His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "If you seek victory, then victory has come to you. And if you cease, it is better for you. And if you return, we will return, and your group will not avail you at all, even if it is numerous. And indeed, Allah is with the believers." "O you who have believed, obey Allah and His Messenger and do not turn away from him while you hear." "And do not be like those who said, 'We have heard,' while they do not hear."

Some of the interpreters said: This verse is addressed to the believers present on the day of Badr. Allah said to them: "If you seek victory, then victory has come to you," which is the judgment between you and the disbelievers. Victory has come to you, and Allah has judged for you. "And if you cease" from what you have done of speaking about the spoils and what has occurred between you regarding it, and from boasting about your actions of killing and others, "it is better for you. And if you return" to these actions, "we will return" to rebuke you. Then He informed them that the group - which is the congregation - does not avail, even if it is numerous, except by the support of Allah, the Exalted, and His assistance. Then He reassured them with His saying, that He is with the believers.

And most of the interpreters said: This verse is addressed to the disbelievers of the people of Makkah. This is because it has been narrated that Abu Jahl was always calling out in the gatherings of Quraysh, saying: "O Allah, we have severed the ties of kinship and have been given what we do not know, so destroy him and make him the defeated one," referring to Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, and them. It has been narrated that when Quraysh resolved to go out to protect the caravan, they clung to the curtains of the Kaaba and sought victory. It has been narrated that Abu Jahl said on the morning of the day of Badr: "O Allah, support the one of the two groups who is more beloved to You, and manifest the better of the two religions before You. O Allah, we have severed the ties of kinship, so grant him victory this morning," and similar to this. Allah said to them: If you seek victory, as you see it upon you, it is not for you.

The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: And in this is a rebuke. Then He said to them: And if you cease from your disbelief and your transgression, it is better for you. Then He informed them that if they return to seeking victory, they will return with a similar occurrence to the day of Badr upon them. Then He informed them that their group does not avail at all, even if it is numerous. Then He informed them that He is with the believers.

And a group of the interpreters said: His saying, the Exalted, "If you seek victory, then victory has come to you," is addressed to the believers, while the rest of the verse is addressed to the polytheists, as if He said: And you disbelievers (if you cease, it is better for you).

Ibn Kathir, and Asim in the narration of Abu Bakr, and Abu Amr, and Hamzah, and Al-Kisai read: "And indeed, Allah" with a kasrah on the hamzah for cutting off. And Nafi, Ibn Amir, and Asim in the narration of Hafs read: "And that" with a fathah on the alif. So it could be in the position of raf' on the news of a deleted beginning, or it could be in the position of nasb by implying a verb. What Al-Tabari mentioned regarding the estimation: "For its abundance and that Allah is with the believers" is a possible meaning. And in the reading of Ibn Mas'ud: "And if it is numerous, and Allah is with the believers," this strengthens the reading of those who broke the alif of "Indeed."

'And His saying, the Most High: "O you who have believed, obey Allah and His Messenger" (the verse), the address is to the believing affirmers. He has renewed the command upon them to obey Allah and the Messenger, and they have been prohibited from turning away from Him. This is the saying of the majority. This is consistent with the saying of those who say: "Indeed, the address in His saying, glorified and exalted is He: 'And if you turn away' is for the believers." So the words come from one type in their meaning. As for the saying of those who say: "Indeed, the address with 'if you turn away' is for the disbelievers," they see that this verse was revealed because of their disagreement in the spoils and their argumentation over the truth, and their dislike of the Messenger of Allah's ﷺ departure, and their boasting about killing the disbelievers and harming them. A group said: The address in this verse is only for the hypocrites, and the meaning is: O you who have believed with their tongues only.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: And this - even if it is possible from a distance - is very weak because Allah described those He addressed in this verse with faith, and faith is affirmation, and the hypocrites do not possess any affirmation. It has been said that the address is to the Children of Israel, and this is foreign to the verse.

And 'turn away' originally is 'you turn away,' because 'you do' entered upon it the second person letter of the future action, so the singular was omitted, and the omitted letter is the letter of 'you do,' and the remaining one is the letter of the sign, because the need for it here is more urgent to keep the action in the future. And His saying: 'while you are hearing' means: His calling to you with the Quran, admonitions, and verses.

And His saying: 'like those who said' means: the disbelievers, either from Quraysh for their saying: 'We heard; if we wished, we could say like this' (Al-Anfal: 31), or the disbelievers in general who say: 'We heard the Quran and we know that it is magic or poetry or legends' according to their disagreement. Then Allah informed about them with news that negated that they heard, meaning: understood and comprehended, because there is no disagreement that they were hearing the recitation with their ears, but their hearts were sealed, which Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, did not open for them to receive the meanings of the Quran and to believe in it.