“Hasten toward forgiveness from your Lord and a Garden whose breadth spans the heavens and the earth, prepared for those who are mindful of Allah: those who spend in prosperity and adversity, restrain their anger, and pardon people—and Allah loves those who do good with excellence; and those who, upon committing a shameful deed or wronging themselves, remember Allah and seek forgiveness for their sins—and who forgives sins except Allah?—and do not knowingly persist in what they have done. Their reward is forgiveness from their Lord and Gardens beneath which rivers flow, where they will abide forever. How excellent is the reward of those who act!”
Allah Most High then commanded them to hasten toward His forgiveness and attain His Garden, whose breadth spans the heavens and the earth—so what then of its length? Allah has prepared it for those who are mindful of Him: they are its people, and deeds born of such mindfulness lead to it. He then described those who are mindful of Him and their deeds, saying: “Those who spend in prosperity and adversity”—that is, in hardship and ease. When they have ample means, they spend abundantly; and when their means are constrained, they do not deem any good deed too insignificant, however small.
“And restrain their anger”—that is, when others harm them in a manner that arouses their anger, filling their hearts with resentment and prompting retaliation in word and deed, they do not act upon the impulses of human nature. Instead, they restrain the anger within their hearts and patiently refrain from retaliating against those who have wronged them.
“And pardon people.” Pardoning people includes pardoning everyone who wrongs you by word or deed. Pardon goes further than merely restraining anger, for it means foregoing retribution and graciously overlooking the offender. Such conduct can only come from one who has adorned himself with noble character and rid himself of base traits; one who seeks profit through his dealings with Allah and pardons Allah’s servants out of mercy and kindness toward them, wishing to avert harm from them and hoping that Allah will pardon him. His reward will thus be with his generous Lord, not with the impoverished servant. Allah Most High says: “Whoever pardons and makes reconciliation, his reward rests with Allah.”
He then mentioned a quality broader than the others, and better, higher, and nobler: excellence in worship and conduct. He [Most High] said: “And Allah loves those who do good with excellence.” Such excellence is of two kinds: excellence in worshipping the Creator [and doing good to created beings. Excellence in worshipping the ⦗149⦘ Creator] (1) was explained by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the words: “To worship Allah as though you see Him; and if you do not see Him, He sees you.”
As for doing good to created beings, it consists in bringing them religious and worldly benefit and protecting them from religious and worldly harm. This includes commanding them to do what is right, forbidding them from doing what is wrong, teaching those among them who are ignorant, admonishing those who are heedless, offering sincere counsel to ordinary people and leaders alike, striving to unite them, and conveying obligatory and recommended charities and expenditures to them despite their differing circumstances and conditions. It also includes being generous, refraining from causing harm, and patiently enduring harm, just as Allah described those who are mindful of Him in these verses. Whoever upholds all these matters has fulfilled the rights of Allah and the rights of His servants.
He then mentioned how they seek their Lord’s pardon for their offenses and sins, saying: “And those who, upon committing a shameful deed or wronging themselves”—that is, when they commit major [evil] (2) deeds or lesser ones, they hasten to repent and seek forgiveness. They remember their Lord, what He has threatened the disobedient with, and what He has promised those who are mindful of Him. They therefore ask Him to forgive their sins and conceal their faults, while desisting from those sins and regretting them. Hence He says: “And do not knowingly persist in what they have done.”
“Their reward”—those described by these qualities—“is forgiveness from their Lord,” which removes every feared harm from them, “and Gardens beneath which rivers flow.” Within them are everlasting bliss, delight, joy, beauty, goodness, and happiness; lofty, elegant palaces and dwellings; splendid fruit-bearing trees; and rivers flowing through those pleasant abodes. “Where they will abide forever”: they will never leave them or seek any substitute for them, nor will the bliss they enjoy ever change. “How excellent is the reward of those who act!” They did little for Allah and were rewarded abundantly. Thus, “At dawn, the travelers praise the night journey”; and when recompense comes, each worker will find his reward complete and amply bestowed.
These noble verses are among the proofs cited by Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jamā‘ah that deeds form part of faith, contrary to the Murji’ah. The argument is only complete when one cites the corresponding verse in Surat al-Hadīd, in which Allah Most High says: “Race toward forgiveness from your Lord and a Garden whose breadth is like the breadth of heaven and earth, prepared for those who believe in Allah and His messengers.” There He mentions only belief in Him and His messengers, whereas here He says, “prepared for those who are mindful of Allah,” and then describes them by these financial and bodily deeds. This demonstrates that those who are mindful of Allah and possess these qualities are those very believers.