Tafsir of Al-Mu'minoon 23:52

(And indeed this) — meaning the religion and the law. It is referred to with the demonstrative "this" to indicate the perfection of its manifestation in terms of soundness, correctness, and its alignment, by virtue of that, with observable matters.

(Your nation) — meaning your religion and your law. The address is directed to the messengers (peace be upon them) in the manner previously discussed, though it has been said to be general for them and others; this is narrated from Mujahid. According to al-Khafaji, the sentence is a conjunction to the sentence, "I am All-Knowing of what you do," so the waw (and) is part of what is being narrated. It is also said that it belongs to the narration itself, where one statement is conjoined to another, the estimation being: "We said, 'O messengers, eat of the pure things,' and We said to them, 'And indeed this is your nation...'" The remoteness of this interpretation is not hidden.

It is said that the waw is not for conjunction and the sentence following it is an inception (mustan'afah), not conjoined to what precedes it, though this is as you see it.

His saying, the Almighty, (a single nation) is a state (hal) derived from the predicate, and the operator acting upon it is the meaning of the demonstrative—that is, it is pointed to in the state of being a unified law regarding the fundamentals that do not alter with the changing of eras. It is also said that "this" refers to the past nations of the messengers, and the meaning is: this community of yours is a single community, agreed upon belief and monotheism in worship.

(And I am your Lord) — meaning, without My having any partner in Lordship. This sentence is a conjunction to the sentence "And indeed this..." which is conjoined to what preceded it; both are included within the scope of the justification for righteous deeds. For the apparent meaning is that His saying, the Almighty, "I am All-Knowing of what you do," is a justification for that. Perhaps the intention by "righteous deeds" is what includes sound beliefs and correct actions. The requirement of recompense by Lordship for that is evident. As for the requirement of the unity of the law in the fundamental aspects that do not change, it is in consideration of the fact that it is a proof of the truthfulness of the beliefs; their truthfulness necessitates adhering to them, and adhering to them necessitates performing other righteous deeds. Indeed, it has been said that belief is not valid while abandoning action. Based on this, His saying, the Almighty, (So fear Me) is like the declaration of a conclusion; the speech is analogous to your saying, "The world is created because it is changeable, and every changeable thing is created, therefore the world is created."

In Irshad al-'Aql al-Salim, it is stated that the pronoun of address in His saying, the Almighty, (your Lord) and in His saying, the Almighty, (So fear Me) refers to the messengers and the nations together, with the condition that the command in regard to the messengers is for stimulation and incitement, and in regard to the nation, it is for warning and obligation. The fa (so) is for the ordering of the command or the obligation of complying with it based on what precedes it regarding the exclusivity of Lordship to Him, the Almighty, and the unity of the nation, for each of these necessitates fear (taqwa) inevitably. The meaning is: "So fear Me in causing discord and opposition by failing to fulfill what has been mentioned."

The Meccans and Abu 'Amr read it as (wa-anna) with an alif (fatha on the hamza) and a shadda on the nun. This is explained by estimating a preposition; that is, "And because this..." The preposition and its object are linked to "Fear Me." Al-Khafaji said: "The discussion regarding the fa prefixed to it is like the discussion regarding the fa in His saying, the Almighty, 'So fear Me (fay-ya-ya farhabun),' which is for causality and conjunction to what precedes it, namely 'Work.' The meaning is: Fear Me because intellects are agreed upon My Lordship and the sound beliefs that necessitate fear." This is not without its issues.

It has been permitted that "indeed this..." in this reading be conjoined to "what you do," the meaning being: "I am All-Knowing of what you do and that this is your nation, a single nation..." Thus, it is included within the scope of the known. This is weakened by the fact that there is no excellence in the meaning under this interpretation. It is also said that it is governed by an omitted verb, meaning: "And know that this is your nation..." and this omitted verb is conjoined to "Work," but it is not hidden that this estimation is contrary to the apparent meaning.

Ibn 'Amir read it as (wa-an) with an alif (fatha on the hamza) and a light nun, as the an that is a lighter form of the heavy anna. The reasoning for the fatha is understood from what we have mentioned.