“And those who came after them say: ‘Our Lord, forgive us and our brothers who preceded us in faith, and place no malice in our hearts toward those who believe. Our Lord, indeed You are Most Kind, Most Merciful.’ (10) Have you not considered those who hypocritically say to their brothers among the People of the Scripture who disbelieve: ‘If you are expelled, we will surely leave with you, and we will never obey anyone against you; and if you are fought, we will surely support you.’ But Allah bears witness that they are indeed liars.” (11)
His saying, exalted is He: “And those who came after them” means the Followers: those who come after the Emigrants and the Helpers until the Day of Resurrection. He then mentions that they supplicate for themselves and for those who preceded them in faith and seek forgiveness, saying: “Our Lord, forgive us and our brothers who preceded us in faith, and place no malice in our hearts”—that is, no treachery, envy, or hatred—“toward those who believe. Our Lord, indeed You are Most Kind, Most Merciful.” Whoever harbors malice in his heart toward any one of the Companions and does not invoke mercy for all of them is not among those whom Allah intended by this verse. For Allah, exalted is He, has arranged the believers into three ranks: the Emigrants, the Helpers, and the Followers described as Allah has mentioned. Whoever is not among the Followers with this characteristic falls outside the categories of believers.
Ibn Abi Layla said: “People are in three ranks: the poor Emigrants, those who settled in the city and embraced the faith, and those who came after them. So strive not to fall outside these ranks.” (1)
Abu Sa‘id al-Shurayhi informed us; Abu Ishaq al-Tha‘labi informed us; ‘Abd Allah ibn Hamid informed us; Ahmad ibn ‘Abd Allah ibn Sulayman informed us; Ibn Numayr narrated to us; my father narrated to us, from Isma‘il ibn Ibrahim, from ‘Abd al-Malik ibn ‘Umayr.