(17–18) “Those who shun tāghūt by refusing to worship it and turn to Allah in repentance will have glad tidings. So give glad tidings to My servants— * those who listen to what is said and follow the best of it. Those are the ones Allah has guided, and those are the people of understanding.”
After mentioning the condition of the evildoers, Allah mentions the condition and reward of those who turn to Him in repentance. He says: “Those who shun tāghūt by refusing to worship it.” Here, shunning tāghūt means refraining from worshiping anything besides Allah: they shunned it as an object of worship. This is an exquisitely precise qualification from the All-Wise, All-Knowing, for this praise applies only to those who shun it as an object of worship.
“And turn to Allah in repentance” by worshiping Him and devoting their religion sincerely to Him. Their inclinations thus turned away from the worship of idols to the worship of the Sovereign, the All-Knowing, and away from associating partners with Allah and committing sins to tawhīd (monotheism) and acts of obedience. They “will have glad tidings” whose magnitude cannot be measured and whose true nature is known only to the One who honors them with them. This includes glad tidings in this worldly life through being spoken of well, good dreams, and Allah’s divine care, through all of which they recognize that He intends to honor them in this world and the hereafter. They also receive glad tidings in the hereafter—upon death, in the grave, and at the Resurrection. The crowning glad tidings are those given to them by the Generous Lord: His everlasting pleasure, kindness, and beneficence, and the enjoyment of His security in Paradise.
When Allah stated that they would have glad tidings, He commanded His Messenger to give them that news and mentioned the quality by which they deserved it, saying: “So give glad tidings to My servants—those who listen to what is said.”
This is general and encompasses every kind of speech. They listen to what is said so that they may distinguish what ought to be preferred ⦗722⦘ from what ought to be avoided. Their prudence and sound judgment therefore lead them to follow the best of it. The best speech in absolute terms is the speech of Allah and that of His Messenger, as Allah says in this surah: “Allah has sent down the best discourse: a consistent Book…” to the end of the verse.
There is a subtle point in this verse. When Allah states that these praiseworthy people listen to what is said and follow the best of it, it is as though someone were to ask: Is there a way to identify the best of it, so that we may acquire the qualities of the people of understanding and recognize that whoever gives it preference is one of them?
The answer is: Yes. The best is what Allah has expressly identified: “Allah has sent down the best discourse: a consistent Book…” to the end of the verse.
“Those who listen to what is said and follow the best of it—those are the ones Allah has guided” to the finest character and deeds, “and those are the people of understanding,” meaning those endowed with pure intellects.
It is due to their sound understanding and prudence that they distinguish what is good from everything else and prefer what deserves preference over all else. This is the mark of reason; indeed, there is no other mark of reason. Whoever cannot distinguish between good and bad speech is not among those endowed with sound intellects. Alternatively, a person may be able to distinguish between them, but his desires overpower his reason, leaving his reason subservient to his desires so that he does not prefer what is best; such a person is deficient in reason.