Abū al-Faraj mentioned three interpretations of His words, “Whatever good befalls you” and “whatever evil [befalls you].”

“The first is that ‘good’ refers to the victory Allah granted them at Badr, and ‘evil’ to what befell them at Uhud.” He said: “Ibn Abī Talha—namely, al-Wālibī—reported this from Ibn ‘Abbās.”

He said: “The second is that ‘good’ means obedience, and ‘evil’ means disobedience. This was stated by Abū al-‘Āliya. The third is that ‘good’ means a blessing, and ‘evil’ means an affliction. This was stated by Ibn Munabbih.” He said: “A similar interpretation is reported from Abū al-‘Āliya, and this is the most correct.”

I say: This is the view known through a chain of transmission from Abū al-‘Āliya, as previously cited from his well-known commentary, which he and others transmit from him through Abū Ja‘far al-Dārī, from al-Rabī‘ ibn Anas, from him, and through comparable routes.

As for the second interpretation, he did not mention its chain of transmission. Rather, he quotes from the works of commentators who cite the statements of the early generations without chains of transmission. Many of these reports are weak—indeed, fabricated—and cannot be established as statements of those to whom they are attributed. Later commentators, too, generally interpret the verse along the lines of the statements of the early generations, while a group of them understands ‘good’ and ‘evil’ as referring to obedience and disobedience.