He is more eloquent than to say: with good the evil, due to the preference in it, as if he said: repel with good the evil.

And the meaning is: to pardon their wrongdoing and to respond to it with whatever good can be done, so that when pardon and goodness come together and the ability to do so is exerted: it becomes a good deed multiplied in exchange for an evil deed. This is the essence of his saying: with that which is best.

Maqmood said: 'This is more eloquent than to say: repel with good the evil, due to the preference in it, as if he said: repel with good the evil. And the meaning is: to pardon their wrongdoing and to respond to it with whatever good can be done, so that when pardon and goodness come together and the ability to do so is exerted, it becomes a good deed multiplied in exchange for an evil deed. This is the essence of his saying: with that which is best.' Ahmad said: What he mentioned as a clarification of preference is an expression of sharing in one matter and distinguishing by another, and there is no sharing between good and evil, for they are opposing and contrasting. So how can preference be realized? I said: The intended meaning is that the good deed is from the category of good deeds, more than the evil deed from the category of evil deeds, so the preference comes from what is broader than this being a good deed and that being an evil deed. This is the nature of every preference between opposites, like their saying: honey is sweeter than vinegar, meaning that it is more distinguished among sweet types than vinegar is among sour types. And it is not because there is a specific sharing between them.

In this regard, it is narrated about Ash'ab the libertine that he said: 'I grew up with Al-A'mash under the care of so-and-so, and he kept rising and falling until we became equal,' meaning that they both reached the goal: Ash'ab reached the goal among the lowly, and Al-A'mash reached the goal among the noble. This is an interpretation of his words about himself.

Returning to the verse, we say: it also has another aspect of preference that is more encompassing:

That is, the preference is between the good deeds that repel the evil, for they can be repelled by pardon and overlooking, and one may be satisfied with that in repelling it. And one may add to pardon the honoring, and it may reach its peak by exerting the ability. All these types of repelling are repelling with goodness, but the best of these good deeds in repelling is the last one, due to its encompassing several good deeds. Thus, the Prophet ﷺ commanded with the best of good deeds in repelling the evil. Accordingly, the preference is applied in its true sense without the need for interpretation, and Allah knows best.

So contemplate it, for it is very good.