Tafsir of Ash-Shu`ara' 26:217

He—Glorified is He—subdues through His might whoever disobeys you among them and others, and He aids you through His mercy. The attribute of "Might" (al-Aziz) was mentioned first, as it is said, because it is more befitting the station of seeking consolation from the hardships inflicted upon him—may God bless him and grant him peace—by his people. It is also suggested that "Might" serves as the cause validating reliance (tawakkul), while "Mercy" serves as the cause inviting it.

Many have interpreted it as a person entrusting their affair to One who possesses control over their matter and has the power to benefit or harm them. They said: The one who relies (mutawakkil) is he who, if struck by a matter, does not attempt to repel it from himself through that which is an act of disobedience to God Almighty. Some mentioned that this is among the lowest and most basic levels of reliance.

It is reported from some of the gnostics that reliance, in relation to people, consists of three degrees:

The first is reliance while seeking and engaging in causes, with the intention of occupying the self, benefiting creation, and abandoning personal claims.

The second is reliance while dropping the seeking and averting the eye from the cause, as an exertion toward perfecting reliance and suppressing the soul’s desire, in order to devote oneself to fulfilling obligations.

The third is reliance accompanied by the realization of reliance itself, which strives for salvation from the defect of reliance. This is that one knows that God Almighty did not leave any matter neglected; rather, He finished all things and ordained them. His affair, Glorified is He, is the driving of decrees to their appointed times. Thus, the one who relies is he who rests his soul from the toil of speculation and the contemplation of causes, finding stillness in what has preceded of the divine division, while both states—seeking and not seeking—are equal to him. This is because he knows that seeking does not benefit and reliance does not prevent. Whenever he contemplates a compensation for his reliance, his reliance becomes flawed and his intention becomes defective. When he is freed from the servitude of causes and does not observe in his reliance anything other than the pure right of God Almighty, God Almighty suffices him against everyone.

Al-Tayyibi indicated that the saying of the Almighty, "And rely..." contains an allusion to these three levels, albeit in a subtle manner.

In the codices (musahifs) of the people of Medina and the Levant, it is written "fa-tawakkal" (then rely) with the letter fa. This is the reading of Nafi', Ibn 'Amir, Abu Ja'far, and Shaybah. It is explained as being a substitution for the response to the conditional clause. In al-Kashshaf, it is suggested that the fa is for conjunction, and what follows is coordinated with "Say" or "Do not call upon." What was mentioned first is more apparent.