they amass in wealth, and what they unite upon by opposing and defying the messengers—indeed, by waging war against them and fighting them. The disbelievers have been enemies of the messengers ever since Allah sent the messengers—peace and blessings be upon them. Thus, they join forces against them. This is a threat to them, as demonstrated by His words:

“So give them tidings of a painful punishment.”

That is, inform them of the painful punishment that must inevitably come to pass. The address in “give them tidings” applies generally to the Messenger—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—and to everyone to whom it may validly be addressed. He then said:

“Except those who believe and do righteous deeds; for them is an unceasing reward.”

Here, “except” means “but”; it cannot denote a connected exception, because those who believe are in no respect among those who deny. Rather, they are believers who affirm the truth. This is a disconnected exception: when the excluded group does not belong to the same category as that from which it is excluded, the exception is disconnected, and “except” is understood to mean “but.” In other words: But those who believe and do righteous deeds will have an unceasing reward.

Those who believe with their hearts, whose faith necessarily leads them to perform righteous deeds—these are the ones who will suffer no punishment and have no punishment awaiting them. They will have an unceasing reward: a recompense that will never be cut off. According to another interpretation, no harm will befall them on account of it.

If it is asked, “What is the righteous deed upon which this reward follows?”

The answer is that a righteous deed combines two things:

The first is sincerity to Allah Almighty: one must intend by one’s deed only the Countenance of Allah—Glorified and Exalted is He—seeking His pleasure, His reward, and deliverance from the Fire, while desiring nothing of this world,