His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "On the Day you see the believing men and the believing women, their light running before them and on their right, [it will be said], 'Good news for you today; gardens beneath which rivers flow, abiding therein forever. That is the great attainment.'" "On the Day the hypocrites, men and women, will say to those who have believed, 'Wait for us that we may acquire some of your light.' It will be said, 'Return behind you and seek light.' Then a wall will be placed between them, with a door therein. Inside it is mercy, and on its outside is torment." "They will call to them, 'Were we not with you?' They will reply, 'Yes, but you led yourselves into temptation and waited and doubted and your hopes deceived you until the command of Allah came, and the deceiver deceived you concerning Allah.'" The operative phrase in "On the Day" is His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "And for Him is a great reward" [Al-Hadid: 11]. The "vision" in this verse is the vision of the eye. As for the "light," Al-Dahhak ibn Muzahim said: It is a metaphor, an expression of guidance and the truth upon which they are, and their guidance of the people to the truth and their sincerity in actions and words. It is said: It is their following of guidance and their belief in it, and their tracing of its signs and lights. It is also said: It is a metaphor, an expression of the guidance and pleasure in which they are. The majority said: Rather, it is a true light. It has been narrated in this (p-226) from Ibn Abbas and others that every believer will be given a light on the Day of Resurrection that manifests their faith. The light of every hypocrite will be extinguished, and the light of the believers will remain. Among them is one whose light shines as far as between Mecca and San'a, which Qatadah raised to the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him. Among them is one whose light is like that of a tall palm tree, and among them is one whose light illuminates what is near his feet. Ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him, said: Among them is one whose light flickers at times and shines at other times, according to the degree of their obedience and disobedience. He, exalted is He, specified "before them" because it is the place where a person needs light. People have differed regarding His saying, exalted is He: "And on their right." Some of the interpreters said: The meaning is: and from their right, as if He, exalted is He, has specified the direction of the right as an honor. This implies that He could have said: and in all their directions. Others among them said: The meaning is: and on their right are their books written with mercy. The majority of the interpreters said: The meaning is: their light runs before them, and He, exalted is He, intends the light that spreads from the people of light. The root of "on their right" is that the thing is kindled therein. The implication of this saying is that they carry lights, and that they are not carrying "it" is more honorable. Do you not see that the virtue of Abbad ibn Bishr and Usayd ibn Hudhayr, may Allah be pleased with them, was due to a light they did not carry? This is in this world; how will it be in the Hereafter? From this verse, the carrying of the one who frees a candle has been derived. The people read: "And on their right" as the plural of right. Sahl ibn Sa'd and Abu Haywah read: "And by their faith" with the alif broken, which is connected to His saying, exalted is He: "before them," as if He, exalted is He, said: sufficient is it that it is before them and existing because of their faith.

And His saying, exalted is He: "Good news to you" means: it is said to them, your good news is gardens, that is: the entering of gardens. So the addition was omitted and the added to took its place. And His saying, blessed and exalted is He: "Abiding therein" until the end of the verse, is addressed to Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him. Ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him, read: "That is the great success" without "It is".

His saying, exalted is He: ﴿On the Day the hypocrites, both men and women, will say﴾, some grammarians said: "On the Day" is a substitute for the first. Others among them said: the implied subject is: remember, and it appears to me that the implied subject is His saying, exalted is He: ﴿That is the great success﴾. And the meaning of success is more magnificent, as if He, exalted is He, is saying: Indeed, the believers will succeed by mercy on the day the hypocrites will experience such and such, because the appearance of a person on the day of the humiliation of his enemy and opponent is more splendid and magnificent. And the saying of the hypocrites, this reported saying, is when their lights are extinguished as we mentioned before. And their saying: "Wait for us" means: wait for us. From this is the saying of Al-Hutay'ah:

And I have waited for you like the evening of a five, long has my imprisonment and my waiting been.

And Hamzah alone, and Ibn Wathab, and Talhah, and Al-Amash read: "Wait for us" by cutting the alif and breaking the dhad on the pattern of akrama. From this is the saying of Amr ibn Kulthum:

O Abu Hind, do not hasten upon us, and wait for us, we will inform you with certainty.

