His saying, exalted and majestic is He:

﴿Say, 'Are you waiting for us except for one of the two best things? While we are waiting for Allah to strike you with a punishment from Himself or by our hands. So wait; we are waiting with you.'﴾

﴿Say, 'Spend willingly or unwillingly, it will not be accepted from you. Indeed, you were a people of transgressors.'﴾

The meaning in this verse is the response to the hypocrites regarding their belief about the believers. It removes their assumption that calamities befall the believers, and informs that they are good things and how they have been dealt with.

And 'you are waiting' means 'you are expecting', and 'the two best things' refers to martyrdom and victory. Ibn Muhaisin read: 'except for one of the two best things' by connecting the 'alif' of 'one'.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: This is a linguistic matter and not by analogy. This is similar to the saying of the poet:

O by the one who changes, perhaps a matter is difficult.

And the saying of another:

If I do not fight, then dress me in a burqa.

And His saying: ﴿with a punishment from Himself﴾ means death by causing sorrow. It is also possible that it is a threat of the punishment of the Hereafter. And His saying: ﴿or by our hands﴾ means killing.

It is said that ﴿with a punishment from Himself﴾ refers to types of calamities and disasters. And His saying: ﴿So wait; we are waiting with you﴾ is a threat and warning.

And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿Say, 'Spend willingly or unwillingly'﴾ was caused by Jadd ibn Qays when he said: ﴿Grant me permission and do not put me to trial﴾ [At-Tawbah: 49]. He said: 'I will assist you with wealth.' So this verse was revealed concerning him, and it is general after him. Willingly and unwillingly encompass all spending. Ibn Wathab and Al-A'mash read: 'or unwillingly' with a damm of the 'kaf'.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

And here is connected the mention of the actions of the disbeliever when they are good, such as maintaining family ties, helping the broken, and aiding the oppressed. Do they benefit from them or not? The summary of the saying on this is that in Sahih Muslim from the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, that he said: 'Indeed, the reward of the disbeliever for his good actions is in the food he is fed.' And similar to that, this is convincing and does not require further consideration. As for whether he benefits from them in the Hereafter, there is no evidence. This is because 'Aisha, the Mother of the Believers, said to the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him: O Messenger of Allah, what about Abdullah ibn Jud'an? Will what he used to feed and do of good benefit him? He said: 'No, he never said a day: O my Lord, forgive me my sin on the Day of Judgment.' And another evidence in the saying of Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, to his son: 'That is Al-Aas ibn Wa'il, may Allah not reward him with good.' This saying was after the death of Al-Aas, the lengthy narration. And a third evidence in the hadith of Hakim ibn Hizam regarding one of the interpretations, I mean in the saying of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him: 'Did you embrace Islam for what has preceded for you of good?' And there is no proof in the matter of Abu Talib and his being in a shallow part of the Fire, for that is only by the intercession of Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, and that he found him in the depths of the Fire and brought him out. And if we assume that this was by his actions, he would not have needed intercession.

As for the evil actions of the disbeliever, they increase his punishment, and thus their differentiation in the punishment of Hell.

And His saying, exalted is He: "Spend" is a command that includes a reward within it. This is continuous in every command that has a response. The implication is: "If you spend, it will not be accepted from you." However, if the command is stripped of a response, it does not include the implication of a condition.