because it has been qualified by His (Glorified is He) saying: "lying, sinful," whereby it has become sufficient in providing benefit. The Basrans have mentioned that the only condition for substituting an indefinite noun for a definite one is that it provides benefit. The school of the Kufans holds that it may be substituted provided two conditions are met: that the word is the same and that the indefinite noun is qualified.

This is to include in its apparent meaning every forelock that possesses this description. This is something that holds true across all schools of thought. Attributing this description to the forelock, even though it is a quality of its possessor, is for the sake of hyperbole; it indicates that the possessor is described with lying and sinfulness by way of priority (a fortiori). It also conveys that, due to the intensity of his lying and sinning, it is as if every part of him lies and sins. This is like His (Exalted is He) saying: "Your tongues describe the lie," and their saying: "Her face describes beauty." Thus, the attribution is figurative—it is the attribution of a quality of the whole to a part.

Abu Haywah, Ibn 'Ablah, and Zayd ibn 'Ali read "a lying, sinful forelock" in the accusative case (nasb) as an expression of vilification. Al-Kisa'i, in one narration, read it in the nominative case (raf'), meaning: "It is a lying, sinful forelock."