[She said, "O assembly,"] until His saying: "[What do you command?" Qatada said: It was mentioned to us that she had three hundred and thirteen men as her councilors, and each man among them was in charge of ten thousand.
Muhammad said: The reading of His saying: "until you bear witness" is with a kasra (vowel sign i) on the nun. Its original form is "tashhadunani" (you bear witness to me), but the first nun was elided for the inflection, and the ya was elided because it is the end of a verse, and the kasra indicates it.
﴿قَالَت يَا أَيهَا الْمَلأُ﴾ إِلَى قَوْلِهِ: ﴿مَاذَا تَأْمُرِينَ﴾ قَالَ قَتَادَةُ: ذُكِرَ لِنَا أَنَّهُ كَانَ لَهَا ثَلَاثمِائَة (ل ٢٤٩) وَثَلَاثَةَ عَشْرَ رَجُلًا أَهْلُ مَشُورَتِهَا كُلُّ رَجُلٍ مِنْهُمْ عَلَى عَشْرَةِ آلَافٍ.
قَالَ مُحَمَّدٌ: الْقِرَاءَةُ فِي قَوْله: ﴿حَتَّى تَشْهَدُون﴾ بِكَسْرِ النُّونِ، وَأَصْلُهُ: (تَشْهَدُونَنِي) فَحُذِفَتِ النُّونُ الْأُولَى لِلنَّصْبِ، وَحُذِفَتِ الْيَاءُ؛ لِأَنَّهَا آخِرُ آيَةٍ، وَالْكَسْرَةُ تَدُلُّ عَلَيْهَا.
