'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' He, exalted and glorified is He, said: "And those who were guided, He increased them in guidance and granted them their piety." "So do they await except the Hour that it should come upon them suddenly? Indeed, its signs have already come. So how will it be when it comes to them, their remembrance?" "So know that there is no deity except Allah and ask forgiveness for your sin and for the believing men and believing women. And Allah knows your movement and your resting place." When He, exalted and glorified is He, mentioned the hypocrites with what they are deserving of in His saying: "Those are the ones upon whom Allah has set a seal upon their hearts and they followed their desires" [Muhammad: 16], He followed that by mentioning the believers, clarifying the difference, and honoring them by attributing the act of guidance to them. This is an indication of their earning it. And His saying: "He increased them in guidance" can be understood that the doer in "He increased them" is Allah, exalted and glorified is He. The increase in this meaning can be either by increasing understanding and evidence, or by the coming of laws, prohibitions, and news, so that guidance increases to increase knowledge of all of that and faith in it, and that is by the grace of Allah, exalted and glorified is He. It is also possible that the doer in "He increased them" is the words of the hypocrites and their confusion; because that is something that astonishes the believer, and he praises Allah for his faith and gains more insight in his religion. So it is as if He, exalted and glorified is He, said: 'And the guided believers, the actions of these hypocrites increased them in guidance,' meaning: the increase was because of it, so He attributed the action to it. A group said: This verse was revealed about a group of Christians who believed in Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him. Therefore, the doer in "He increased them" is Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, as he was the cause of the increase, so the action was attributed to him. And His saying, exalted and glorified is He, in this saying: "They were guided" means: in their faith in Jesus, peace be upon him, then Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, increased them in guidance when they believed in him. The doer in "He granted them" can be interpreted according to the mentioned interpretations, and the strongest of them is that the doer is Allah, exalted and glorified is He, and "He granted them" means: He made them pious towards Him, and the estimation is: their piety towards Him. Al-Amash read: "And He granted them," and it means He gave them, and it was narrated by Muhammad ibn Talhah from his father, and it is in the Mushaf of Abdullah.

And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿So are they waiting﴾ refers to the hypocrites. The meaning is: they are waiting, that is, this is the matter in itself, even though they are in themselves waiting for something else. What is in their souls is not taken into account because it is false. The majority of the reciters read: "that it should come to them," and "that" is a substitute for "the Hour." And His saying, exalted is He - according to this reading -: ﴿Indeed, its signs have come﴾ is a new report. The "fa" is a conjunction of a sentence to another sentence. The people of Mecca read - as narrated by Al-Ruhasi -: "If it should come to them" with a broken alif, and the verb is made definite based on the condition. The "fa" in "Indeed" is the answer to the condition, and it is not a conjunction to the first reading. There is a kind of conditional meaning. And "suddenly" means: unexpectedly. It has been narrated from Abu Amr: "suddenly" with a fatḥa on the ghain and a shaddah on the ta. And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿Indeed, its signs have come﴾ - according to both readings - means: one should prepare and fear it for whoever has determined and reflected for himself. And the one who has come from the signs of the Hour is Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, for he is the last of the prophets. A portion of the matter of the Hour has become clear. And in the hadith, "He, blessings and peace be upon him, said: 'I am one of the signs of the Hour.'" And he, blessings and peace be upon him, said: "I was sent forth with the Hour like these two," and he pointed with his two fingers. "And like two horses in a race." It is said: a sign or signs with the ra' being silent and lightened. And a man has made himself a sign: he has imposed matters upon it. And Aws ibn Hujr said:

So he made himself a sign while he was in a bind And he cast with reasons for him and relied

And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿So how will it be for them﴾, the verse may mean: how will it be for them to escape or be saved when the reminder comes to them of what they used to be informed of in the world, and they would deny it, and the punishment comes to them with that? It may mean: how will it be for them to remember and act according to it when the Hour comes to them? This is the interpretation of Qatadah, similar to ﴿And how will it be for them to reach from a distant place﴾ [Saba: 52].

'And His saying, glorified and exalted is He: "Know that there is no deity except Allah and seek forgiveness for your sin." The verse is a shift from the matter of these hypocrites and mentions the more important matter. The meaning is: continue upon that. This is the principle in every matter regarding something one is involved in. This address is to the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, and every individual from the ummah is included in it. Those from the people of the Sunnah who argue with this verse say that knowledge and contemplation precede saying and acknowledgment in the matter of the first obligations. Al-Bukhari, may Allah have mercy on him, titled: knowledge before saying and action, due to His saying, glorified and exalted is He: "Know that there is no deity except Allah," and "seek forgiveness for your sin." It is obligatory for every believer to seek forgiveness for the believing men and women. Abu Huraira reported from the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, that he said: "Whoever does not have anything to give in charity, let him seek forgiveness for the believing men and women, for it is a charity." Al-Tabari and others said: "Your turning": your movement in your wakefulness, and "your resting place": your sleep. Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "Your turning": your movement in your worldly life, and "your resting place": in your awakening in your graves and in your Hereafter.