Then he followed that with what indicates the honor of his origin and he advanced his virtue by stating that he is from the House of Prophethood and the source of nobility. This is to make that more likely to accept his words and hit his targets. He said: "And I have followed" meaning with all my effort and desire "the religion of my forefathers, Abraham, the Friend of Allah," and he is the grandfather of his father, "and Isaac," his son, the Prophet of Allah, and he is his grandfather, "and Jacob," his father, Israel: Allah. And he is truly his father. And that is the Hanifiyyah, the easy way which is the inclination with evidence without rigidity with desire in one of the aspects. Al-Bukhari narrated in the tafsir and elsewhere from Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, who said: "The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, was asked: 'Which of the people is the most honorable?' He said: 'The most honorable of them in the sight of Allah is the most pious among them.' They said: 'This is not what we are asking you about.' He said: 'Then are you asking me about the noblest of the Arabs?' They said: 'Yes.' He said: 'The best of you in the days of ignorance is the best of you in Islam if they understand.' It is as if it was said: What is that religion? He said: "What was not for us" meaning what is correct and upright in one of the aspects, for what we have of the light of knowledge which has left no ambiguity with us at all "that we should associate" meaning we renew at some time something of association "with Allah" meaning the One to whom belongs all matters, and he emphasized the negation. He said: "of anything" meaning by what He has legislated for us of the upright religion, our religion was the oneness. And from the emphasis is the generality in the context of the negation, so that it encompasses everything from a rational king or human or jinn or otherwise. Then he explained that with what he knows that just as it was obligatory upon them, it is obligatory upon everyone. He said: "That" meaning this negation or that legislation - for the Hanifiyyah and its facilitation and making the original natures inclined towards it and turning towards it - the Exalted, the Great, the Magnificent, "for the favor of Allah" meaning the encompassing of majesty and honor "upon us" specifically "and upon the people" who are our brothers in lineage generally. So we and some of the people thanked Allah, so we accepted what He has favored us with, and we did not associate anything with Him; and the favor is the additional benefit over the amount that is obligatory, so every gift of Allah is a favor, for there is no obligation upon Him. Therefore, it is obligatory upon everyone to sincerely dedicate the oneness to Him in gratitude for His favor due to what has been established by the evidence of reason and transmission that the gratitude of the benefactor is obligatory. "But most of the people" meaning due to their confusion with desire, they have become blind to this obligation, so they "do not thank" His favor by sincerely dedicating the action to Him and they associate with Him under compulsion to their original natures. The verse is from the interplay: it mentioned the negation of association first, indicating the existence of it secondly, and it mentioned the negation of gratitude secondly, indicating the omission of its affirmation first.