His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "Or do they have partners who have legislated for them of the religion that which Allah has not permitted? And if it were not for the word of separation, it would have been decided between them. And indeed, the wrongdoers will have a painful punishment." "You see the wrongdoers fearful of what they have earned, and it is falling upon them. And those who have believed and done righteous deeds will be in the gardens of paradise; they will have whatever they wish with their Lord. That is the great bounty." "That is what Allah gives good news to His servants who have believed and done righteous deeds. Say, 'I do not ask you for it any reward except for affection in kinship.' And whoever commits a good deed, We will increase for him in it goodness. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Appreciative."

"'Or' is an expression that indicates a break, not an equivalent, and it is to be understood as 'rather' and an interrogative. The 'partners' in this verse may refer to the devils and the misguiders from their ancestors. The pronoun in 'for them' refers to the disbelievers contemporary to Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, meaning: the partners have legislated for them what Allah has not permitted. Thus, the partnership here is in disbelief and misguidance, and not in the partnership of associating others with Allah, glorified and exalted is He. It may also be intended by 'partners': the idols and statues, meaning: 'Or do they have idols that they have made partners with Allah in His divinity?' The pronoun in 'legislated' refers to these contemporaneous disbelievers and their forefathers, and the pronoun in 'for them' refers to the idols that are partners, meaning: these disbelievers have legislated for their idols and statues what Allah has not permitted. And 'legislated' means: they established, followed, and delineated. And 'religion' here refers to the customs, rulings, and practices, and it also includes beliefs, because in all of that they set conditions. As for beliefs, their saying is: 'The idols are deities,' and their saying is: 'We worship the idols as intermediaries,' and other than that. And as for rulings, it is like the bahirah, the wasilah, and the hami, and other than that from the free animals and similar matters. And 'permission' in this verse means: command.

And 'the word of separation' is what has preceded from Allah's decree that He delays their punishment until the Hereafter, and 'the judgment between them' is their punishment in this world and their recompense. The majority of people read: 'And indeed, the wrongdoers' with a broken hamzah for a cut-off and a new sentence, and Muslim ibn Jundab read with a opened hamzah, which is in the place of raising, connected to: 'the word,' meaning: and indeed, the wrongdoers will have in the Hereafter a punishment.

And His saying, exalted is He: "You see the wrongdoers fearful" is a vision of sight, and 'the wrongdoers' is the object, and 'fearful' is the state, and there is no praise in this fear for them, because they only feared when it befell them and occurred, and they are not like the believers who are in this world fearful of the Hour as has been mentioned. And His saying, exalted is He: "And it is falling upon them" is in the place of the state. And 'the gardens' are the pleasant, flourishing places, and they are elevated in most usages, and they are praised among the Arabs and others. From that is His saying, exalted is He: "Like a garden on an elevated land" [Al-Baqarah: 265], and from that is their preference for the gardens of sadness for the quality of their air. Al-Tabari said: And the Arabs do not call the place of trees 'riyada'.

And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿That is the one whom Allah gives good tidings to His servants﴾ is a reference to His saying, exalted is He, in the other verse: ﴿And give good tidings to the believers that they will have from Allah a great bounty﴾ [Al-Ahzab: 47]. The majority of people read: ﴿'gives good tidings'﴾ with a dammah on the ya and a fatha on the ba and a shadda on the broken sheen. This is based on the transitive and intensifying form. Mujahid and Humayd read: 'gives good tidings' with a dammah on the ya, a sukoon on the ba, and a kasra on the sheen based on the transitive form with the hamzah. Ibn Mas'ud, Ibn Yamr, Ibn Abi Ishaq, Al-Jahdari, Al-A'mash, and Talhah read: 'gives good tidings' with a fatha on the ya and a dammah on the sheen. This was also narrated from Ibn Kathir. Al-Jahdari said in its interpretation: You will see brightness on the faces.

And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿Say, 'I do not ask you for it any reward except for the affection in kinship'﴾, the people differed in its meaning. Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, and others said: It is a Meccan verse that was revealed in the early days of Islam. Its meaning is: to refrain from the evil of the disbelievers and to repel their harm. That is, I do not ask you for anything regarding the Qur'an, the religion, and the call to Allah, exalted is He, except that you love me for the kinship between us, so that you may stop your harm against me. Ibn Abbas, Ibn Ishaq, and Qatadah said: There was no clan in Quraysh except that the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, had a lineage or marriage connection with it. So this verse, based on this, is a plea and a request for safety from them. All of this is abrogated by the verse of the sword. This interpretation may mean the call for their support, that is, I do not ask you for a penalty or anything except that you love me for my kinship with you and that you be closer to me than others. Mujahid said: Except that you maintain my ties of kinship by following me. Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, also indicated that it is Medinan, and the reason for it is that a group of the youth of the Ansar boasted over the Emigrants and inclined in their words against Quraysh. Thus, the verse was revealed regarding that, meaning: except that you love me and take care of my kinship and protect me in them. Ali ibn Al-Hassan ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with them, also interpreted this meaning in the verse when he was taken as a prisoner to Ash-Sham. This is the interpretation of Ibn Jubayr and Amr ibn Shu'aib. Based on this interpretation, Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said: 'It was said: O Messenger of Allah, who are your relatives whom we are commanded to show affection to?' He said: 'Ali, Fatimah, and their two sons.' It was said: It is the children of Abd Al-Muttalib.

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

And all of Quraysh is near to me, even if they differ in rank. It has been narrated from the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, that he said: "Whoever dies out of love for the family of Muhammad dies a martyr, and whoever dies out of hatred for them will not smell the fragrance of Paradise." Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, also said in the book of Al-Thalabi: The reason for this verse is that the Ansar gathered wealth for the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, and brought it to him. He returned it to them, and the verse was revealed regarding that. Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, also said: The meaning of the verse is: Except that you show affection to me, for I am closer to you than Allah, the Exalted, and I want your guidance and call you to it. Al-Hasan ibn Abi al-Hasan said: Its meaning is: Except that you seek closeness to Allah, the Exalted, by drawing near to Him. Abdullah ibn al-Qasim said in the book of Al-Tabari: The meaning of the verse is: Except that you show affection to one another and maintain your ties of kinship. Thus, the verse is a command to maintain family ties.

And Al-Naqqash mentioned from Ibn Abbas, Muqatil, Al-Kalbi, and Al-Suddi that the verse is abrogated by His saying, the Exalted, in Surah Saba: "Say, Whatever reward I have asked of you is yours" [Saba: 47]. The correct view is that it is definitive, and in any case, the exception is disconnected, and "except" means "but."

And "yaqtirif" means: he earns. A man who is qirfah is one who is cunning and gains. A group read: "yazid" attributing the action to Allah, the Exalted, while the majority of people read: "nazid" with the pronoun of greatness. The increase in goodness is the multiplication that Allah, the Exalted, has promised to His believing servants, as Al-Hasan ibn Abi al-Hasan said. And "Ghafur" means: the one who covers the faults of His servants. And "Shakur" means: rewarding for the smallest good deed; nothing done by the doer goes to waste.