(13) “O you who believe, do not take as allies a people with whom Allah is angry. They have despaired of the Hereafter, just as the disbelievers have despaired of the occupants of the graves.”

That is: O believers, if you truly believe in your Lord, seek His pleasure, and shun His displeasure, “do not take as allies a people with whom Allah is angry.” He is angry with them only because of their disbelief, and this includes every category of disbelievers. “They have despaired of the Hereafter”—that is, they have been deprived of the good of the Hereafter and have no share therein. Beware, therefore, of taking them as allies, for you would thereby join them in their evil and disbelief (1) and be deprived of the good of the Hereafter just as they have been.

[As for His words], “just as the disbelievers have despaired of the occupants of the graves,” the disbelievers among the occupants of the graves despaired when they passed into the Abode of the Hereafter, confronted the reality of the matter (2), and knew with absolute certainty that they had no share therein. Another possible meaning is that “they have despaired of the Hereafter” means that they have denied and disbelieved in it. It is therefore unsurprising that they should dare to commit deeds that incur Allah’s wrath and entail His punishment, or that they should despair of the Hereafter, just as the disbelievers who deny the resurrection in this world have despaired of the occupants of the graves returning to Allah Most High.

The commentary on Surah al-Mumtahana is complete.

All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds.

Commentary on Surah al-Saff

[It is] Medinan.