The Third Aspect:

7179 - My father narrated to us, ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn Munib narrated to us, Abu Mu‘adh al-Nahwi narrated to us, ‘Ubayd ibn Sulayman narrated to us, from al-Dahhak, regarding His saying: "Then their trial," meaning: their speech.

His saying, the Almighty: "By Allah, our Lord, we were not idolaters."

7180 - Abu Sa‘id al-Ashajj narrated to us, Abu Yahya al-Razi narrated to us, from ‘Amr ibn Abi Qays, from Mutarrif, from al-Minhal, from Sa‘id ibn Jubayr, from Ibn ‘Abbas, he said: A man came to him and said: O Abu ‘Abbas, I heard Allah saying: "By Allah, our Lord, we were not idolaters." He said: As for His saying: "By Allah, our Lord, we were not idolaters," when they see that no one enters Paradise except the people of prayer, they say: Come, let us deny it, so they deny it. Then a seal is placed upon their mouths, and their hands and feet will bear witness, and they will not conceal any statement from Allah. So is there anything in your heart now? There is no part of the Quran except that something has been revealed regarding it, but you do not know its aspect.

7181 - Abu Zur‘ah narrated to us, Minjab narrated to us, Bishr ibn ‘Umarah reported to us, from Abu Rawq, from al-Dahhak, from Ibn ‘Abbas, regarding His saying: "Then their trial was only that they said: By Allah, our Lord, we were not idolaters," meaning: the polytheist hypocrites. Allah only called them hypocrites because they concealed polytheism and manifested faith. They said while they were in the Fire: Let us lie here, perhaps it may benefit us as it benefited us in the world, for we lied in the world and it benefited us; it spared our blood and our wealth. So they said: O our Lord, we were not idolaters.

7182 - Hajjaj ibn Hamzah narrated to us, Shababah narrated to us, Warqa’ narrated to us, from Ibn Abi Najih, from Mujahid, regarding His saying: "By Allah, our Lord, we were not idolaters," the statement of the people of polytheism when they saw that everyone exits it except the people of polytheism, and they saw that sins are forgiven, and Allah does not forgive polytheism.

7183 - Abu Sa‘id al-Ashajj narrated to us, ‘Abdah ibn Sulayman narrated to us, from Hamzah al-Zayyat, from Hashim, from Sa‘id ibn Jubayr, that he used to recite this passage: "Then their trial was only that they said: By Allah, our Lord," they swore and offered excuses.