with that same theme.

He says at its beginning:

“Alif Lām Mīm.
This is the Book about which there is no doubt, a guidance for the God-fearing,
who believe in the unseen, establish prayer, and spend out of what We have provided for them,
and who believe in what has been revealed to you and what was revealed before you, and are certain of the Hereafter.
Those are upon guidance from their Lord, and those are the successful.”

The correct interpretation of His words,

“And who believe in what has been revealed to you and what was revealed before you,”

is that this passage and the one preceding it describe the same group. For one must believe both in what was revealed to him and in what was revealed before him. The conjunction joins distinct attributes, as in His words:

“He is the First and the Last, the Manifest and the Hidden.”

And His words:

“Who created and proportioned,
and who determined and guided,
and who brought forth the pasture.”

And His words:

“Successful indeed are the believers,
who are humble in their prayers,
and who turn away from idle talk”—

up to His words:

“Those are the inheritors,
who will inherit Paradise; they will abide therein forever.”

Whoever says that “who believe in the unseen” refers to the pagan Arabs, while “and who believe in what has been revealed to you and what was revealed before you” refers to the People of the Book, is mistaken. For the pagan Arabs did not believe in what was revealed to him and what was revealed before him, so they were not successful. Likewise, if the People of the Book did not believe in the unseen, establish prayer, and spend out of what We have provided for them, they would not be successful.

For this reason, Allah, Exalted is He, says:

“Those are upon guidance from their Lord, and those are the successful.”

This indicates that they are one and the same group.