Tafsir of Ar-Ra'd 13:22

"And those who are patient..." (meaning) enduring everything the soul dislikes, such as financial and physical calamities, and everything that opposes the soul’s whims, such as retaliation and the like. Included in what has been mentioned are the religious obligations.

"...seeking the Countenance of their Lord..." (meaning) requesting His pleasure, Exalted be He, without looking toward the side of creation—neither for show nor for fame—nor toward their own selves—neither for adornment nor for pride. It is said: The meaning is "requesting that," so ibtighā’a (seeking) is in the accusative case as a circumstantial qualifier (ḥāl). According to the first view, it is in the accusative as an object for which the action is performed (maf‘ūl lahu). The discussion regarding "the Countenance" (al-wajh) being attributed to Him, Exalted be He, is well-known.

In al-Baḥr it is stated that the apparent meaning here is the direction of Allah, Exalted be He; that is, the direction which is intended towards Him, Glorified be He, through good deeds so that the reward may be bestowed upon it. Just as one says: "Zayd went out for such-and-such a face (purpose)." It is also mentioned therein that the connective phrase here came in the past tense, while the preceding ones came in the present tense, by way of diversification in eloquence; for the subject (al-ladhīna) is in the sense of a conditional noun (ism sharṭ), and the past tense is like the present tense in a conditional noun, and thus it is in what resembles it. Hence, the grammarians said: If the past tense occurs as a connective (ṣilah) or an adjective for a general indefinite noun, it may be intended to denote the past, or it may be intended to denote the future. Examples of the former include: "Those to whom the people said...", and of the latter: "...except those who repent before you have power over them." It also appears that the specification of this connective by the past tense, and the previous ones by the present, is because the preceding ones were intended to denote continuity and ambiguity. As for this one, it was intended to denote that it precedes those actions, for the attainment of those acts of worship is conditional upon the attainment of patience and its precedence over them. For this reason, it [patience] never appears as a connective in the Quran except in the past tense, as it is a prerequisite for the attainment and execution of religious obligations.

In Irshād al-‘Aql al-Salīm, it is stated: Since patience is the cornerstone of the matter in all the previously mentioned and subsequent connectives, it is brought in the past tense as an expression of concern for its status and a demonstration of the necessity of its realization. For such is indispensable, either in the acts of worship themselves—as in all except the first, fourth, and fifth—or in demonstrating their rulings, as in the three mentioned connectives. For although they may be self-sufficient without patience regarding their essence (since there is no hardship upon the soul in acknowledging Lordship, or in apprehension and fear), the manifestation of their rulings and acting in accordance with their requirements is not free from the need for it—and this is not without merit. The first view, as some have said, is to limit the reasoning to the concern for its status.

The conjunction of His saying, Exalted be He: "...and establish prayer..."—and likewise what follows it—to that [patience], is, according to more than one, a case of conjoining the specific to the general. By "prayer," it is said it refers to the obligatory prayer, and it is said it refers to prayer absolutely, which is better. The meaning of establishing it is the perfection of its pillars and forms.

"...and spend from what We have provided them..." (meaning) some of what We have given them, which is that which they are obligated to spend, such as Zakat and what is spent on family and dependents, or that which includes both that and what is recommended.

"...secretly..." (where) secrecy is appropriate, such as spending by one not known for wealth if he fears accusation if he makes it public, or one who is known for it, but if he were to make it public, it might invite hypocrisy or vanity. And (it is appropriate) such as giving to one whom self-respect prevents from asking openly.

"...and publicly..." (where) publicity is appropriate, such as when the situation is the opposite of what has been mentioned. Some have said: The first is specific to voluntary charity, and the second to the performance of an obligation. From al-Ḥasan, it is reported that both refer to the obligatory Zakat: if one is not accused of failing to pay Zakat, then it is better to pay it secretly; otherwise, it is better to pay it publicly. It is said: "Secretly" is what he performs himself, and "publicly" is what he delivers to the leader (Imām). The first [general interpretation] is better. Perhaps the precedence of "secretly" is to point to the virtue of such charity; and it has come in the Ṣaḥīḥ that the one who gives charity secretly is among those whom Allah, Exalted be He, will shade under His shade on the Day of Resurrection.

