وَقَالَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ لَوْلَا نُزِّلَ عَلَيْهِ ٱلْقُرْءَانُ جُمْلَةً وَٰحِدَةً كَذَٰلِكَ لِنُثَبِّتَ بِهِۦ فُؤَادَكَ وَرَتَّلْنَٰهُ تَرْتِيلًا · وَلَا يَأْتُونَكَ بِمَثَلٍ إِلَّا جِئْنَٰكَ بِٱلْحَقِّ وَأَحْسَنَ تَفْسِيرًا
"Those who disbelieve said: 'Should not the Qurʾān have been sent down upon him all at once, as a single whole?' Thus — that We might make your heart firm by it; and We recited it slowly, in an ordered measure. Whenever they bring you an example, We bring you the truth and a finer exposition."
The objection is a claim of deficiency: it did not come down as a whole. And the answer gives two grounds:
| Ground | Expression |
|---|---|
| 1 | Li-nuthabbita bihī fuʾādak — to make the heart firm |
| 2 | Wa rattalnāhu tartīlā — to recite slowly, in an ordered measure |
رَتَّلَ — root ر-ت-ل: the even, well-spaced set of the teeth. From this comes the sense ordered, spaced, unhurried. The root was treated at al-Muzzammil 73/4 (wa rattili'l-qurʾāna tartīlā). I do not repeat it here.
| Place | Who does it |
|---|---|
| al-Muzzammil 73/4 | The human being — a command: recite slowly |
| al-Furqān 25/32 | The text — a statement: We sent it down slowly |
The same root, once as a command and once as a statement. I record this as an observation: the manner of the reciting resembles the manner of the descent.
The root ف-س-ر: to open, to lift the covering from a thing and make it plain. The lexicographers record the root's relation to what is examined in order to learn a patient's condition (tafsira) — that is, looking inside and bringing the condition to light.
I record this as an observation: the word that gives this commentary its name occurs in the Qurʾān in a single place, and in the construct "the finest exposition". And the build of the sentence states a method: against every example brought, both ḥaqq and tafsīr are given — that is, both what is true and the exposition of it.