His saying, exalted and majestic is He:

﴿But those who have wronged have followed their desires without knowledge. So who can guide one whom Allah has led astray? And they will have no helpers.﴾ ﴿So direct your face toward the religion, inclining to truth, the fitrah of Allah upon which He has created mankind. There is no changing the creation of Allah. That is the correct religion, but most of the people do not know.﴾ ﴿Turning to Him in repentance and fear Him and establish prayer and do not be of the polytheists.﴾ ﴿Of those who have divided their religion and become sects, every faction rejoicing in what they have.﴾

The interruption with "But" is in contrast to what the meaning of the first verse contains. It is as if He is saying: They have no proof or excuse for what they have done in associating partners with Allah, exalted is He. Rather, they have followed their desires out of ignorance, lust, and intention for their worldly affairs. Then He emphasized - in a manner of reproach to them - upon whom can guide if Allah has led astray? That is: there is no guide for the people of this condition, then He informed that there is no helper for them.

Then Allah, exalted is He, commanded His Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, to direct his face toward the upright religion, which is the religion of Islam. Directing the face means establishing the intention and strength in the seriousness of religious actions. The mention of the face is because it encompasses all the senses of a person and is the most honorable. And "inclining to truth" means: being moderate and deviating from all the distorted and abrogated religions. His saying: ﴿the fitrah of Allah upon which He has created mankind﴾ is an accusative as a source, like His saying: ﴿the dye of Allah﴾ [Al-Baqarah: 138]. It is said that it is an accusative by an implied action, the meaning of which is: follow and adhere to the fitrah of Allah, exalted is He. The people have differed in the fitrah here. Makkī and others mentioned all that can be attributed to this term. In some of that, there is uncertainty. What is relied upon in interpreting this term is that it is the creation and nature in the child that is prepared and equipped to distinguish the creations of Allah, exalted is He, and to infer by it to his Lord, glorified and exalted is He, and to know His laws and to believe in Him. It is as if He, exalted is He, said: So direct your face toward the religion which is the upright and is the fitrah of Allah, which He created mankind to be prepared for. However, they are subjected to various influences, and among them is the saying of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him: "Every newborn is born upon the fitrah, then his parents make him a Jew or a Christian..." The mention of the parents is merely an example of the influences that are many.

And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿There is no changing the creation of Allah﴾ can be interpreted in two ways: One of them is that He means by it this mentioned fitrah, that is: know that this fitrah cannot be changed by the Creator, nor will the matter come contrary to it in any way. The other interpretation is that His saying: ﴿There is no changing the creation of Allah﴾ is a rebuke to the disbelievers, which He interjected during the speech, as if He is saying: Direct your face toward the religion which has such and such qualities, for indeed these disbelievers have been created by Allah for disbelief, and there is no changing the creation of Allah, meaning they will not succeed. Mujahid said: The meaning is: There is no changing the religion of Allah, and this is the saying of Ibn Jubayr, Al-Dahhak, Ibn Zayd, and Al-Nakha'i.

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

And this means: there is no alteration to the beliefs that are in the true religion, for every legislation has its doctrines.

And some of the interpreters have gone in this verse to interpretations: among them is the saying of 'Ikrimah - and it has been narrated from Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them -: "There is no alteration to the creation of Allah" means: the prohibition of the castration of male animals. Among them is the saying of some regarding the fitrah: that it is the religion. It has been said regarding the fitrah: (p-25) the religion. And he interpreted His saying, glorified and exalted is He: "He created mankind" specifically, meaning: the believers. It was said: the fitrah is the covenant that Allah, exalted is He, took from the descendants of Adam when He brought them forth as souls from his back, and similar is the narration of Mu'adh, may Allah be pleased with him, when 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, passed by him, and said: O Mu'adh, what is the foundation of this nation? He said: sincerity, and it is the fitrah upon which Allah created mankind, and prayer, which is the religion, and obedience, which is the protection. 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, said: You have spoken the truth.

And "the upright" is a form of exaggeration from the standing, which means the straightness.

And His saying, exalted is He: "turning back" may be understood as a state from His saying: "He created mankind," especially according to the view of those who see that this is specific to the believers. And it may be understood as a state from His saying: "So direct your face," and He gathered it because the address of directing the face is to the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, and to his nation, similar to His saying, glorified and exalted is He: "O Prophet, when you divorce women" [At-Talaq: 1]. And "the turning back" is the sincere returner inclined towards what his soul desires, and "the polytheists" referred to in this verse are the Jews and Christians, as said by Qatadah, and Ibn Zayd said: they are the Jews. And Aisha and Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with them, said: it is about the people of the qiblah.

The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

So the term polytheism - in this context - is figurative, for they have become sects in their religion, and "the sects" are the groups, one of which is a sect. And His saying: "Every party rejoices in what they have" means that they are deluded by their opinions, impressed by their misguidance, and that is inherent in them. And a group read: "They have separated from their religion" with the alif.