after a sentence that implies speech, as in the saying of Allāh: 'So We inspired him, "Construct the ship."' The intended meaning of "walking" is not walking on foot, but rather continuation and persistence, meaning: continue worshiping your idols and commit yourselves to that. Secondly, the intention is not a literal request, but rather a statement, expressed in the form of a request, as in His saying: "We will bear your sins" (Sūrah al-ʿAnkabūt, verse 12), "let the Most Merciful extend it for him" (Sūrah Maryam, verse 75). "Jarran" is the verbal noun of "jarra yajurruhu," meaning to pull, but the intended meaning is not physical pulling; rather, it means generalization, as "sahb" is used in this sense. Do you not see that it is said: "This ruling extends to such-and-such," meaning it includes it. So when it is said: "That was in such-and-such a year and so on," it is as if it is said: "and it continued in the remaining years continuously," [it is a verbal noun]. Or: it continued continuously, in an emphatic state. This applies in all cases, and this is what people understand from this statement. With this interpretation, the problem of conjunction is resolved, for "halumma" then becomes a statement, and the issue of the singular pronoun is resolved since the subject of "halumma" is always singular, as you say: "and that continued," or: "what you mentioned continued."