(4–6) “He is the One who sent down tranquility into the hearts of the believers so that they might increase in faith along with their faith. To Allah belong the hosts of the heavens and the earth, and Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise. * So that He may admit the believing men and believing women into Gardens beneath which rivers flow, where they will abide forever, and absolve them of their misdeeds—and that, in the sight of Allah, is a magnificent triumph. * And so that He may punish the hypocritical men and hypocritical women, and the polytheistic men and polytheistic women, who harbor evil thoughts about Allah. May an evil turn of fortune befall them! Allah is angry with them, has cursed them, and has prepared Hell for them—and what an evil destination it is!”
The Exalted informs us of His favor to the believers in sending tranquility into their hearts. This tranquility consists of calmness, reassurance, and steadfastness when distressing trials and difficult circumstances descend—circumstances that unsettle hearts, disturb minds, and weaken souls. Among Allah’s blessings upon His servant in such a situation is that He makes him steadfast, strengthens his heart, and sends tranquility upon him, so that he faces these hardships with a steadfast heart and a reassured soul. This enables him to prepare to fulfill Allah’s command under such circumstances, thereby increasing his faith and perfecting his certainty.
Thus, when the events between the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—and the polytheists took place, the Companions—may Allah be pleased with them—were faced with terms that outwardly seemed demeaning to them and diminishing of their standing, which souls can scarcely bear. Yet when they patiently accepted those terms and reconciled themselves to them, their faith increased along with the faith they already possessed.
His words, “To Allah belong the hosts of the heavens and the earth,” mean that they are all within His dominion and subject to His governance and irresistible power. The polytheists should therefore not imagine that Allah will not grant victory to His religion and His Prophet. Rather, He is All-Knowing, All-Wise. His wisdom entails that fortunes alternate among people over the course of time and that the believers’ victory be deferred until another time.
“So that He may admit the believing men and believing women into Gardens beneath which rivers flow, where they will abide forever, and absolve them of their misdeeds.” This is the greatest reward the believers can attain: they receive what they desire and seek by entering the Gardens, while what they fear is removed from them through the absolution of their misdeeds. “And that”—the reward mentioned for the believers—“in the sight of Allah, is a magnificent triumph.” This, then, is what He brings about for the believers through that manifest victory.
As for the hypocritical men and hypocritical women, and the polytheistic men and polytheistic women, Allah punishes them through it and shows them what grieves them. Their aim had been to see the believers forsaken, and they harbored evil thoughts about Allah: that He would not grant victory to His religion, would not exalt His word, and that the people of falsehood would prevail over the people of truth. Allah therefore caused their expectations to recoil upon them, and an evil turn of fortune befell them in this world. “Allah is angry with them” because of the hostility toward Allah and His Messenger that they committed; “and has cursed them”—that is, removed and banished them from His mercy—“and has prepared Hell for them—and what an evil destination it is!”