Al-Muddaththir: (54) Nay, it is a Reminder.

Then the Almighty said: {Indeed, it is a Reminder (Innahu tadhkirah)}, meaning a sufficient and eloquent admonition. {So whoever wills, will remember it (faman shā’a dhakkarah)}—

Meaning, he makes it the focus of his attention, for the benefit of that returns to him. The pronoun in {Indeed, it (Innahu)} and {will remember it (dhakkarah)} refers to the Reminder mentioned in the verse: {What prevents them from the Reminder?} (Al-Muddaththir: 49). The feminine form (tā’) is used because it relates to the meaning of dhikr (remembrance) or the Qur'an.

Then the Almighty said:

! 7 < {And they will not remember except if Allah wills. He is the Owner of Taqwa and the Owner of Forgiveness.} > 7 !

{And they will not remember except if Allah wills (Wa mā yadhkurūna illā an yashā’a Allāh)}.

The Mu'tazila say: This means except if He compels them to remember and forces them into it. The response is:

The Almighty has negated remembrance absolutely and made an exception for the case of absolute Will. Therefore, it must be that whenever the Will occurs, remembrance occurs. Since remembrance has not occurred, we know that the Will has not occurred. Restricting the Will to a coercive Will is abandoning the apparent meaning. It has also been recited as yadhkurūna (with a yā’) and tadhkurūna (with a tā’, both lightened and intensified).

Then the Almighty said: {He is the Owner of Taqwa (Ahl al-Taqwā) and the Owner of Forgiveness (Ahl al-Maghfirah)}.

Meaning, He is worthy of being feared by His servants, and they should fear His punishment so that they believe and obey. And He is worthy of forgiving them for what has passed of their disbelief, if they believe and obey. And Allah, the Glorified and Exalted, knows best. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds, and peace and blessings be upon our Master Muhammad, his family, and all his companions.

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