Tafsir of Al-Baqarah 2:263

(A kind word) meaning, beautiful speech with which the petitioner is turned away, such as "May Allah have mercy on you," or "May Allah provide for you," or "If Allah wills, I shall give you later."

(And forgiveness) meaning, concealing what occurred from the petitioner, such as importunity in asking or other behavior that is burdensome to the one asked, and pardoning him.

(Is better than charity) that is (followed by) from the almsgiver (injury) to him, because it is tainted by the harm that follows it, while the first two [kind word and forgiveness] are free from such harm.

It has been said: It is possible that "forgiveness" refers to Allah the Exalted’s forgiveness of the one asked because he endured what he disliked from the petitioner, or the petitioner's forgiveness of the hardship he experienced from the refusal of the one asked—[that this] (is better) for the one asked than that charity. However, it is more appropriate that both the preferred and the object of preference in this context belong to the same person. In these two interpretations, that is not the case. Furthermore, considering "goodness" in both [the charity with injury and the kind word] leads to the assumption that the act described [the charity with injury] possesses "goodness" in its totality, despite it being entirely invalid. To treat the statement as "something is better than nothing" is without merit.

The sentence is an independent clause confirming the importance of refraining from following charity with reproach and injury. Reproach was not mentioned because "injury" encompasses it and other things. It is permissible to begin with an indefinite noun in the first instance due to its qualification by an adjective, and in the second, because of the conjunction or the implied adjective. It may also be said that a conjoined phrase is a dependent element and does not require a justifying factor.

(And Allah is Free of need) of the servants' charities; He only commanded them to perform them for a benefit that returns to them. Or, He is free of need for charity accompanied by reproach and injury, so He does not accept it. Or, He is Self-Sufficient, not requiring the poor to bear the burden of reproach and injury, as He provides for them from another source.

(And Forbearing) so He does not hasten the punishment for reproach and causing injury, not because they do not deserve it due to those actions. The sentence acts as a tailpiece (tadhil) to what preceded it, containing both a promise and a warning, confirming the consideration of "goodness" in relation to the petitioner definitively.