Some of them said: “If you disclose what is within yourselves”—that is, what is in your hearts which you have firmly resolved upon—“or conceal it,” without disclosing it while remaining resolved upon it, Allah will call you to account for it. As for the thoughts that merely occur within you, concerning matters upon which you have not resolved, they are among those matters for which Allah does not burden any soul beyond its capacity, and He does not hold you to account for them. Proof of this is His saying: “Allah does not take you to task for thoughtless utterances in your oaths, but He takes you to task for what your hearts have earned” (225-al-Baqarah).

ʿAbd Allah ibn al-Mubārak said: I said to Sufyān, “Is a servant held to account for an intention?” He replied, “If it is a firm resolve, he is held to account for it.”

It was also said that calling to account means informing and making known. Thus, the meaning of the verse is: If you disclose what is within yourselves and act upon it, or conceal what you have harboured and intended, Allah will call you to account for it, recompense you for it, and make it known to you. He will then forgive the believers, thereby displaying His grace, and punish the disbelievers, thereby displaying His justice. This is the meaning of al-Ḍaḥḥāk’s statement, and it is also narrated from Ibn ʿAbbās, may Allah be pleased with him. This is indicated by the fact that He says, “Allah will call you to account for it,” and does not say, “He will hold you to account for it.” Calling to account is different from holding to account. The proof is what Abū Ṭāhir Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī al-Zarrād informed us: Abū al-Qāsim ʿAlī ibn Aḥmad al-Khuzāʿī informed us; Abū Saʿīd al-Haytham ibn Kulayb informed us; ʿĪsā ibn Aḥmad al-ʿAsqalānī informed us; Yazīd ibn Hārūn informed us; Hammām ibn Yaḥyā informed us ⦗52/a⦘, from Qatādah, from Ṣafwān ibn Muḥriz, who said:

I was holding the hand of ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, may Allah be pleased with him, when a man came to him and asked, “What did you hear the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say concerning the private reckoning?” He replied, “I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say: ‘On the Day of Resurrection, Allah Most High will bring the believer near until He places His covering over him, concealing him from the people. Then He will say, “My servant, do you recognize such-and-such a sin?” He will reply, “Yes, my Lord.” Then He will say, “My servant, do you recognize such-and-such a sin?” He will reply, “Yes, my Lord.” When He has made him acknowledge his sins, and he thinks that he has perished, He will say: “I concealed them for you in this world, and today I have forgiven them for you.” Then he will be given the record of his good deeds. As for the disbeliever and the hypocrites, the witnesses will say: “These are the ones who lied against their Lord. Surely, the curse of Allah is upon the wrongdoers.”’” (1) (18-Hūd).

His saying: “He forgives whom He wills and punishes whom He wills.” Abū Jaʿfar, Ibn ʿĀmir, ʿĀṣim, and Yaʿqūb recited both verbs in the indicative mood, while the others recited them in the jussive. The indicative reading treats the clause as an independent statement, whereas the jussive reading coordinates it with what precedes. Ṭāwūs narrated from Ibn ʿAbbās, may Allah be pleased with him: He forgives whom He wills for the grave sin, and punishes whom He wills for the minor sin. “He is not questioned about what He does, but they will be questioned. And Allah is over all things competent” (230-al-Anbiyāʾ).

His saying: “The Messenger has believed,” that is, he affirmed the truth of “what was sent down to him from his Lord, and the believers. Each has believed in Allah”—meaning every one of them. This is why the verb is singular—“and His angels, His books, and His messengers.” Ḥamzah and al-Kisāʾī recited “His Book” in the singular, meaning the Quran. It was also said that it bears a plural meaning, though expressed in the singular form, as in His saying: “Allah sent the prophets as bearers of good news and warners, and sent down with them the Book” (213-al-Baqarah). The others recited “His books” in the plural, as in His saying: “His angels, His books, and His messengers” (136-al-Nisāʾ). “We make no distinction between any of His messengers”—thus believing in some and disbelieving in others, as did the