According to Taberî, in this verse Allah informs the Prophet (s.a.v.) through revelation that He has told him the most beautiful story, and specifies that before this, the Prophet was unaware of past reports and previous scriptures. It is also reported that this verse was revealed when the Companions requested the Prophet to tell them stories. Attention is also given to differences in reading; it is transmitted that a group from the reciters of Kufa and Basra read it as 'يقص الحق', which comes from the root qaza meaning 'ruling and distinguishing'.

يقول جل ثناؤه لنبيه محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم: نحن نقص عليك يا محمد أحسن القصص بوحينا إليك هذا القرآن، فنخبرك فيه عن الأخبار الماضية، وأنباء الأمم السالفة، والكتب التي أنزلناها في العصور الخالية.

According to this exegete, the stories in the verse are reports of the cities belonging to the peoples of Noah, Hood, Salih, Lot, and Shuayb; these five peoples were specifically chosen because they were deceived by trusting in the long respite and abundance given to them, and this was mentioned as a warning to the community of Prophet Muhammad. Furthermore, for the word 'ضالا', numerous reports and linguistic interpretations are presented, such as: the Prophet being lost from his nursemaid Halima in childhood and returning to his grandfather Abdulmutallib, the story concerning Abu Jahl's camel, remaining buried/concealed among the disbelievers in Mecca, and being like a single tree carrying the fruit of faith in the desert of ignorance.

وإنما خص الله أنباء هذه القرى لأنهم اغتروا بطول الإمهال مع كثرة النعم فتوهموا أنهم على الحق ، فذكرها الله تعالى تنبيها لقوم محمد عليه الصلاة والسلام عن الاحتراز من مثل تلك الأعمال

Kurtubî first analyzes the expression 'ahsenü'l-kasas' linguistically; presenting different possible meanings according to whether 'kasas' occurs in the sense of a verbal noun or a noun. Then he lists the views of scholars on why this chapter is called 'the most beautiful of stories': the abundance of admonition and wisdom, Joseph's patience and forgiveness toward his brothers, the gathering of diverse subjects in the chapter (prophets, angels, jinn, animals, statecraft, dream interpretation, etc.), the story of the beloved and the one who loves being present, and finally that the end of everyone mentioned in the chapter concludes with happiness.

واختلف العلماء لم سميت هذه السورة أحسن القصص من بين سائر الأقاصيص فقيل : لأنه ليست قصة في القرآن تتضمن من العبر والحكم ماتتضمن هذه القصة وبيانه قوله في آخرها : لقد كان في قصصهم عبرة لأولي الألباب

According to Ibn Kathir, this verse was revealed when the Companions requested the Prophet to tell them stories, and then Umar brought writings from the People of the Book and presented them, which angered the Prophet. In this context, the verse carries the message that the Qur'an's stories are sufficient and leave no need for other scriptures. Ibn Kathir also notes that some of the reports he transmitted are weak and strange, and that the narrator Abdurrahman b. Ishaq is considered weak.

قالوا يا رسول الله لو قصصت علينا فنزلت ورواه من وجه آخر عن عمرو بن قيس مرسلا

According to Bayḍāwī, the expression 'ahsenü'l-kasas' indicates that the story has been told in the most beautiful manner, or that it is the most beautiful thing to be told because of the marvels, wisdoms, signs, and admonitions it contains. The expression 'bi-mâ evhaynâ' means 'by revelation' and 'hâzâ'l-Kur'ân' refers to the chapter; furthermore, it is possible to read the word 'hâzâ' as the object of the verb 'nakassa' and the word 'ahsen' as an accusative infinitive. The Prophet's unawareness of this story before its revelation is evidence that the story has been revealed to him, because this story had never before occurred to him and had never reached his ears.

أحسن الاقتصاص لأن اقتص على أبدع الأساليب، أو أحسن ما يقص لاشتماله على العجائب والحكم والآيات والعبر فعل بمعنى مفعول كالنقض والسلب