'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' His saying, exalted and glorified is He: "And Muhammad is only a Messenger. Indeed, messengers have passed on before him. So if he were to die or be killed, would you turn back on your heels? And whoever turns back on his heels will not harm Allah at all. And Allah will reward the grateful." "And it is not for a soul to die except by permission of Allah, a decree determined." This is a continuation of His reproach against them and the establishment of Allah's proof against them. The meaning is that Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, is a Messenger like other messengers. He has conveyed [the message] as they have conveyed. It is incumbent upon you, O believers, to act upon what is contained in the message. The life of the Messenger and his remaining among you is not a condition for that, because the Messenger dies just as the messengers before him died. And 'خَلَتْ' means: passed and preceded, and it has become empty from the earth. The majority of people read 'الرُسُلُ' with the definite article, while in the Mushaf of Ibn Mas'ud, it is read 'رُسُلٌ' without the definite article. This is the reading of Hittan ibn Abdullah. The first reading emphasizes the mention of the messengers and highlights them according to their status with Allah, the Exalted. The second reading indicates a place of interpretation regarding the Prophet, peace be upon him, in the meaning of life, and a place of comparison between him and humans in that. Thus, the indefinite 'الرُسُلُ' comes in the context of this economy with him, blessings and peace be upon him. And this is how it is done in places of economy with something. Among them is His saying, the Exalted: "And few of My servants are grateful." [Saba: 13] And His saying, the Exalted: "And none believed with him except a few." [Hud: 40] and other similar examples. Abu al-Fath mentioned this, and the reading with the definite article 'الرُسُلُ' is more appropriate in the speech. And His saying, the Exalted: "So if he were to die..." The verse, the interrogative 'ألف' has entered into the sentence at the limit which he informs by it, because the worst of conditions is for them to say: If Muhammad dies or is killed, we will turn back. So when their action tends towards this direction, they are stopped at the limit by which the news occurs. Many of the interpreters said: The interrogative 'ألف' has entered in an inappropriate place, because the purpose is: You will turn back on your heels if Muhammad dies; so the question is only about the response to the condition. Al-Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

And with that perspective that I have presented, the aspect of the eloquence of the 'alif' becomes clear under the condition. This is similar to the inclusion of the 'alif' of approximation in His saying: ﴿And even if their fathers﴾ [Al-Baqarah: 170] and similar statements. It is as if you have introduced the affirmation to what you have obligated the addressee to say. And turning back requires turning away from the thing one has turned back from. Then Allah, the Most High, threatened the one who turns back on his heels with His saying: ﴿So Allah will not be harmed in any way﴾ because the meaning is: he only harms himself, and he will bring ruin upon himself. Then He promised the grateful ones, who are those who have been truthful and patient, and none of them turned back on their heels, but rather they continued steadfastly in their religion until they died. Among them is Sa'd ibn al-Rabi', and this is fulfilled by his will to the Ansar, and among them is Anas ibn al-Nadr, and among them is the Ansari about whom al-Tabari mentioned with a chain that a man from the Emigrants passed by him while the Ansari was bleeding. He said: O so-and-so, have you heard that Muhammad has been killed? The Ansari said: If Muhammad has been killed, then he has conveyed [the message], so fight for your religion.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

These are the companions of the incident on that day; their actions confirmed their words. Then the grateful ones will continue to be included in the verse until the Day of Resurrection. Ibn Ishaq said: The meaning of ﴿And Allah will reward the grateful﴾ is: those who obeyed Him and acted according to His command. Al-Tabari mentioned with a chain from Ali ibn Abi Talib and others that he said in the interpretation of this verse: The grateful ones are those who are steadfast in their religion, Abu Bakr and his companions. He used to say: Abu Bakr is the leader of the grateful.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

And this is a statement from Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, which pertains to the support of Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, with this verse on the day of the Prophet's death and his steadfastness in that situation, and his steadfastness in the matter of apostasy. This is because when the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, passed away and the news of his death spread, the hypocrites stirred and spoke, and they intended to gather and reveal their intentions. Allah, the Most High, instilled in Umar's heart, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Prophet had not passed away. He stood up with his famous speech that frightened the hypocrites about the return of the Prophet, peace be upon him. This shattered the resolve of the hypocrites and their words became divided. Then Abu Bakr came after having looked at the Prophet, peace be upon him, and he heard Umar's words, so he said to him: Be silent. Umar continued speaking, and Abu Bakr bore witness, and the people listened to him. He said: As for what follows, whoever worships Allah, then Allah is alive and does not die. And whoever worships Muhammad, then Muhammad has died. ﴿And Muhammad is but a messenger; messengers have passed on before him﴾ and he recited the entire verse. The people wept, and there was no one left except that they recited the verse as if they had never heard it before that day. Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, said in al-Bukhari: So Allah benefited from the speech of Umar and then from the speech of Abu Bakr.

So this is one of the places where the gratitude of Abu Bakr and the gratitude of the people appeared because of him.

Then Allah, the Most High, informed about the souls that they only die by a fixed, predetermined time that is certain with Allah, the Most High. This means that cowardice does not increase it, and bravery and boldness do not decrease it. In this verse, there is a strengthening of the souls for jihad. Ibn Furak said: And in it is a consolation regarding the death of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, and the expression by His saying: "And it was not" may come in what is possible and near, similar to the saying of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him: "It was not for the son of Abu Quhafa to lead the prayer in front of the Messenger of Allah."

And it may occur in what is logically impossible, similar to His saying: "It was not for you to cultivate its trees" [An-Naml: 60]. It is an expression that has no form and does not imply a prohibition as some of the interpreters say. Rather, the extent of its meaning is understood from the context of the speech in which the expression comes. And "soul" in this verse is a term for the genus, and permission is the enabling of something with knowledge of the permitted thing. If a saying is added to that, then it is the command. And His saying: "a book" is in the accusative as a specification, and "deferred" is an adjective. This verse refutes the Mu'tazilites in their saying of the two appointed times. As for the separation from their attachment to His saying, the Most High: "And He delays you to an appointed time" [Nuh: 4] and similar verses; it will come in its places, if Allah, the Most High, wills.