His saying, exalted and majestic is He:

﴿And those days We alternate among the people, and that Allah may make evident those who believe and may take to Himself from among you martyrs. And Allah does not like the wrongdoers﴾ [Al-Imran: 140] ﴿And that Allah may purify those who believe and destroy the disbelievers﴾.

He, exalted is He, informs us in the context of consolation that the days, both from ancient times and those that have passed, are made to alternate among people. This means: do not deny that the disbelievers may prevail over you. And He, exalted is He, said: "We alternate them"; it is a mutual action from one side. This is permissible because the alternation from Him, exalted is He, is between two parties. When those two groups are alternating, it is good. The term 'dawlah' with a ض is the source, and 'dawlah' with a ف is the singular action of that. Therefore, it is said: in the dawlah of so-and-so because it is a moment in time. Some of the pure Arabs heard a reader reciting this verse and said: it is only "And those days We alternate among the Arabs". It was said to him: it is only "among the people". He replied: Indeed, for Allah, the kingdom of the Arabs and the Lord of the Kaaba has gone.

And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿And that Allah may make evident those who believe﴾ [Al-Imran: 140] the 'wa' has entered to indicate that the 'lam' is related to a condition implied at the end of the speech, its meaning being: and that Allah may make evident those who believe, so He did that. And His saying, exalted is He: "And that Allah may make evident" means: to manifest in existence the faith of those whom He has known from eternity that they will believe, and to align His knowledge with their faith and existence. Otherwise, He had known them from the beginning, and His knowledge, exalted is He, does not undergo change. An example of this is that a ruler strikes someone, then clarifies the reason for the strike and says: I did this clarification so that I may strike one who is deserving, meaning: to show that my action corresponds to his deserving.

And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿And may take from among you martyrs﴾ [Al-Imran: 140], means: those who are destined for success in His cause, as has been mentioned in the virtues of the martyr.

Then He, exalted is He, informs us that His granting the disbelievers victory over the believers is only to purify the believers, and that the granting of the believers victory over the disbelievers is only for the destruction of the disbelievers. This is the implication of the words of the verse. Ibn Abbas and others have said: Allah granted victory to His Messenger on the day of Badr, and against him on the day of Uhud. Many scholars have gone to express the victory of the believers as 'nasr' and the victory of the disbelievers as 'idalah', and it has been narrated in this regard from the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, a hadith: "Indeed, they are granted victory as you are granted victory."

And 'tamhis' means purification. Al-Khalil said: 'tamhis' from defect, it is said: the rope has been purified if its roughness has been removed by frequently passing over the hand, making it smooth. Thus, Al-Zajjaj presented the term "the rope" and Al-Naqqash narrated it as "the camel has been purified": if its hair has been removed and made smooth. And Hanif Al-Hanatim has said, and there is a water called 'Tuwailiq': indeed, you have purified the rope, distant from the source, overlooking the enemies. The meaning is: indeed, due to its distance, its rope becomes smooth from the length of the pulling and the passing of hands.

So the meaning of the verse is that Allah purifies the believers when He prevails over them, by purifying the witnesses from their sins, and He purifies the living from their hypocrites when He distinguishes them. And He destroys the disbelievers when He grants victory over them, meaning: He diminishes them. And destruction is the gradual disappearance of something, and from it is the waning of the moon.