His saying, the Exalted and Majestic: "Certainly, he has succeeded who purifies himself" "and remembers the name of his Lord and prays" "but you prefer the worldly life" "and the Hereafter is better and everlasting" "Indeed, this is in the former scriptures" "the scriptures of Abraham and Moses."

"Succeeded" in this verse means: he has attained his desire, and "purifies himself" means: he has cleansed his soul and nurtured it with goodness. Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them, said: "Whoever says there is no god but Allah purifies himself from polytheism." Al-Hasan said: "Whoever's deeds are pure." Abu Al-Ahwas said: "Whoever gives from his wealth and purifies it."

And His saying, the Exalted: "and remembers the name of his Lord" means: he has declared His oneness and prayed the obligatory prayers that were prescribed for him, and he also performed voluntary prayers as much as he could. Abu Sa'id Al-Khudri, Ibn Umar, and Ibn Al-Musayyib said: This verse refers to the morning of the Day of Eid. Thus, "purifies himself" means he has given the Zakat of Al-Fitr, and "and remembers the name of his Lord" means he remembers Allah, the Exalted, on the way to the prayer place until the Imam comes out. And "the prayer" refers to the Eid prayer. This interpretation has been narrated from the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him. Qatadah and many of the interpreters said: "purifies himself" means he has given the Zakat of his wealth, and "prays" means he has prayed the five prayers.

Then Allah informed the people that they prefer the worldly life. The disbeliever prefers it with a preference of disbelief, believing that there is no Hereafter, while the believer prefers it with a preference of disobedience and the dominance of the soul, except for whom Allah, the Exalted, has protected. Abu Amr read alone "they prefer" with a ya, and he said: it refers to the two wretched ones. This is the reading of Ibn Mas'ud, Al-Hasan, Abu Rija, and Al-Jahdari. The rest of the people read: "you prefer" with a ta addressing the audience. In the readings of Ubayy ibn Ka'b, it is "but you prefer." The reason for preference is the love of the immediate and ignorance of the permanence of the Hereafter. Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, said: What is in this world compared to the Hereafter is like the puff of a rabbit. And His saying, the Exalted: "Indeed, this" was said by Al-Dahhak to refer to the Qur'an. It has been narrated that the Qur'an was copied from the former scriptures. Sa'id ibn Jubair reported from Ibn Abbas: the reference is to the meanings of the surah. Ibn Zayd said: the reference is to these two reports: success for the one who purifies himself, and the preference of people for the worldly life despite the superiority of the Hereafter over it. This is the more likely interpretation due to the proximity of the reference in "this."

And His saying, the Exalted: "is certainly in the former scriptures" means this has never been abrogated in any of the laws, so it is in the former and in the latter. An analogy of this is the saying of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him: "Indeed, among what people have attained from the words of the first prophethood is: If you do not feel ashamed, then do as you wish," meaning: that it is among what was brought by the first and has continued in the latter.

The majority read "the scriptures" with a damm on the ha. Harun narrated from Abu Amr the sukoon on the ha, which is the reading of Al-Amash. Abu Rija read: "Ibrahim" without a ya or an alif. Ibn Al-Zubair read: "Ibraham," and likewise Abu Musa Al-Ash'ari in all of the Qur'an. Abd Al-Rahman ibn Abu Bakr read: "Ibrahim" with a kasra on the ha and without a ya in all of the Qur'an.

It is narrated that the scrolls of Ibrahim, peace be upon him, were revealed on the first night of Ramadan. The Torah was revealed on the sixth of Ramadan, the Zabur on the twelfth of it, the Injil on the eighteenth of it, and the Qur'an on the fourteenth of it. The interpretation of Surah [Al-A'la] is complete, and all praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.