(51–52) “The only response of the believers, when they are called to Allah and His Messenger so that he may judge between them, is to say, ‘We hear and obey.’ It is they who are the successful. * Whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger, fears Allah, and remains mindful of Him—it is they who are the triumphant.”
That is, the only response of the true believers—those who substantiate their faith through their deeds—when they are called to Allah and His Messenger to judge between them, whether the judgment accords with their desires or runs contrary to them, is to say, “We hear and obey.” In other words: We have heard the judgment of Allah and His Messenger, responded to the one who called us to it, and obeyed fully, without the least inward resistance.
“It is they who are the successful.” He restricts success to them alone, for success consists in attaining what is sought and escaping what is dreaded. No one succeeds except the one who accepts the judgment of Allah and His Messenger and obeys Allah and His Messenger. Having mentioned the virtue of obedience in matters of judgment in particular, He then mentions its virtue in general, under all circumstances, saying, “Whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger”—accepting as true what they state and complying with what they command—“fears Allah”; that is, fears Him with a fear grounded in knowledge, and thus abandons what He has forbidden and restrains himself from what he desires.
For this reason, He says, “and remains mindful of Him,” by refraining from what is prohibited. When taqwā is mentioned without qualification, it includes both doing what is commanded and refraining from what is forbidden. When it is coupled with righteousness or obedience—as it is here—it is interpreted as guarding oneself against Allah’s punishment by forsaking disobedience to Him.
“It is they”—those who combine obedience to Allah and His Messenger with fear of Allah and mindfulness of Him—“who are the triumphant”: they are saved from punishment because they abandoned its causes, and they attain the reward because they performed its causes. Triumph is therefore restricted to them. Anyone who does not possess their qualities will fall short of triumph to the extent that he falls short of these praiseworthy qualities.
This verse encompasses the right shared by Allah and His Messenger—namely, obedience, which necessarily entails faith—and the right due exclusively to Allah—namely, fear and taqwā. There remains a third right, due exclusively to the Messenger: that he be supported and honored. The three rights are brought together in Surah al-Fath (Victory), in His words: “So that you may believe in Allah and His Messenger, support him and honor him, and glorify Him morning and evening.”