Tafsir of Al Imran 3:107

That is, in Paradise. This is an expression using the state (of being in the mercy) to refer to the place (where that mercy is), and the prepositional relationship of "in" is literal. It may also be intended to mean "reward," in which case the prepositional relationship is metaphorical, as when one says "in eternal bliss and a life of ease." This contains an indication of its abundance and the fact that it encompasses those mentioned, just as a container encompasses its contents. It is not permissible for "mercy" here to refer to an attribute of Allah the Exalted, as the prepositional relationship (of being in it) would not be valid. That which supports what has been mentioned is its being juxtaposed with "the punishment" and its association with eternity in His, the Exalted’s, saying: "They will abide therein forever."

The reason for expressing this as "mercy" is to intimate that even if a believer exhausts his entire life in the obedience of Allah the Exalted, he does not attain what he attains except through the mercy of Allah the Exalted. For this reason, it has come in the tradition: "None of you will enter Paradise by his deeds." It was said to him: "Not even you, O Messenger of Allah?" He said: "Not even me, unless Allah the Exalted covers me with His mercy."

The sentence "They will abide therein forever" is an explanatory resumption that arises from the context, as if it were said: "How will they be therein?" So the response was what you see. It contains an emphasis on the meaning that preceded it. It has been said that it is a predicate after a predicate, but this is baseless.

The prepositional phrase is placed first to preserve the endings of the verses. The pronoun in the prepositional phrase refers back to "mercy." It is among the most far-fetched of interpretations to make it refer to the calling to goodness, the enjoining of what is right, and the forbidding of what is wrong—contrary to those who held that view and made the discourse an explanation for the reason they are in the mercy of Allah the Exalted, and the reason their counterparts are in the punishment, as if it were said: "Why are they in the mercy of Allah the Exalted?" and the response was: "Because they were abiding in good deeds."

It has been recited as abyaddat and aswaddat.