His saying, exalted and majestic is He:

﴿Allah has promised those among you who have believed and done righteous deeds that He will surely grant them succession [to authority] upon the earth, as He granted it to those before them. And He will surely establish for them [therein] their religion which He has preferred for them. And He will surely exchange for them, after their fear, security, [because] they worship Me, not associating anything with Me. And whoever disbelieves after that - those are the defiantly disobedient.﴾

﴿And establish prayer and give zakah and obey the Messenger that you may receive mercy.﴾

﴿And do not think that those who disbelieve are able to escape [from Allah] upon the earth, and their refuge will be the Fire - and wretched is the destination.﴾

The majority read: "He will grant them succession" in the passive form. It has been narrated that the reason for this verse is that some of the companions of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, complained about the hardship of fighting the enemy and the fear they were in for their own lives, and that they did not put down their weapons. So this verse was revealed generally for the nation of Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him.

And His saying, exalted is He: "upon the earth" means: in the lands that are neighboring them and the regions that He has decreed for their expansion. Their succession means that He will grant them authority over the land and make them its people, as occurred in the Levant, Iraq, Khurasan, and the Maghreb. And Al-Dhahhak said in the book of Al-Naqash: This verse includes the succession of Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali, may Allah be pleased with them, because they are the people of faith and righteous deeds. The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, said: "The caliphate after me will be thirty years."

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: The correct interpretation of the verse is that it refers to the succession of the majority.

And the "lam" in His saying, exalted is He: "He will surely grant them succession" is the lam of oath. Hamzah, Al-Kisai, and Ibn Amer read: "And He will surely exchange for them" with a fatḥah on the ba and a shaddah on the dal. Ibn Kathir, and Asim - in the narration of Abu Bakr - and Al-Hasan, and Ibn Muhaisin read with a sukoon on the ba and a light dal. It has been narrated regarding the meaning of exchanging their fear with security that when the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, was asked by his companions: Will there not come a day upon us when we will be safe and put down our weapons? The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, said: "You will not be dusted except for a little while until a man among you sits in the great assembly, leaning back, and there will be no weapon with him." And His saying: "They worship Me" is an independent action, meaning they worship Me. And His saying: "And whoever disbelieves" means: he disbelieves in these blessings when they occur, and the disobedience here does not expel one from the religion. Some people mentioned in the book of Al-Tabari: This was evident in the killers of Uthman, may Allah be pleased with him. It is possible that he means disbelief and disobedience that expel from the religion, which is the apparent saying of Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman, for he said: There was hypocrisy during the time of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, and it has gone, and only disbelief remains after faith.

And because He, exalted is He, preceded the righteous deeds, He clarified them in this verse, emphasizing their importance, which are the establishment of prayer and the giving of zakah. And He generalized obedience to the Messenger because it is general for all acts of obedience. And "that you may receive mercy" means: in your regard and your belief.

Then He directed the saying against the disbelievers by warning that they are not to be exempt from the punishment of Allah, exalted is He.

And the majority of the seven reciters read: "Do not think" with the ت (ta) addressing the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him. Al-Hasan ibn Abi al-Hasan read it with a فتح (fath) on the س (seen). Hamzah and Ibn 'Amir read: "Do not think" with a ي (ya). Abu Ali said: This can have two interpretations. One is that the meaning is: Do not think Muhammad. The other is that the action is attributed to those who disbelieved and the object is themselves. And a man is incapacitated when he goes in the land and is not able to do so. Then it was reported that their abode is the Fire, and that it is the worst ending and destination.