[1371] That mainly the less significant of the population were the first to embrace the call is yet another test for the notables of society. In order to become true Believers, they would have to suppress their feelings of deep contempt and really consider themselves brethren with those whom they saw themselves as vastly superior to (cf. al-Ṭabarī, Ibn Kathīr, al-Saʿdī).
[1372] Their senses were not clouded by worldly distractions, so they knew the Truth for what it really was once they saw it; they readily counted God’s many favours on them and became thankful.
[1373] No matter what rank other mortals held them at, they were practically honoured by their Most High Lord. They were to be amiably received and greeted by the Noble Messenger (ﷺ), given the good tidings of God’s Mercy to them and told that their sins will be forgiven once they seek repentance. These were the most solid kernel of the Believing society, who performed many death-defying acts of heroism and whose role was decisive in bolstering the preservation of the whole Faith community in those early days.
[1374] The path of the Believers further draws attention to how swerved the path of the Deniers is (al-Rāzī, al-Samīn al-Ḥalabī, al-Durr al-Maṣūn). The Believers’ whole-hearted, unconditional acceptance of the call of Truth was to be yet another Sign of the true path to take had the Deniers’ senses not been clouded: “If they ˹the Deniers˺ see the path of guidedness, they would not take it as a path...” (7: 146).
[1375] The diatribe against the Deniers is renewed here with emphasis on stating a clear position which strikes a definite distance from the path of the misguided (cf. al-Rāzī, Abū Ḥayyān, al-Biqāʿī, Naẓm al-Durar, Ibn ʿĀshūr).
[1376] Following vain desires is what led them to stray. (Abū Ḥayyān)
[1377] That is Punishment from God (cf. al-Ṭabarī, Ibn Kathīr, al-Saʿdī): “They also said: “O Allah, if this really is the Truth from You, then rain stones on us from the heavens, or send us some other painful Punishment” (8: 32); “They say: “Our Lord, hasten us our share of Punishment before the Day of Reckoning!” (38: 16).
[1378] An allusion to the destruction of the ‘wrongdoers’; a throwback to Aya 47 above.
[1379] The following are indications of the absolute Omnipotence and Omniscience of the One and true Master of the universe, Whom they Deny out of sheer ignorance (Abū Ḥayyān).
[1380] Mafātiḥ al-Ghayb (lit. keys of the Unseen) is invariably interpreted by exegetes as khazā’in al-ghayb, troves of the Unseen. Although this passage provides a number of these ‘keys’ that lie beyond human perceptions, the example usually given is Aya 31: 34: “Indeed, Allah ˹alone˺ has the knowledge of the Hour. He sends down the rain, and knows what is in the wombs. No soul knows what it will earn for tomorrow, and no soul knows in what land it will die. Surely Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware”.
[1381] The seeds buried deep in the ground. (al-Ṭabarī, al-Saʿdī, Ibn ʿĀshūr)
[1382] Exegetes hold different opinions regarding the meaning of this binary pair; however al-Baghawī notes that ‘moist’ and ‘dry’ could be used as metonyms for life and death, respectively.
[1383] The Preserved Tablet (al-lawḥ al-maḥfūẓ) in which everything is clearly written ever since God first created the universe. (al-Ṭabarī, al-Saʿdī, Ibn ʿĀshūr)