Tafsir of An-Nahl 16:127

(And be patient) with whatever has afflicted you from their direction, in terms of various pains and harms, and what you have witnessed of their turning away from the truth entirely after the call.

(And your patience is not but by Allah) — an elliptical exception [istithna’ mufarragh] from the most general of things, or: your patience, while being accompanied and attended by anything, is not attained except by remembering Allah, the Exalted, invoking peace and blessings upon Him, and the easing of the hardships of patience upon Him, and its ennoblement—which has no greater degree—or: not except by His will, which is built upon profound wisdom that results in praiseworthy consequences due to its inclusion of majestic ends; this is what the Shaykh al-Islam said.

Many others have said: It means, not except by His facilitation and assistance. Thus, the consolation comes from the perspective of making patience easy and accessible, and perhaps that is more apparent than what preceded it.

(And do not grieve for them) — that is, for the disbelievers and their disbelief in you and their refusal to follow you, similar to [the verse]: "So do not grieve over the disbelieving people." It is also said: [Do not grieve] for the believers and what was done to them by way of mutilation on the day of Uhud.

(And do not be in distress) — with a fatha on the ḍād. Ibn Kathir read it with a kasra, and this was narrated from Nafi‘, though it is not considered correct according to what Abu Hayyan stated regarding him; they are two dialects, like al-qawl and al-qīl. It means: do not be in tightness of chest and constriction. In this there is a metaphor that is not hidden, and there is no need to resort to [interpreting it as] transposition. Abu ‘Ubaydah said: al-ḍayq with the fatha is a shortened form of ḍayyiq, like hayyin [for hayyin], meaning: do not be in a narrow affair. Abu ‘Ali rejected this, as is in al-Bahr, arguing that the attribute is not specific to the qualified noun, so claiming an ellipsis is not permissible. For this reason, it is permissible to say "I passed by a writer" (kātib) but impermissible to say "by an eater" (ākil). This was challenged by the prohibition [of his argument], because if the attribute is general and a general noun is assumed, there is no obstacle to it.

(From what they plot) — that is, from their plotting against you in what is yet to come. The first [prohibition]—as in Irshad al-‘Aql al-Salim—is a prohibition against grieving over a desired outcome from them that has been missed, and the second is a prohibition against grieving over a dreaded outcome coming from them. The implication is that the prohibition of both—despite their absence being among the requirements of the commanded patience—is for the sake of greater emphasis and to show the perfection of divine care in consoling; otherwise, would anything desired ever cross the mind of one who has turned to Allah the Exalted with his entire being, detached from everything else besides Him, such that he would be forbidden from grieving over its loss?

It is also said: "they plot" (yamkurūn) carries the meaning of "they plotted" (makarū), and the present tense was used to bring the past scene to mind. The first [prohibition] is a prohibition against grieving over their own wretched state, such as their characterization by disbelief and turning away from the call. The second is a prohibition against grieving over their wretched state in relation to him—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—through their harming him by mutilating his loved ones and the like. The intent behind both prohibitions is pure consolation, not the literal [legal] prohibition. You know that the apparent [meaning] is to keep the present tense upon its literal significance, so reflect upon this.