Yahya said: Al-Suddi said: Al-wilayah (authority) is with the fat-ha (vowel /a/).
Muhammad said: Hamzah and al-Kisa'i read it with a kasrah (vowel /i/) under the waw, as mentioned by Abu 'Ubayd.
His saying: "Huwa khayrun thawaban wa khayrun 'uqba" (It is better in reward and better in consequence), meaning: result.
Muhammad said: "Thawaban" (reward) and "'uqba" (consequence) are in the accusative case as specifications (tamyeez).
قَالَ يَحْيَى: قَالَ السُّدِّيُّ: الْوَلَايَةُ بِالْفَتْحِ.
قَالَ مُحَمَّدٌ: وَقَرَأَهَا حَمْزَةُ وَالْكِسَائِيُّ بِكَسْرِ الْوَاوِ، ذَكَرَهُ أَبُو عُبَيْدٍ.
قَوْلُهُ: ﴿هُوَ خَيْرٌ ثَوَابًا وَخير عقبا﴾ أَيْ عَاقِبَةٌ.
قَالَ مُحَمَّدٌ: (ثَوَابًا وعقبا) منصوبان على التَّمْيِيز.
