His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "Do not think that those who rejoice in what they have brought and love to be praised for what they did not do, do not think that they are in safety from the punishment; and for them is a painful punishment." "And to Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth; and Allah is capable of all things." "Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of night and day are signs for those of understanding."

The commentators have differed regarding the meaning of His saying, "those who rejoice." Abu Sa'id al-Khudri, may Allah be pleased with him, and Ibn Zayd, along with a group, said: The verse was revealed about the hypocrites. This is because they would stay behind when the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, went out for battle. When he returned, they would make excuses to him, saying: We had business and similar things. The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, would show acceptance and seek forgiveness for them. So Allah, exalted and majestic is He, exposed them with this verse. They would rejoice in what they brought to him and what they did in terms of staying behind and making excuses. They loved to be told that they were in the status of the fighters, but the excuse held them back.

A large number of commentators said: The verse was revealed about the people of the Book, the scholars of the Jews. Then they disagreed about what it was that they brought and how they loved to be praised. Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said: They brought misguidance to their followers away from believing in Muhammad, and they rejoiced in that for the continuity of their worldly leadership. They loved to be told about them that they were scholars of the Book of Allah and prominent in His messages. Ibn Abbas also said, along with al-Dahhak and al-Suddi: They brought that they conspired and corresponded from every region to deny Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, and to undermine his prophethood. They loved to be told about them that they were people of prayer, fasting, and worship, and they said that about themselves. Mujahid said: They rejoiced in the admiration of their followers for their alteration of the interpretation of the Torah, and they loved their praise of one another for that, while in reality they did not do anything beneficial or correct; rather, the truth is clear.

Said ibn Jubair said: The verse is about the Jews. They rejoiced in what Allah gave to the family of Ibrahim of prophethood and the Book, and they say: We are on their path, and they love to be praised for that while they are not on their path. The reading of Said ibn Jubair is: "They were given," meaning they were given, with the hamzah and the ta' pronounced, and according to his reading, the meaning he stated is correct.

Ibn Abbas also said: The verse was revealed about a people whom the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, asked about something, and they concealed the truth from him and said something else. They rejoiced in what they did and loved to be praised for what they answered, and they thought that this was sufficient and believed in its correctness.

Qatadah said: The verse is about the Jews of Khaybar. They showed hypocrisy towards the Prophet ﷺ and the believers once. They said: We are with you and we support your opinion, while they believed the opposite. They loved the praise for what they displayed and rejoiced in that. Al-Zajjaj said: The verse was revealed about a group of Jews who entered upon the Prophet ﷺ and spoke to him about certain matters. Then they left and said to those they met among the Muslims: The Prophet informed them of things they already knew, so the Muslims praised them for that and hoped for their Islam. They had concealed the opposite of what they showed to the Muslims and continued in their disbelief. Thus, the verse was revealed about them.

The majority of people read: "They came" meaning they acted, as you say: I came to such and such a matter. Marwan ibn al-Hakam and Ibrahim al-Nakha'i read: "They gave" with elongation, meaning: they gave, with the opening of the hamzah and the ṭā. Abu Muhammad, may Allah be pleased with him, said: This reading is correct according to some of the meanings that have preceded.

Sa'id ibn Jubayr and Abu Abdur-Rahman al-Sulami read: "They were given" meaning they were given, and its meaning has already been mentioned. Abu Amr and Ibn Kathir read: "Let not those who rejoice think" or "So let them not think" with the yā from below in both and with the kasrah of the sīn and the raising of the bā in "they think." Abu Ali said: "Those who" is raised because it is the subject of "thinks," and "let not think" does not occur on anything. These verbs may come as superfluous, not in the judgment of meaningful sentences, like the saying of the poet:

And I did not think that between us there would remain any affection except the distance of the wandering camels.

Al-Khalil said: The Arabs say: I did not see him say that except Zayd, and I did not think he would say that except Zayd. Thus, the reading is directed by the fact that his saying: "So let them not think" is a substitute for the first. It has been assigned to its two objects, which are: the pronoun and his saying: "with a reward." Thus, it suffices for that instead of assigning the first to them as it suffices in the saying of the poet:

By which book or by which tradition do you see their love a disgrace upon me and you think?

