'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' His saying, exalted and majestic: ﴿O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted.﴾ ﴿The Bedouins say, 'We have believed.' Say, 'You have not [yet] believed; but say, 'We have submitted,' for faith has not yet entered your hearts. And if you obey Allah and His Messenger, He will not deprive you of your deeds of anything. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.﴾ His saying, exalted is He: ﴿from male and female﴾ It is possible that He means Adam and Hawwa (peace be upon them). It is as if He, exalted is He, said: Indeed, We were all created from Adam and Hawwa. It is also possible that He means male and female as the name of the species. It is as if He, exalted is He, said: Indeed, We created each one of you from male water and female water. The purpose of this verse is the equality among people. Then He, exalted is He, said: ﴿And We made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another﴾, meaning: so that you do not boast and one of you wishes to be more noble than another. For the way to nobility is not this, ﴿Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you.﴾ Abu Bakrah narrated: 'It was said, O Messenger of Allah, who is the best of people? He said: "

,"Whoever has a long life and good deeds.

It was narrated from Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with both of them: The peoples are the tribes, and this is different from what the linguists have agreed upon. Al-Thaalabi said: It was said that the peoples are among the non-Arabs, and the tribes are among the Arabs, and the descendants are among the Children of Israel. As for the people in Hamdan, to whom the poet al-Shabi is attributed, they are a tribe called al-Shi'b. It was said that the nations that are not Arabs are referred to as 'Shu'ubiyyah', in relation to the peoples. This is because the details of their lineage are obscure, so no one among them is known except by saying: Persian, Turkish, Roman. It is as if they are known by their peoples, which is the broadest term used to express their community. They are called 'Shu'ubiyyah' with the opening of the 'shīn'. This is a change of lineage. It has been said about them other than what I have mentioned, and this is more preferable to me.

Al-A'mash read: 'Let you know one another', and Abdullah ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with both of them, read: 'Let you know that' according to the pattern of 'tafa'alu' with a kasra on the 'ayn and a fatha on the 'alif' of 'an', and the application of 'ta'arifoo' in it. It is possible - according to this reading - that the 'lam' in His saying, the Exalted, 'Let you know' is the 'lam' of purpose, and the meaning of the verse would conflict with that. It is also possible that it is the 'lam' of command, which is better in meaning. It is possible that the object is omitted, its estimation being: 'the truth'. If it is the 'lam' of purpose, it is as if He, the Exalted, said: O mankind, you are equal in terms of your creation, and you have been made into tribes so that you may know one another and to know the truths. As for honor and nobility, it is by the piety of Allah, the Exalted, and the soundness of hearts. Ibn Mas'ud read: 'Let you know one another, and the best of you in the sight of Allah is the most pious of you.' It was narrated that the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, said: 'Whoever is pleased to be the most honorable of people, let him fear Allah, his Lord.' Then the Exalted alerted to caution with His saying, glorified and exalted is He: 'Indeed, Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware', meaning of the pious one who deserves the rank of honor.

His saying, the Exalted: 'The Bedouins say, We have believed.' Mujahid said: This was revealed about Banu Asad ibn Khuzaymah, a tribe that lived near Medina. They had shown Islam, but their hearts were still insincere; they only loved the spoils and the pleasures of this world. Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with both of them, said: They once went to claim to be among the emigrants, so this verse was revealed naming them as Bedouins, informing them of their status, and exposing what was in their hearts of their beliefs. They are specific Bedouins as we have mentioned. Abu Hatim reported from Ibn al-Zubayr: 'The Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, heard a man reading: 'The Bedouins say' without a hamzah, so he corrected him with a hamzah of cutting.' And Allah, the Exalted, informed that He should say to these claimants of faith: 'You have not believed', meaning: You have not truly believed in your hearts, 'but say, We have submitted.'

Islam is said in two meanings: one of them is that which encompasses faith and actions. This is what is meant in His saying, 'Indeed, the religion with Allah is Islam' [Al-Imran: 19], and in His saying, blessings and peace be upon him, 'Islam is built upon five [pillars],' and in the teaching of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, to Gabriel, peace be upon him, when he said, 'What is Islam?' He said, 'To worship Allah alone and not to associate anything with Him, to establish the prayer, to give the zakah, to fast Ramadan, and to perform the pilgrimage to the House if you are able to make a way to it,' and in His saying, blessings and peace be upon him, to Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas, may Allah be pleased with him, 'Or as a Muslim, indeed I give to the man and others more beloved to me than him.' This Islam is not in His saying, 'But say, we have submitted' [Al-Hujurat: 14]. The second meaning of the term Islam is submission and the declaration by which one protects himself and preserves blood. This is Islam in His saying, 'But say, we have submitted,' and faith, which is the affirmation, is more specific than the first.

Then He, glorified and exalted is He, made it clear to them that faith had not entered their hearts. Then He, glorified and exalted is He, opened for them the door of repentance with His saying, 'And if you obey Allah and His Messenger' [Al-Imran: 32]. Obedience to Allah, glorified and exalted is He, and His Messenger, blessings and peace be upon him, includes faith and actions.

The majority of the reciters read, 'Do not let you,' from 'laa yalit,' meaning to decrease. It is said, 'I did not give him his right' if I decreased it from him. Abu Amr, Al-A'raj, Al-Hasan, and Amr read, 'Do not let you,' from 'alita yaalit,' which means 'do not.' It is also said, 'alit' with a kasra on the lam 'yaalit.' It is also said in the meaning of 'do not': 'alita youlit.' And this language was not read in this way. The rest of the verse is clear in its meaning.