The third interpretation:

4584 - Abu Sa‘id al-Ashaj narrated to us, Waki‘ narrated to us, from Sufyan, from Mansur, from Ibrahim regarding His saying: "They will be circled by what they withheld" - he said: With a collar of fire.

His saying, the Exalted: "And to Allah belongs the inheritance of the heavens and the earth."

4585 - ‘Ali ibn Tahir narrated to us, Muhammad ibn al-‘Ala’ narrated to us, ‘Uthman ibn Sa‘id, meaning: al-Zayyat, narrated to us, Bishr ibn ‘Umarah narrated to us, from Abu Rawq, from al-Dahhak, from Ibn ‘Abbas who said: Gabriel said: "O Muhammad, to Allah belongs the entire creation: the heavens in their entirety, the earths in their entirety, and whoever is within them and between them, of what He knows and of what He does not know."

His saying, the Exalted: "And Allah is of what you do"

4586 - Abu Zur‘ah narrated to us, Yahya ibn ‘Abdullah ibn Bukayr narrated to us, ‘Abdullah ibn Lahi‘ah narrated to me, ‘Ata’ ibn Dinar narrated to me, from Sa‘id ibn Jubayr regarding His saying: "And Allah is of what you do" - meaning: of what shall be.

His saying, the Exalted: "Acquainted"

4587 - Muhammad ibn Yahya narrated to us, al-‘Abbas ibn al-Walid al-Narsi reported to us, Yazid ibn Zuray‘ narrated to us, Sa‘id narrated to us, from Qatadah regarding His saying: "Acquainted" - he said: Acquainted with His creation.

His saying, the Exalted: "Allah has certainly heard the speech of those who said, 'Indeed, Allah is poor, while we are rich.'"

4588 - Ahmad ibn al-Qasim ibn ‘Atiyyah narrated to us, Ahmad ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman narrated to us, my father narrated to me, from his father, al-Ash‘ath ibn Ishaq narrated to us, from Ja‘far, from Sa‘id ibn Jubayr, from Ibn ‘Abbas who said: The Jews came to Muhammad (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) when Allah revealed: "Who is it that would loan Allah a goodly loan?" They said: "Is your Lord poor that He asks His servants for a loan?" So Allah the Exalted revealed: "Allah has certainly heard the speech of those who said, 'Indeed, Allah is poor, while we are rich.'" (the verse).

4589 - Abu Zur‘ah narrated to us, ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Salih al-Kufi and Muhammad ibn ‘Abdullah ibn Numayr al-Hamdani said: Yunus, meaning: Ibn Bukayr, narrated to us, Ibn Ishaq narrated to us, Muhammad ibn Abi Muhammad narrated to me, from ‘Ikrimah, that he narrated to him from Ibn ‘Abbas who said: Abu Bakr entered the House of Study and found many Jews gathered around a man among them called Phineas, who was one of their scholars and rabbis, and with him was a rabbi called Ashya‘. Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Woe to you, O Phineas! Fear Allah and seek the truth from Him, for you find Him written with you in the Torah and the Gospel." Phineas said: "By Allah, O Abu Bakr, we are not indebted to Allah for any poverty; rather, He is poor towards us, and we do not beseech Him as He beseeches us. We are rich and independent of Him. If He were rich and independent of us, He would not have borrowed from us, as your companion claims. He forbids you from usury but He gives it to us; if He were rich and independent of us, He would not have given us usury." Abu Bakr became angry, struck the face of Phineas severely, and said: "By Him in whose hand is my soul, were it not for the treaty between us and you, I would have struck off your head, O enemy of Allah! Deny us what you can, if you are truthful." Phineas went to the Messenger of Allah (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and said: "O Muhammad, look at what your companion has done to me." The Messenger of Allah (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said to Abu Bakr: "What moved you to do what you did?" He said: "O Messenger of Allah, this enemy of Allah said a grave statement, claiming that Allah is poor and that they are rich and independent of Him. When he said that, I became angry for the sake of Allah because of what he said, and I struck his face." Phineas denied that and said: "I did not say that." So Allah the Exalted revealed regarding what Phineas said, in rebuttal to him and confirmation of Abu Bakr: "Allah has certainly heard the speech of those who said, 'Indeed, Allah is poor, while we are rich.'" (the verse).

His saying, the Exalted: "We will record what they said and their killing of the prophets without right and will say, 'Taste the punishment of the Burning Fire.'"

4590 - Yunus ibn Habib narrated to us, Abu Dawud narrated to us, Shu‘bah narrated to us, from Sulayman al-A‘mash, from Ibrahim, from Abu Ma‘mar al-Azdi, from ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud who said: "The Children of Israel used to kill three hundred prophets in a single day, then they would carry on with their markets at the end of the day as if nothing had happened."

4591 - ‘Ali ibn al-Husayn narrated to us, ‘Uthman ibn Abi Shaybah narrated to us, Jarir ibn ‘Abd al-Hamid narrated to us, from Abu Yazid al-Muradi—who is al-Nu‘man ibn Qays—from al-‘Ala’ ibn Badr, I said: "What is your view on His saying: 'And their killing of the prophets without right,' when they (the later generations) did not reach that time?" He said: "By their showing allegiance to those who killed the prophets of Allah."