(27) “Allah makes firm those who believe with the firm word in the life of this world and in the Hereafter. Allah leads the wrongdoers astray, and Allah does whatever He wills.”

The Exalted informs us that He makes His believing servants firm—that is, those who fulfill what is required of them through complete faith in their hearts, a faith that necessarily entails and produces outward deeds. Allah makes them firm in this worldly life: when doubts assail them, He guides them to certainty; and when desires arise, He grants them the firm resolve to prefer what Allah loves over the inclinations and desires of their own souls.

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In the Hereafter, at the time of death, He keeps them firm upon the religion of Islam and grants them a good end. In the grave, when the two angels question them, He guides them to the correct answer. When the deceased is asked, “Who is your Lord? What is your religion? Who is your prophet?” the believer answers: “Allah is my Lord, Islam is my religion, and Muhammad is my prophet.”

“Allah leads the wrongdoers astray” from what is right in this world and the Hereafter. Allah has not wronged them; rather, they have wronged themselves. This verse establishes the testing, punishment, and bliss of the grave, just as texts concerning the testing and its nature, and the bliss and punishment of the grave, have been mass-transmitted from the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace.