Grateful and ungrateful: two states of the pronoun in 'We guided him.' [Mahamud said, 'They are two states of the pronoun in 'We guided him'... etc.' Ahmad said, 'This is from his unacceptable distortion, and it is upon its apparent meaning according to the people of Sunnah.'] That is: We enabled him and empowered him in both of his states.

Or we called him to Islam with the proofs of reason and hearing: it was known from him [Mahamud said, 'Or it could mean that we called him to faith, it was known from him... etc.' Ahmad said, 'And his preference for the reading of Abu al-Samal, thinking that in the division there is an indication of his corrupt intent, is not so, for the division allows for the reward: either grateful and rewarded, or ungrateful and punished, as indicated by the mention of the reward for the two groups afterwards.'] That he believes or disbelieves, to establish the proof. And it may be that they are two states of the way, meaning: we made the way known to him, either a way of gratitude or a way of ungratefulness, as His saying: 'And We guided him to the two paths.' And describing the way with gratitude and ungratefulness is metaphorical. And Abu al-Samal read with the opening of the hamzah in 'either,' and it is a good reading. And the meaning is: as for grateful, then by our success, and as for ungrateful, then by his bad choice. [The saying 'by his bad choice' is according to the doctrine of the Mu'tazila that He, the Exalted, does not create evil; however, according to the people of Sunnah, He is the Creator of good and evil, such as gratitude and disbelief. (A)]