His saying, exalted and majestic is He:

﴿O you who have believed, fear Allah and give up what remains of interest, if you should be believers.﴾ ﴿And if you do not, then be informed of a war from Allah and His Messenger. And if you repent, you will have your principal. You do not wrong, and you will not be wronged.﴾

The reason for this verse is that interest was widespread among people at that time. There was interest between Quraysh and Thaqif, and it was for these people over those. When the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, conquered Mecca, he said in his sermon on the second day of the conquest: "Indeed, all interest from the days of ignorance is abolished, and the first interest I abolish is the interest of" (p-102) Al-‘Abbas ibn Abdul Muttalib." So he began with his uncle and those closest to him. This is from the traditions of justice for the Imam to apply justice to himself and his close ones, then he can apply it to the people. Then the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, returned to Medina and appointed ‘Attab ibn Asid over Mecca. When the people of Ta’if were later brought to Islam, they stipulated conditions, some of which were granted by the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, and some were not. Among their conditions was that all interest they had over the people, they would take, and all interest upon them would be abolished. It is narrated that the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, confirmed this for them, then Allah rejected it with this verse, just as He rejected his treaty with the disbelievers of Quraysh regarding the return of women to them in the year of Hudaybiyyah.

Al-Naqqash mentioned a narration that "the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, ordered to write at the bottom of the document for Thaqif: 'You have what the Muslims have, and upon you is what is upon them.'" When the time for their interest came, they sent to Mecca to claim it, and the debts were for Banu Ghirah. They are the sons of Amr ibn Umayr from Thaqif, and they had debts over Banu Al-Mughira Al-Makhzumi. The sons of Al-Mughira said: "We will not give anything, for interest has been abolished." They raised their matter to ‘Attab ibn Asid in Mecca, who wrote to the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, and it was revealed, and the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, wrote it to ‘Attab. Thaqif learned of it and refrained." This is the reason for the verse, summarized from what Ibn Ishaq, Ibn Jurayj, Al-Suddi, and others narrated. The meaning of the verse is: Place a barrier between yourselves and the punishment of Allah by abandoning what remains of interest and forgiving it.

And His saying: ﴿if you should be believers﴾ is a pure condition for Thaqif at its door, as they were in the early stages of their entry into Islam. If we consider the verse for one whose faith is established, it is a figurative condition for the sake of emphasis, as one would say to someone whose establishment you want: If you are a man, do such and such.

Al-Naqqash narrated from Muqatil ibn Sulayman that he said: "If" in this verse means "when" (p-103).

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: This is rejected and is not known in the language. Ibn Furak said it is possible that he means: O you who have believed in those before Muhammad from the prophets, give up what remains of interest if you believe in Muhammad, for the former is of no benefit except through this. This is rejected by what has been narrated regarding the reason for the verse.

Then He threatened them, exalted is He, if they do not abandon usury, with war from Allah and His Messenger. And war is a call to kill. Ibn Abbas narrated that it is said on the Day of Resurrection to the one who consumes usury: 'Take your weapon for war.' Ibn Abbas also said: Whoever persists in usury and does not refrain from it, it is a right upon the leader of the Muslims to demand repentance from him. If he refrains, well and good; otherwise, his neck should be struck. Qatadah said: Allah has threatened the people of usury with death, making them outcasts wherever they are found. Then He, exalted is He, returned them with repentance to their principal amounts and said to them: 'Do not wrong [others] in taking usury, and you will not be wronged' in that you may hold on to any part of your principal amounts, so that your wealth does not vanish. It is possible that 'do not wrong' refers to delaying payment, because 'delaying payment by the wealthy is a wrong,' as he, blessings and peace be upon him, said. The meaning is that the judgment should be with the imposition of usury, and this is how the tradition of reconciliation is. This is most similar to reconciliation. Do you not see that when the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, suggested to Ka'b ibn Malik regarding the debt of Ibn Abi Hudhrad to reduce it, Ka'b said: 'Yes, O Messenger of Allah.' The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, said to the other: 'Stand up and pay him.' The scholars received his command regarding judgment as a tradition in reconciliations. Al-Hasan read: 'What remains' with a broken qaf and a silent ya. This is as Jarir said: He is the caliph, so be pleased with what He is pleased for you. The one of firm resolve, there is no deviation in his judgment. And its aspect is that he compared the ya to the alif, for just as the movement does not reach the alif, so likewise it did not reach here to the ya. And in this there is a consideration. And Abu al-Sammal read: 'From usury' with a broken ra, a dammed ba, and a silent waw. Abu al-Fath said: This letter is odd in two matters, one of which is the transition from the broken to the dammed as a necessary construction, and the other is the occurrence of the waw after the dammah at the end of the noun. This is something that has only occurred in verbs, like: he invades and he calls. As for 'the one of the group' meaning 'the one who is,' it is very rare. Some of them change its waw when it departs from the nominative, saying: 'I saw the one who stood.' And the aspect of the reading is that he emphasized the alif and inclined it towards the waw, which the alif is a substitute for, in accordance with their saying: 'Prayer and zakat.' And it is overall an odd reading. And Ibn Kathir, Abu Amr, Nafi', Ibn Amer, and al-Kisai read: 'So announce' with the dhāl being open. And Asim in the narration of Abu Bakr read: 'So let it be announced' with the dhāl being broken. Sibawayh said: 'You announced' means 'You informed,' and 'You called' means 'You proclaimed with the informing.' He said: And some make 'You announced' equivalent to 'You called.' Abu Ali said: Whoever said: 'So announce' and shortened it, its meaning is: 'Know of the war from Allah.' Ibn Abbas and others among the commentators said: Its meaning is: 'Be certain of the war from Allah, exalted is He.'

The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: And this is, in my view, from the permission. When a person gives permission in something, he has established it and built it with himself upon it. It is as if he said to them: So establish war between yourselves and between Allah and His Messenger. It is obligatory upon them - from the wording of the verse - that they are calling for war and seeking it, as they are the ones who have given permission for it and in it. And included in this meaning that I have mentioned is their knowledge that they are at war, and their certainty of that. Abu Ali said: Whoever reads 'fa'adhinu' (so give notice), its implication is: So inform those who have not ceased from that with war, and the object is omitted. This object has been established in His saying, the Exalted: 'Say: I have given you notice equally' [Al-Anbiya: 109]. And when they are commanded to inform others, they certainly know. He said: So in their informing them is their knowledge, and there is not in their knowledge the informing of others. Thus, the reading of the elongation is more preferable because it is more eloquent and more emphatic. Al-Tabari said: The reading of the shortening is more preferable because it is specific to them. They were only commanded in the reading of the elongation to inform others.

The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: And the two readings are equal in my view because the addressed in the verse is restricted to every one who does not leave what remains of usury. If it is said to them: 'fa'adhinu' (so give notice), then the command encompasses them all. And if it is said to them: 'fa'adhinu' (with elongation), the meaning is yourselves and some of you to some. And it is as if this reading necessitates a spaciousness for them in deliberation and verification, that is: So inform your souls of this, then look into what is more preferable for you: leaving usury or war.

And all the reciters read: 'la tazlimun' (do not wrong) with the opening of the 'ta', and 'la tuzlamun' (you will not be wronged) with the closing of it. And its interpretation has passed.

And Al-Mufaddal narrated from Asim: 'la tuzlamun' with the closing of the 'ta' in the first and the opening in the second. Abu Ali said: The reading of the group is more preferable because it corresponds to His saying: 'So if you repent' in attributing the two actions to the doer. Thus, 'tazlimun' with the opening of the 'ta' is more difficult with what precedes it.