And when this causes the listener to question about this expulsion: Will it continue? It was answered that they will be tested by a difficult matter that Allah will bring about to distinguish between the pure and others. He said, repeating his description of them as being left behind, informing that in reality they did not lag behind, but rather they were prevented from expulsion and distanced in a painful manner due to what kept them from following the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, in this pilgrimage out of fear of fighting Quraysh because of their great strength. Just as He rewarded those who loved him, blessings and peace be upon him, with the opposite of what they intended regarding fighting for victory or death by keeping their hands from them, by what Allah made a cause for the greatest victory and the opportunity to focus on the conquest of Khaybar and taking its many spoils without great cost. Say, O greatest of creation, to the left behind ones, and He increased in condemning them by attributing them to rudeness, saying: from the Bedouins, meaning: the people of hard hearts. It is permissible that this restriction is to distinguish between the left behind from the people of the city, indicating that the Bedouins are divided in this call into obedient and disobedient, as indicated by His division, glorified and exalted is He, for them. And that the left behind from the people of the city have no hope for their righteousness, saying: You will be called with a promise that there is no breaking of it, by informing of the all-encompassing knowledge and power, a call that encompasses and a general summons for what the chain of narration has conveyed to all of them from a caller whose leadership is valid. Therefore, obedience to him is obligatory, and it indicates their distance from their land by His saying, the Most High: to a people.

And when the interpretation made it clear that they have strength and intensity in what they attempt, he clarified the meaning by saying: ﴿Those of great might﴾ meaning: intensity in war and bravery along with cunning and cleverness ﴿severe﴾. And when the meaning was as if it was asked: Why? Allah, the Exalted, said: ﴿You will fight them﴾ meaning: by the command of your Imam ﴿or they will submit﴾ meaning: they will call you to them so that one of the two manifest matters occurs because the word of Allah is the highest: either fighting from you or Islam from them. If they do not submit, then fighting is the only option, and if they submit, there will be no fighting; because the Imam has no objective except to elevate the word of Allah, and there will be nothing other than these two matters of keeping them with a jizyah or reconciliation or a truce for a period, and the like. And this caller is Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him, and the people are Banu Hanifah and others from the people of apostasy to whom the call was directed at the beginning of the caliphate of Al-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him. As for the saying of those who said: They are Thaqif, it is weak; because the call was not directed to them, rather the specific objective was the conquest of Mecca, and the matter of Hawazin and Thaqif and others was secondary to it in his campaign. There was nothing between them, and also when the matter of Thaqif became difficult, the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, left them until they submitted afterward. He also left the remnants of Hawazin and did not pursue them, nor was he commanded to pursue them. Thus, the apparent meaning of the verse is that if fighting breaks out, he will not leave except that Islam has occurred. And the claim that they are the Persians and the Romans is also weak; because each of them accepts the jizyah from him. And its interpretation as linguistic Islam is unnecessary when the truth is possible. And what was indicated by the division is that when they were called [to it, they divided] into responders, and they are the majority. And Allah has granted them a good reward in this world with the spoils and the good mention, which is hoped for in the Hereafter, and apostates, and they are few, and Allah has made them taste the painful punishment in this world by being killed in the worst state, and He will make them taste in the Hereafter the greatest punishment. As for fighting non-Arabs, everyone obeyed in it, and what was indicated by the division did not occur in it. Thus, it was established that they are the people of apostasy - and Allah is the Grantor of success. And for this reason, he caused the call of the truth to be repeated, indicating that they, at the time of the call, divide into those who approach and those who turn away: ﴿So if you obey﴾ meaning: you will carry out obedience to the caller to that, which is Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him ﴿Allah will give you﴾ meaning: He who has the encompassing power to give and withhold, there is no repelling of His command ﴿a good reward﴾ in this world and the Hereafter. Allah has made the obedience to Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, in this matter specifically like the obedience to the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, whose obedience is the obedience to Allah, as a reward for him for his specific role in furthering the submission to what the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, did from the reconciliation and his steadfastness with what Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both, responded with, similar to the response of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, without him being present for it, as is known from the biography.

And when the opposition to the Messenger ﷺ and those who take his place can only be from a dispute in the original nature and a treatment of it, he expressed this by using the form of the verb that indicates action, saying: "And if you turn away" from accepting his call in disobedience, "as you turned away"; meaning: you treated yourselves and burdened them with turning away by neglecting the Messenger ﷺ "before"; meaning: some of the times that preceded this call, and that was at Hudaybiyyah. "He will punish you"; meaning: He will mix you with a punishment that removes the sweetness in this world or in the Hereafter or in both. "A painful punishment" due to the repetition of that from you.