Tafsir of Al-Baqarah 2:82

When He, Glorified be He, mentioned the people of the Fire and what He has prepared for them of destruction, He followed that by mentioning the people of faith and what He has prepared for them of eternity in the Gardens. It has been His custom, Exalted be His Majesty, to accompany His promise with His threat, in observance of what wisdom requires in guiding the servants—sometimes through inducement (targhib) and other times through intimidation (tarhib). It has been said that in combining them, there is a reinforcement of the threat by mentioning the reward that its people have missed, and a reinforcement of the promise by mentioning the punishment from which its people have been saved.

The conjunction of "deeds" with "faith" indicates that it is distinct from the definition of faith, for a part is not conjoined to the whole. This does not necessarily imply that the former is not a condition for the latter, such that it would prove the person who commits a major sin remains within faith—thus making the verse an argument against the Wa'idiyyah (the sect that believes the committer of a major sin is an unbeliever), as Mawla ‘Isam stated. If you say: "An opponent might argue that the conjunction is for the purpose of honor, because action is more arduous and difficult than affirmation, and the best of deeds are the most difficult," it is answered that faith is more honorable than deeds because it is the foundation of all good deeds, as deeds fall from the rank of consideration in its absence.

It occurs to the mind that there may be a subtle point in mentioning righteous deeds here alongside faith: that faith is in contrast to the "evil" interpreted by some as disbelief, and righteous deeds are in contrast to the "sin" interpreted as everything else.

The intent by "those who believe" is the nation of Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and the believers of the nations before them; this was stated by Ibn Abbas and others, and it is the apparent meaning. Ibn Zayd said: "The intent is the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and his nation exclusively."

The mention of the fa (conjunction "so") in the previous verse and its omission here is either because a threat from the Generous is a potential site for being rescinded, unlike a promise, so the former was more deserving of emphasis than the latter; or to signal the precedence of mercy. Grammarians have stated: "Whoever enters my house, fa (so) honor him" implies honoring everyone who enters, but with the risk that one might not honor them. Without the fa, it requires honoring them definitively. Or, it is to signal that their eternity in the Fire is due to their evil deeds and disobedience, while their eternity in Paradise is purely by His grace and generosity—otherwise, faith and righteous deeds do not suffice to thank for the immediate blessings a servant has received. Some have leaned toward each of these. The claim that the omission of the fa here is for an increase in the desire to mention what they possess is not substantial.