“And remember the name of your Lord, and devote yourself wholly to Him. He is the Lord of the east and the west: there is no god but Him, so take Him as your Guardian. Be patient with what they say, and depart from them with a gracious departure. Leave Me to deal with the deniers, those who live in ease, and grant them respite for a little while. Indeed, with Us are fetters and a blazing Fire, food that chokes, and a painful punishment—on the Day when the earth and the mountains will quake, and the mountains will become heaps of loose sand.” (8–14)

“And remember the name of your Lord”: by affirming His oneness and magnifying Him. “And devote yourself wholly to Him”: Ibn Abbas and others said, “Be wholly sincere to Him.” Al-Hasan said, “Strive diligently.” Ibn Zayd said, “Free yourself for His worship.” Sufyan said, “Place your trust in Him completely.” It was also said: withdraw yourself entirely for His worship; this is the fundamental meaning of the expression. One says, “I severed the thing,” meaning, “I cut it off.” An irrevocable charity is one severed from its owner, over which he has no further claim. Complete devotion means cutting oneself off (1); it is derived from this usage. One says, “I cut it off, and it became severed.” Thus, the meaning is: devote yourself wholly to Him; hence the wording, “with complete devotion.”

Zayd ibn Aslam said: “Complete devotion is to renounce this world and all that is in it, and to seek what is with Allah Most High.”

“Lord of the east and the west”: the people of the Hijaz, Abu Amr, and Hafs recited “Lord” with the final consonant in the nominative case, as a new subject. The others recited it in the genitive case, as an adjective describing “your Lord” in the words, “And remember the name of your Lord.”

“There is no god but Him, so take Him as your Guardian”: as the One who manages your affairs; therefore, entrust them to Him.

“Be patient with what they say, and depart from them with a gracious departure”: this was abrogated by the verse commanding fighting (2).

“Leave Me to deal with the deniers, those who live in ease, and grant them respite for a little while”: this was revealed concerning the leading men of Quraysh who mocked. Muqatil ibn Hayyan said: “It was revealed concerning those who provided food at Badr; only a short time passed before they were killed at Badr.” (3)

“Indeed, with Us”—that is, with Us in the Hereafter—“are fetters”: immense restraints that never come undone; each individual fetter is called a nakal. Al-Kalbi said: “Iron shackles.” “And a blazing Fire; food that chokes”: food that cannot be swallowed, which catches in the throat, neither going down nor coming out. This is zaqqum and dari, a thorny, bitter plant. “And a painful punishment, on the Day when the earth and the mountains will quake”: that is, they will be shaken and moved. “And the mountains will become heaps of loose sand.”