“Thus We have tested some of them through others, so that they might say, ‘Are these the ones whom Allah has favored from among us?’ Does Allah not know best who are grateful? * When those who believe in Our signs come to you, say, ‘Peace be upon you. Your Lord has prescribed mercy for Himself: whoever among you commits evil out of ignorance, then repents afterward and reforms, He is indeed All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.’ * Thus We make the signs clear, so that the way of the criminals may become evident.”
“Thus We have tested some of them through others, so that they might say, ‘Are these the ones whom Allah has favored from among us?’” This is part of Allah’s testing of His servants: He has made some rich and others poor, some distinguished and others lowly. When Allah favors a poor or lowly person with faith, this becomes a test for the rich and distinguished. If such a person sincerely seeks and follows the truth, he will believe and submit; he will not be prevented from doing so merely because someone whom he regards as beneath him in wealth or status shares that faith with him. But if he is not sincere in seeking the truth, this becomes an obstacle that turns him away from following it.
Disparaging those whom they regarded as beneath them, they said, “Are these the ones whom Allah has favored from among us?” This prevented them from following the truth because of their lack of purity. Allah responded to their words—which implied an objection to His guiding these people rather than them—by saying: “Does Allah not know best who are grateful?” They are those who recognize the blessing, acknowledge it, and fulfill what it requires through righteous deeds. Allah therefore bestows His grace and favor upon them, but not upon those who are ungrateful. Allah Most High is All-Wise and does not place His favor with those who are unworthy of it. Those who raised this objection were of that description, unlike the poor and others whom Allah favored with faith, for they were truly grateful.
After forbidding His Messenger from driving away the devout believers, Allah commanded him instead to receive them with honor, esteem, reverence, and respect. He said: “When those who believe in Our signs come to you, say, ‘Peace be upon you.’” That is, when the believers come to you, greet them, welcome them, and receive them with salutations and peace. Give them glad tidings of Allah’s mercy and of the vastness of His bounty and kindness, thereby strengthening their resolve and aspirations. Encourage them to pursue every means and path leading to that mercy.
Warn them against persisting in sin and command them to repent of their acts of disobedience so that they may attain their Lord’s forgiveness and bounty. Hence He said: “Your Lord has prescribed mercy for Himself: whoever among you commits evil out of ignorance, then repents afterward and reforms.” That is, in addition to abandoning sins, desisting from them, and regretting them, one must rectify one’s deeds, fulfill what Allah has made obligatory, and repair whatever has become corrupt among one’s outward and inward deeds.
When all of this is present, “He is indeed All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” That is, He pours out His forgiveness and mercy upon them in accordance with their fulfillment of what He commanded them.
“Thus We make the signs clear.” That is, We clarify and explain them, distinguishing the path of guidance from misguidance, and error from right guidance, so that those who seek guidance may be guided thereby and the truth that ought to be followed may become evident. “So that the way of the criminals may become evident”—the way that leads to Allah’s wrath and punishment. Once the criminals’ way has been made evident and clear, it can be avoided and kept at a distance. Were it obscure and confused, however, this noble objective could not be attained.