Tafsir of Al-`Ankabut 29:3

(And We have certainly tested those who were before them): This is a state (ḥāl) for "the people" or from the pronoun in "they are tested" (yuftanūn). According to the first, it is a cause for denying their assumption—meaning: Have they assumed that, while they know that the way (sunnah) of Allah the Exalted is the opposite, and "you will never find any change in the way of Allah"? According to the second, it is an explanation, for there is no basis for singling them out as exempt from being tested. The substance of this is that, according to the first, it is a warning of an error, and according to the second, it is a correction. By "those who were before them," the believers, the followers of the Prophets—peace and blessings be upon them—are meant. They were afflicted with various trials and hardships, yet they remained patient and held firmly to their religion with their molars, as indicated by His saying: "And how many a prophet [fought and] with him fought many religious scholars. But they never lost assurance due to what afflicted them in the cause of Allah, nor did they weaken, nor did they submit" (3:146).

Al-Bukhari, Abu Dawud, and an-Nasa'i narrated from Khabbab ibn al-Aratt, who said: "We complained to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and his family and grant them peace, as we were facing severe hardship from the polytheists. We said, 'Will you not seek victory for us? Will you not supplicate for us?' He replied: 'There were those before you who would have a pit dug for them in the earth and be placed inside it; then a saw would be brought and placed upon their heads, splitting them in two, or they would be combed with iron combs that would tear through their flesh and bones, yet that would not turn them away from their religion.'"

(So that Allah will surely make evident those who are truthful): That is, in their saying "We believe." (And will surely make evident the liars): In that claim. The fa' (so/then) is for ordering what follows based on what preceded it regarding the occurrence of the examination. The lam (in la-ya‘lamanna) is the particle of response to an oath. The shift to the Majestic Name (Allah) is to instill awe and cultivate reverence, and the repetition of the response is for emphasis and confirmation. One might mistakenly imagine the verse implies the origination of His knowledge—exalted is He—regarding events, but this is false. It has been answered that what is originated is the attachment of His knowledge to the non-existent after its existence. Ibn al-Munir said: The truth is that the knowledge of Allah is one, attaching to the existing entity at the time of its existence, and before it, and after it, as it is. The benefit of mentioning "knowledge" here, even if it preceded the existence of the known, is to alert [the reader] by the cause to the effect, which is the recompense. It is as if it were said: "By Allah, He will surely make evident—by what resembles testing and trial—those who are truthful in the faith they have displayed, and those who are liars in it and persist in lying, so that He may recompense each according to His knowledge of them." In this meaning is what Ibn Jinni said: that it is the setting of a cause in place of an effect, the purpose of which is: "So that Allah may recompense those who are truthful and recompense the liars," for recompense for something is only caused by knowledge. Muhyi as-Sunnah said: "That is, so that Allah may manifest the truthful from the liars, until they exist as known objects," for Allah the Exalted is All-Knowing of them before the trial.

Ali, may Allah honor his face, Ja'far ibn Muhammad, and Az-Zuhri, may Allah be pleased with them, read it as (fa-li-yu‘limanna) with a ḍamma on the ya' and a kasra on the lam, as the imperfect of a‘lama (to make known/let know), which is transferred by the causative hamza from ‘alama (to know), which takes one object. Thus, the verb in this reading is transitive to two objects. The second [object] here is omitted; meaning: "So that Allah will surely make those who are truthful know their stations of reward, and make the liars know their stations of punishment." This is in the Hereafter. Or, the first [object] is omitted; meaning: "So that Allah will surely make the people know those who are truthful, and make them know the liars," i.e., He will make them witness them, the former in goodness and the latter in evil. It is apparent that this is also in the Hereafter. Abu Hayyan said: "In this world and the Hereafter." It is permissible that it is from i‘lām (marking), which is placing a sign or brand; thus it takes one object, or He brands them with a sign by which they are known on the Day of Resurrection, like the whiteness or blackness of faces. It is also said: He brands them, may He be glorified, with a sign by which they are known in this world, as in his saying—peace and blessings be upon him: "Whoever conceals a secret, Allah the Exalted will clothe him in its mantle." Az-Zuhri read the first verb as the group [of reciters] did, and the second verb as Ali, Ja'far, and Az-Zuhri read it.