The nation of Muhammad—peace and blessings be upon him—are those to whom the Book was passed on after the earlier communities. This privilege is not confined to those who have memorised the Quran; rather, everyone who believes in the Quran belongs to this category. Allah then divided them into three groups: those who wrong themselves, the moderate, and the forerunners.

This is unlike the passages found in Sūrah al-Wāqiʿah, Sūrah al-Muṭaffifīn, and Sūrah al-Infiṭār, where all previous communities—both unbelievers and believers—are included. Here, however, the threefold division applies exclusively to the nation of Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him.

• Those who wrong themselves are the sinners who persist in their sins.

• The moderate are those who perform the obligatory duties and avoid the prohibited acts.

• The forerunners in good are those who, in addition to fulfilling the obligations, engage in supererogatory deeds, as indicated in the cited verses.

Whoever repents from any sin—whatever it may be—with a sound repentance does not, by that act, fall outside the ranks of the forerunners and the moderate, as