Commentary
And when he mentioned their fear and their excuse, he followed it with what necessitates their tranquility, which is reliance upon Allah, the One who, when one fears Him, all greatness diminishes before Him. He said: ﴿And Moses said﴾ meaning: to those who believed in him, establishing for them that Paradise can only be attained through great hardship. "People are tested according to the measure of their faith." ﴿O my people﴾ he sought to appeal to them by reminding them of closeness and stirred them towards the heights of strength within them. Then he incited them and urged them to be steadfast by saying: ﴿If you have believed in Allah﴾ meaning: a state that is steadfast like a character that does not change. ﴿Then rely upon Allah﴾ and let the effects of reliance manifest upon you through tranquility, steadfastness, and serenity. ﴿If you are﴾ meaning: a steadfast state ﴿Muslims﴾ uniting the affirmation of the heart with the submission of the limbs; and the response to this condition is what was indicated by the previous statement: ﴿Then rely upon Him﴾. ﴿They said﴾ meaning: immediately, as the conjunction implies, ﴿Upon Allah﴾ meaning: the One who possesses all greatness alone. ﴿We have relied﴾ meaning: we have entrusted all our affairs to Him. ﴿Our Lord﴾ meaning: O You who brought us into existence and is gracious to us, ﴿Do not make us a trial﴾ meaning: a place of mixing with that which sways and leads astray ﴿for the wrongdoing people﴾ meaning: do not let them strike us with what they think is your negligence towards us, so that they may increase in their aversion from Your religion due to their assumption that we are upon falsehood. And do not empower them over us with what would lead us away from our religion, so that they may think they are upon the truth. ﴿And save us by Your mercy﴾ meaning: Your honor towards us ﴿from the people﴾ meaning: the strong ones ﴿the disbelievers﴾ meaning: those entrenched in covering the evidence. In this supplication of theirs, there is an indication that the matter of religion is more important than the matter of the self.
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