"...and they repel evil with good..." (meaning) they drive away evil with good, and they requite offense with kindness, according to what Ibn Jarīr recorded from Ibn Zayd. From Ibn Jubayr: They return kindness to those who offend them. It is like His saying, Exalted be He: "And when the ignorant address them, they say, 'Peace'." Al-Ḥasan said: If they are deprived, they give; if they are wronged, they forgive; and if they are cut off, they maintain ties. It is said: They follow up an evil deed with a good deed, so it erases it. In the ḥadīth, it is narrated that Mu‘ādh said: "Advise me, O Messenger of Allah." He said: "If you commit an evil deed, perform a good deed alongside it, and it will erase it—secret for secret, and public for public." From Ibn Kaysān: They drive away the disgrace of sin through repentance. It is said: Through Lā ilāha illā Allāh (there is no god but Allah), they drive away their shirk. It is said: Through charity, they drive away the torment. It is said: If they see a vice, they order its removal. It is said, and it is said... The approach of some verifiers suggests the selection of the first: they are, as it is said, "They requite the injustice of the oppressive with forgiveness, and the evil of the wicked with kindness." This is contrary to the character of some ignorant people, who are daring: when wronged, they retaliate for the wrong swiftly, and if they do not start the injustice, they are wronged. In al-Kashshāf, it is stated: The most apparent meaning is generalization—that is, they repel evil with beauty, whether it was meant to harm them or not, whether it was specific to them or not, whether it was an act of obedience or disobedience, or an act of honor or humiliation. Perhaps the matter is as he said, and the prepositional phrase is placed before the object to show perfect care for "good."

"Those..." (meaning) those described with these sublime traits and beautiful qualities—and it is not intended that they be specific people, even if the verse was revealed, as some say, regarding the Anṣār. The demonstrative pronoun is the subject, and its predicate is the nominal sentence, namely His saying, Exalted be He:

"...will have the final home," (meaning) the consequence of this world and what the outcome of its people ought to be, which is Paradise. The definite article in "the home" is for ‘ahd (reference). The absolute consequence is interpreted as this, and it is interpreted as such in His saying, Exalted be He: "And the consequence is for the righteous." Al-Zamakhsharī also interpreted it as Paradise, except that he said: "Because it is that which Allah, Exalted be He, intended to be the consequence of the world and the return of its people." In this, according to some, there is a nuance of I‘tizāl (Mu‘tazilite thought).

It is permissible that "the home" refers to the Hereafter—that is, they will have the good consequence in the Hereafter. It is said: The prepositional phrase is the predicate of the demonstrative pronoun, and ‘uqbā (consequence) is the subject of the stability (istiqrār). In any case, there is no restriction here, so that one might object that some of what is in the category of the connective is not of the decisive matters whose neglect would harm one's arrival at a good consequence. Some have said: The meaning is that the destination of those people is Paradise without the intervention of entering the Fire, so there is no harm if one posits a restriction. It does not follow that the tormented sinner will not enter Paradise; and to say that he is described by those traits in a general sense is as you see. The sentence is the predicate for the conjoined relative clauses if they are raised by the initial position, or it is a grammatical or explanatory opening in response to "What is the case with those described with these traits?" if the conjoined relative clauses are made adjectives for "those of understanding" in a manner of praise, without intending that the mentioned connectives have a role in the tadhakkur (taking heed). The first is more sound, due to what is in al-Kashshāf regarding the observation of correspondence between the two groups and the beauty of the conjunction in His saying, Exalted be He: "And those who break the covenant..." and their proceeding upon the opening of the description of the knowledgeable and the one who is like a blind man, and His saying, Exalted be He...