And its meaning is: delay us, and from this is the glance towards ease. And the saying of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him: "Whoever gives respite to a debtor" the hadith. And the meaning of their saying "Delay us": delay your walking for us until we catch up and take from your light. And "The man took light" means: he took from the light of another.

And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿It will be said, 'Return behind you'﴾ it is possible that it is from the words of the believers, and it is possible that it is from the words of the angels. And His saying, exalted is He: "Behind you" was reported by Al-Mahdawi and others among the interpreters that it has no place in grammar, and that it is as if He said: return, return. And that it is in the manner of the saying of Abu Al-Aswad Al-Du'ali to the questioner: "Behind you is more spacious for you." And I do not know of any impediment that prevents the subject from being "Return." And the saying to them: "So seek light" is in the meaning of reproaching them, that is: you will not find it. Then He, exalted and majestic, informed that He will place a barrier between them in this state, so the hypocrites will strive in darkness, and the punishment from Allah, exalted is He, will seize them. And it was narrated from Ibn Zayd that this barrier is the Al-A'raf mentioned in the Surah [Al-A'raf]. And Al-Mahdawi reported it, and it was said: it is another barrier other than that. And Abdullah ibn Amr, and Ka'b Al-Ahbar, and Abadah ibn Al-Samit, and Ibn Abbas said: it is the eastern wall in the mosque of Al-Aqsa. And Ziyad ibn Abi Sawadah said: Abadah ibn Al-Samit stood on the eastern wall of Al-Aqsa and wept and said: From here our Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, informed us that he saw Hellfire.

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

And in it is a door called the Door of Mercy. It was named so in the tafsir of this verse by 'Ibadah and Ka'b. In the east of the mentioned wall is a valley called: the Valley of Hell. It was named so in the tafsir of this verse by Abdullah ibn Umar and Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them. This saying about the wall is a statement of truth, and Allah, the Exalted, knows best. Qatadah and Ibn Zayd said: Mercy is Paradise, and punishment is Hell. The wall in the language is the barrier that is for cities, and it is masculine. The wall is also the plural of surah, which is a piece of construction, and some of it is added to some until the wall is complete. This is a name of a plural that allows for both masculine and feminine forms. This plural is what Jarir meant in his saying:

When the news of Al-Zubair came, the walls of the city and the humble mountains humbled themselves.

And that is because the city never had a barrier. Also, his description that all that is in the city of buildings humbled themselves is more eloquent. Whoever sees that he intended the wall that is the barrier said: If that humbled itself, then other buildings are more deserving of humility. If the wall in the house can take both forms, it is not as strong as the force of the winds, and the mouth of the channel, and other things that are purely masculine have benefited from the femininity of what is added to them.

His saying, the Exalted, "Its inner side contains mercy," means: the side of the believers. "And its outer side" means: the side of the hypocrites. The outer side here is the apparent, and from it is the saying of the Book: "From the outer side of the city of such and such."

And His saying, the Exalted, "They call to them," means: the hypocrites call to the believers: Were we not with you in the world? The believers respond to them: Yes, you were with us, but you exposed yourselves to temptation and love of this world and fighting for it. Mujahid said: You tempted yourselves with hypocrisy, and "you waited" here means: with your faith. You delayed it until you died. Qatadah said: It means: You waited for us and for Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, the turns of fate, and you doubted in the matter of Allah, the Exalted. "Doubt" means: suspicion, and "the delusions that deceived them" are their words: Muhammad will perish this year, Quraysh will defeat him, the factions will take him, and other such delusions of theirs. Long hopes are a deception for everyone. "The command of Allah that has come" is the victory and the emergence of Islam. It is said: It is the death of the hypocrites and their meeting in this state which necessitates punishment. "The deception" is the devil, by consensus of the interpreters. Samak ibn Harb read it with a damma on the ghain, and Abu Haywah. Every believer should reflect on this verse in himself and his procrastination in repentance.