And when the state of those who have gone astray upon knowledge is more disgraceful, it increases their disgrace. He said: "And what" means, what did they do while they are in a state that they did not. And when the intended purpose is the emergence of the commanded matter, not the specification of the commander, he said after describing the scriptures that it has been established that it is a value based on the action: "They were commanded" means their command occurred with what they were commanded by one who, when he issues the command, does not deserve to be turned away from except to Him, in those books which it is necessary to establish following them and they submitted to it: "Except to worship" means for the sake of them to worship "Allah" meaning the God to whom belongs all command and there is no command for anyone else, that they establish His worship and renew it at all times. Worship is the compliance with the command of Allah, glorified and exalted is He, as He commanded in the manner that is commanded for the sake of Him being a commander, with the initiation of utmost love, submission, and glorification. This is with moderation so that a person does not become weary and thus spoil his worship or become impressed, which would corrupt his worship. While they are "sincere" means their sincerity is established to the utmost degree. "For Him is the religion" such that there is no mixture of anything that would spoil it from clear or hidden polytheism, by complying with the fact that He commanded for His pleasure, not for any benefit or repulsion. And this must be correct, for indeed many of the workers may be sincere, and their construction is without a valid foundation, so it does not benefit them but rather becomes a burden upon them. For they have wasted the foundation like the monks, and likewise many who believe in the guardianship of a person while they do not know how to distinguish between the friend and the enemy, the benefactor and the deceiver. The reality of sincerity is that it is the singularity of the truth in obedience with intention while forgetting the self in actions and reaching it by avoiding observing them, along with purifying oneself from contemplating the self by seeing oneself as a commanded servant who does not seek reward, making everything a means to Allah. Its sign is the absence of seeing the action, and this is known by fear and not turning to seeking reward, and by shyness from Him because he sees that he has not fulfilled the right of the Lord as it should be, as He, glorified and exalted is He, said: "They give what they give while their hearts are fearful that they will be returned to their Lord" [Al-Mu'minun: 60]. Al-Qushayri said: "It is said: sincerity is the purification of the action from defect." And Al-Razi said: "Sincerity is the pure intention because intention is constant, and action is interrupted, and action requires intention, while intention does not require action." And for what the expression by the name implies of being established and stable, he confirmed it by saying: "Hanafa" means in the utmost inclination with evidence to the people such that there is no deviation among them at all. Rather, whenever the slightest deviation occurs, they present it to the evidence, so they incline towards it with what they have of inclination, leading them to righteousness, and they became in the utmost uprightness. And that is the worship of excellence. The root of Hanafi in the language is inclination. Al-Malwi said: The custom has specified it as inclination towards good. Hence, Al-Ahnaf ibn Qais was named for the inclination in his legs inward from the front to the back. And they named the inclination towards evil as heresy. So the absolute Hanif is one who is free from the roots of the five sects: Jews, Christians, Sabians, Magians, and polytheists, and from their branches of all sects to the true beliefs, and from their consequences of sins and misdeeds to righteous deeds, which is the station of piety, and from the disliked to the recommended, which is the first station of piety, and from the superfluous out of compassion for the creation of Allah, which does not concern what concerns him, which is the second station of piety, and from what leads to the superfluous, which is the station of asceticism. Thus, the verse encompasses the two stations of sincerity, one looking towards the truth and the other towards the creation. Sincerity is for the station of the one engaged in the purified for him because it is the singularity of the truth with intention in obedience, and fear is for the station of the one engaged in the purified from it because it is the inclination away from all creatures towards Allah, glorified and exalted is He, and towards what pleases Him.

And when he mentioned the essence of the religion, he followed it with the branches. He began with the greatest of them, which is the gathering of the religion and the place of detachment from obstacles. He said: ﴿and establish﴾ meaning to set right without any deviation, with all the conditions, pillars, and limits, ﴿the prayer﴾ so that it becomes worthy of standing by itself. It is the glorification of the command of Allah, the Most High.

And when he mentioned the connection with the Creator, he followed it with the connection with the created beings. He said: ﴿and give zakah﴾ [meaning] by bringing it to its rightful recipients out of compassion for the creation of Allah, as assistance for the religion. However, they distorted that and changed it with their crooked natures. Zakah, according to the people of Allah, includes everything that Allah has provided of intellect, hearing, sight, tongue, hand, foot, and dignity, and other than that - as is clear from His saying: ﴿and from what We have provided them, they spend﴾ [Al-Anfal: 3].

And when this is a clear and good religion, they preferred it over what they had of evidence. He increased in reproaching them by praising it, saying: ﴿and that﴾ meaning while this described form of worship is in the manner mentioned, which is of the utmost excellence and goodness, ﴿is the upright religion﴾ meaning the creed or the souls or the books that have no deviation in them. It is in the first instance an addition of the described to the attribute. And from Al-Khalil, it is said: it is the gathering of upright. The upright and the standing are one. The meaning is the religion of those who stand for Allah, the Most High, with monotheism. And it indicated what was decreed regarding the matter of the polytheists by mentioning them in the result of what (p-196) has passed in his saying, confirming for the sake of their denial: