Surah Al Imran 3:115
ﲽ ﲾ ﲿ ﳀ ﳁ ﳂ ﳃ ﳄ ﳅ ﳆ
And whatever good they do - never will it be removed from them. And Allah is Knowing of the righteous.
Tafsir of Al Imran 3:115
Tafsir
Ruh al-Ma'ani
Verse range: 3:115
(And whatever good they do) Meaning, any act of obedience that is outward-reaching or continuous. (They will never be denied it) meaning, they will never be deprived of its reward at all. The root of *al-kufr* (denial/disbelief) is covering, and because it is interpreted as mentioned, it takes two objects.
As for the address, it is said: it is to this Ummah (nation), and it is linked to His saying—Exalted is He—(You are the best nation), while everything between them is a digression (istitrad). It is also said: it is to those described with the aforementioned attributes; in this there is a shift (iltifat), and its particular nuance here is to indicate that due to their possession of these merits, they are worthy of being addressed.
The people of Kufa, except for Abu Bakr, read [the verbs] with a ya (third person), while the rest read them with a ta (second person), except for Abu ‘Amr, for it is narrated that he read both as third person. According to the reading of the third person, it is possible that the pronoun refers to what was intended by its counterparts previously, and the discourse would then be on a single track. It is also possible that it refers to the Ummah, and the shift to the third person is in consideration of the Ummah, just as it was considered previously in the expression "brought forth" (ukhrijat) instead of "brought forth" (ukhrijtum) [referring to the passive voice]. This is a well-known method of the Arabs in such instances.
(And Allah is Knowing of the righteous) Meaning, knowing of their states, so He will reward them. This is a concluding sentence (*tadhyil*) that confirms the content of what preceded it.
The intent behind "the righteous" is either general, in which case the addressees are included primarily, or specific to those previously mentioned. Placing the manifest noun (al-muttaqin) in the position of the pronoun is an indication of the cause, and that none shall attain success with Him except the people of piety. According to this, His saying—Exalted is He—[follows].