Tafsir of Maryam 19:60

{ Except those who repent, and believe, and do righteousness }: This is a disconnected exception (istithna' munqati') according to al-Zajjaj. It is stated in al-Bahr that its outward meaning is that of a connected exception (ittisal), and this is supported by the mention of faith, implying that the verse refers to disbelievers or is general, encompassing both them and others. For it is not said to one who has believed, "except those who believed," unless it is by way of emphasis (taghliz). Interpreting "faith" as "perfect faith" is contrary to the apparent meaning, as is the view that the intention is only for those who combine repentance and faith. It has been said: "faith" here means prayer, as in the Almighty’s saying, { And never would Allah have wasted your faith }, where its mention is in contrast to the wasting of prayer, and the mention of "righteous deeds" is in contrast to "following desires."

{ Then those }—those described with repentance, faith, and righteous deeds—{ will enter Paradise } by virtue of the inevitable promise. The elegance in omitting procrastination while mentioning "those" is not hidden.

Ibn Kathir, Abu 'Amr, Abu Bakr, and Ya'qub read { yudkhalun } (they will be entered) in the passive voice from adkhala. Ibn Ghazwan narrated from Talha a reading of { sayadkhulun } (they will enter) with the 'seen' of the future tense, in the active voice.

{ And they will not be wronged at all }—meaning, nothing of the reward for their deeds will be diminished, or they will not be caused to suffer any deficiency. In this is an alert that their previous deeds do not harm them nor diminish their rewards.

The Mu'tazilah used this verse as evidence that deeds are a condition for entering Paradise. It was answered that the intention is that they will enter Paradise without delay, as indicated by the contrast, and that is by treating the time preceding the entry—during which they were preserved from what befalls others—as non-existent. Thus, deeds are a condition for this [specific] entry, not for entry absolutely. Furthermore, it is permissible that it is a condition for entering the Garden of Eden, not Paradise in the absolute sense. It has also been said that it is a condition for not having any part of the reward of one's deeds diminished, which is—as you can see—[a weak position]. Other interpretations have also been offered. Some have objected to the claim of conditionality by arguing that it would entail that one who repents and believes, but does not have the opportunity to perform righteous deeds, would not enter Paradise. The response is that such are rare cases, and rulings are linked to the most general and prevalent circumstances. So contemplate this.