In this compilation, multiple verses and subjects appear to be intertwined; Taberî first explains the phrase 'tell which of the two parties is more entitled to security', then addresses the relationship between voluntary acts (tatavvu) and circumambulation and running, the matter of giving ransom in place of fasting, the linguistic analysis of counted days (eyyam-i ma'dûdât) and the word 'ahar', the ruling on breaking the fast during illness and travel, and the virtue of charity and forgiving debt respectively. The text transmits that the Ramadan fast replaced the previously counted days of fasting, and that scholars differed on the dispensation rulings for the sick and traveler.

فإن قال قائل: أوليست الأخر من صفة الأيام؟ قيل: بلى، فإن قال: أوليس واحد الأيام يوم وهو مذكر؟ قيل: بلى. فإن قال: فكيف يكون واحد الأخر أخرى وهي صفة لليوم ولم يكن آخر؟

In this text, Râzî discusses in detail what the pronouns in the fasting verses refer to, the rationale for the rulings on expiation and ransom, the possible supplied conditions in the expression 'fasting is better than ransom' (to whom the address is directed), and the linguistic origin of the word 'travel'. He also answers objections raised against qiyas (analogical reasoning) regarding the matter of performing prayer on time or delaying it (teaccül-tehir). Ultimately, he clarifies that the pronoun cannot refer to fasting but rather to ransom, reasoning that ransom was not mentioned beforehand and is feminine in gender.

قلنا لوجهين أحدهما : أن الفدية غير مذكورة من قبل فكيف يرجع الضمير إليها والثاني : أن الضمير مذكر والفدية مؤنثة

According to Kurtubî, this verse regulates the situations of the sick and traveler regarding fasting, the number of days to be made up, and the ransom rulings. The degrees of illness (those that cannot be borne and those that can be endured with difficulty) are dealt with separately; in the first case breaking the fast is obligatory (wajib), in the second it is recommended (mustahab). He also examines legal and linguistic matters such as the measure of travel distance, whether making up days should be calculated by days or by month, and the morphological and syntactical explanation of the word 'ahar' under sixteen problem headings.

قال بن سيرين : متى حصل الإنسان في حال يستحق بها اسم المرض صح الفطر قياسا على المسافر لعلة السفر وإن لم تدع إلى الفطر ضرورة

According to Ibn Kesîr, this verse concerns those who cannot undertake fasting, such as elderly men and elderly women; these are not abrogated, they are obligated to feed one poor person for each day. He also transmits that those who are healthy and settled and are able to fast were initially given a choice between fasting and ransom, but this ruling was later abrogated by a subsequent verse. Pregnant and nursing women are also included in this ruling if they fear for themselves or their children.

قال ابن عباس ليست منسوخة هو الشيخ الكبير والمرأة الكبيرة لا يستطيعان أن يصوما فيطعمان مكان كل يوم مسكينا

According to Beydâvî, the fasting command in the verse initially refers to a fast that was obligatory before Ramadan (such as the day of Ashura or three days from each month), and this was later abrogated by the Ramadan fast. For the sick and traveler there is a dispensation to 'fast on other days an equal number of days'; according to some scholars this is a dispensation, but according to the Zâhirîs and Abû Hurayra it expresses obligation (wujûb). The ruling of giving ransom for those unable to undertake fasting (the elderly, the infirm) was initially established as a dispensation and later abrogated; furthermore, differences in readings (yatîqûnahu/yatîqûnahu, etc.) add different interpretations to the ruling.

وهذا على سبيل الرخصة. وقيل على الوجوب وإليه ذهب الظاهرية وبه قال أبو هريرة رضي الله عنه

Zemahşerî addresses several separate topics in this passage: that tazmîn means to know that something's preservation and safeguarding is obligatory; that 'knowledge' means seeing what is beneficial and harmful to a person with insight; he also explains different readings and meanings of the words 'tahluku' and 'ifk' (fabricating lies, taking idols as gods). He also notes that riskk (sustenance) coming first as indefinite and then as definite means that no one other than Allah can provide sustenance, and that sustenance must only be sought from Allah.

والإفك : مخفف منه ، كالكذب واللعب من أصلهما