And when he mentioned in the beginning of the kingdom that He created death and life for the purpose of testing in deeds, he concluded here with a criticism of those who are deceived by wealth and children while knowing that death is behind them. He repeated the mention of the test and emphasized it because their deeds, along with the knowledge that it is a fleeting affair, are the deeds of those who think of a permanent kingdom and complete authority. So he said: "Indeed, We have tested them," meaning We dealt with them according to what We have of greatness, those whom We have marked among the Quraysh and other servants of Ours with what We have expanded for them in the treatment of the tester, with Our knowledge of the apparent and the hidden. That deceived them, and they thought that they were beloved ones, and those whom We have restricted are enemies, so they despised them and attributed them, due to their scarcity in this world, to foolishness, madness, misguidance, and delusion. It is near that We take them suddenly as We did with the companions of the garden. So whoever saw the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, has indeed been tested by him. If he believes, he is among those who have done good deeds, and if not, he is among those who have done wrong.

And when the generality of the people of Mecca did not recognize the blessing of Allah upon them through him, Allah removed him from them and honored him with supporters, making him the most honored of honors for them. And whoever heard of him and did not believe is likewise. His deeds will be like this garden; he thinks it is something, but it will betray him when he is most in need of it. Or our test for them was with the drought that the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, prayed against them until they ate carcasses, yet they did not repent as the saying goes: "As We have tested them," meaning We tested them by dealing with them in the manner of the tester, with Our knowledge of the apparent and the hidden. The result is that He extracted what is in the innermost to make it known to the servants in the realm of testimony as the Creator knows it in the realm of the unseen. Or it is a metaphor for the recompense. "The companions of the garden" he recognized it because it was famous among them. It was a great garden located two farsakhs from San'a, called Al-Dhirwan, which the people of the road tread upon. Its owner would call the poor at the time of harvesting and leave for them what the sickle missed or what the wind threw or what was far from the mat that he spreads under the palm tree. When he died, his sons became stingy with that, and they swore to harvest it before sunrise so that the poor would not come except after they had finished. And that is the meaning of His saying, the Exalted: "When they swore," indicating the confirmation of the oath, and he said: "They will certainly harvest it," expressing it in terms of cutting off, indicating the complete and intended cutting that prevents the poor. It should be a cutting from every aspect, from the harvesting - to prevent the kid from suckling, and from the barren: a place with no water, and the she-camel with little milk. "In the morning" meaning entering at the beginning of the time of morning.