Thus, it suffices for the assignment of one of the verbs instead of the assignment of the other. The فā in his saying: "So let them not think" is extra, and for that reason the substitution is good, as it cannot be a فā of conjunction or a فā of consequence. Therefore, it remains that it must be extra, and its existence between the substitute and the substituted does not seem inappropriate. And his saying in this reading: "So let them not think" contains the assignment of the action of the doer to the pronoun of himself, like: You thought me his brother, and you saw me tonight at the Ka'bah, and you found me sick from listening. This is because these actions and what is similar to them, when they enter upon the subject and the predicate, resemble إن and its sisters. Just as you say: Indeed, I am going, so you say: You thought me going. And if you said: I think myself doing such and such, it would not be good as it is good to say: I think myself acting.

Nafi' and Ibn 'Amir read: "Let not those who" with a yaa' from below and a fatḥa on the baa', and Nafi' broke the seen while Ibn 'Amir opened it. "So let not them think" with a taa' from above, and a fatḥa on the baa'. The two objects that are required by His saying: "Let not those who" are omitted due to the indication of what is mentioned afterwards. The discussion on this is as previously stated in the reading of Ibn Kathir, except that this substitution mentioned in the reading of Ibn Kathir and Abu 'Amr is not permissible due to the difference in the two verbs and the difference in their actions. Hamzah read: "Let not you think" with a taa' from above and a broken seen, "So let not them think" with a taa' from above, a broken seen, and a fatḥa on the baa'. "So those" in this reading is the first object for "think," and the second object is omitted due to the indication of what will come after it, as was previously stated regarding the two objects. The repetition of the verb in His saying: "So let not them think" is good due to the length of the speech, and this is a habit of the Arabs, and it is a means of making it easier for the mind of the addressed. Al-Dahhak ibn Muzahim read: "So let not you think" with a taa' from above, a fatḥa on the seen, and a damma on the baa'.

And the term "mafaza" is a place of safety, derived from "faza" which means to succeed. It is named a place of fear as a means of optimism, as stated by Al-Asma'i. It is said that it is a place of granting and a place of potential destruction. The Arabs say: "The man has succeeded" when he dies. Al-Thaalabi said: I reported to Ibn Al-A'rabi the words of Al-Asma'i, and he said: He is mistaken. Abu Al-Makarim said to me: It is named mafaza because whoever crosses it succeeds. Al-Asma'i said: The one who is bitten is called safe as a means of optimism. Ibn Al-A'rabi said: Rather, it is because he is resigned to what has befallen him. After He forbade them from being thought to be saved, He informed them that they have a punishment. Then He began the saying by mentioning the power of Allah, the Exalted, and His dominion, saying: "And to Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth"... the verse. Some of the interpreters said: The verse is a refutation of those who said: "Indeed, Allah is poor and we are rich" [Aal 'Imran: 181].

And His saying, the Exalted: "And Allah is capable of all things," said Al-Qadi Ibn Al-Tayyib and others: Its apparent meaning is general, and its meaning is specific; because Allah, the Exalted, is not described with the ability to do the impossible, and "thing" refers to what exists according to the speech of the Arabs.

Then the Exalted indicated the places of reflection and lessons, where the inference on the Creator occurs through the existence of the heavens and the earth, and the created beings indicate knowledge. It is impossible for the creator of a world to be willing and not alive. Thus, it is established through reflection on this verse the greatness of the attributes.

"And the alternation of night and day": this is their succession, as Allah made them alternates. Under the term alternation falls the fact that one shortens this while the other lengthens, and vice versa. This includes their difference in light and darkness. The verses are signs. And "al-albab" in this verse refers to the understanding of obligations, not the understanding of experience, because everyone who has necessary knowledge perceives the necessity of what we have mentioned regarding the attributes of Allah, the Exalted.