Tafsir of Al Imran 3:136

(Those) is an indication of those mentioned last, in consideration of their being characterized by the aforementioned praiseworthy traits. The distance (implied by the demonstrative pronoun) is to signal the high status of their rank in virtue, and the majority have gone with this view. It is said: It is an indication of those mentioned, and they are a single group; it is a subject (mubtada'), and the saying of the Exalted, (Their reward is) is a substitution of inclusion (badal al-ishtimal) for it, or it is a second subject, and His saying, (forgiveness) is the predicate of (those) or the predicate of the second subject, and the sentence is the predicate of the first. This sentence is the predicate of (And those who, when they commit) etc., according to the first view. Our master, the Sheikh al-Islam, claimed that this is the most apparent and most appropriate to the order of forgiveness, which arises from the preceding sin in the chain of reward. For according to the latter two views, (Those) etc. is an initiated sentence explaining what preceded it, uncovering the state of both groups: the virtuous and the repentant. He did not mention what belongs to the descriptions of the former group that contains a trace of sin, so that there would be mentioned at the opening of the reward, which includes both, "forgiveness." Specifying the indication to the latter two, while they share in the ruling of the preparation of Paradise for them, is a manifest forcing of interpretation, he concluded.

What is indicated by the manifest [meaning] of what Ibn Jarir narrated from al-Hasan is that he recited: (Those who spend in prosperity and adversity), then he recited: (And those who, when they commit a shameful deed), and said: "These two descriptions are indeed the description of one man." This [refers to] one of the latter two views to which he pointed, rather the first of them. This indication is as the author of "the saying" stated. This forgiveness is the forgiveness that all believers—those who have a sin and those who do not—are commanded to hasten toward that which leads to it; therefore, its occurrence at the opening of the reward is not harmful. (From their Lord) is connected to a hidden [term] that functions as an adjective for the forgiveness, confirming what the tanwin (indefinite marking) suggests of essential greatness with additional greatness, meaning: a great forgiveness that exists from His side, the Exalted. The mention of the title of Lordship, along with the attribution to their pronoun, is to signal the cause of the ruling along with honor. (And gardens beneath which rivers flow) is a conjunction to (forgiveness). What is intended by it are gardens within that Paradise which the Sublimely Exalted has informed [us] that its width is (the heavens and the earth). It is not gardens behind it, as the wording of the author of "the saying" would necessitate, except that he did not suffice with the preparation of what he described first, explicitly stating its description of containing what increases its delight, namely the flowing rivers, after describing it with vastness and informing that it is their reward and their recompense, which must—by necessity of grace—reach them. This is above the informing of "preparation," or it is a confirmation of it. Thus, the tanwin is for magnification in the manner of what was mentioned in the conjoined [noun]. The Sheikh al-Islam claimed that the indefiniteness suggests it is lower than the previous Paradise, and that this is something that supports the superiority of the first view to which he pointed, though there is hesitation regarding this. (Abiding eternally therein) is a prospective state (hal muqaddara) from the genitive pronoun in (their reward), because it is an object in meaning, for it is equivalent to "Allah will reward them with gardens, abiding eternally therein." There is no room for it to be a state of "gardens" in the wording, even if it is for its owners in meaning; if it were so, the pronoun would have been made explicit, as is the position of the majority. (And excellent is the reward of the [righteous] workers) - the object of praise is omitted, meaning: "And excellent is the reward of the workers, [the] Paradise." Upon this, Muqatil restricted himself, and more than one went to the view that it is "that," meaning what was mentioned of the forgiveness and the gardens.

In the sentence, according to what some investigators have stipulated, there are types of stylistic refinements (muhsinat): First, it is like a tail-piece (tadhyil) to the previous speech, thus yielding additional emphasis for the sake of pleasure in mentioning the promise. Second, placing "the reward" in the place of the pronoun of "recompense," because the origin is "And excellent is their reward," is to necessitate the completion of this promise and to portray the image of the work in the labor, for the sake of stimulating the worker. Third, in the generalization of "the workers" and placing it in the position of the pronoun, to signify the attainment of the desired object for those mentioned by way of demonstration.

The intent of the previous speech, to which this was made a tail-piece, is either the speech regarding the repentant, or all the preceding speech, according to the disagreement we mentioned earlier. He who went to the first said: It suffices you in the distinction between the two groups—those who are the God-fearing (muttaqun), who performed all duties and avoided all sins completely, and the repentant, who seek forgiveness for their sins after having sinned and committed shameful deeds and injustice—that He, the Sublimely Exalted, concluded the verse of the first [group] with His saying: (And Allah loves the virtuous), which signals that they are virtuous and beloved to Allah the Exalted. And He concluded the verse of the latter with His saying, the Glorified: (And excellent is the reward of the workers), which signals that these are hired and that what they were given of reward is a recompense for their rectifying some of what they had squandered for their own selves. How far is this from that! Great is the distance between the fish and the star (an idiom for total contrast). It is not hidden that, on the assumption that the two descriptions are the description of one man, as narrated from al-Hasan, it is possible to say: the mention of this sentence following those is for what some investigators have mentioned. What prevents one from informing that they are beloved to Allah the Exalted, and that Allah the Exalted is the one who will fulfill what He promised them, and it is necessary, and that their being, when they sinned, seeking forgiveness and repenting, does not contradict their being virtuous? As for if "virtue" (ihsan) is intended as bestowing favor upon others, it is apparent. But if it is intended as performing deeds in the appropriate manner, or that you worship Allah as if you see Him, for if you do not see Him, He sees you, as stated explicitly in the authentic [Sunnah], then if that were contradictory, it would follow that "the virtuous" could only apply to the infallible, and would not apply to one who worshipped Allah the Exalted and obeyed Him for a long time in the most appropriate and best manner, then disobeyed Him for a moment, then regretted it with the deepest regret and sought the "master of forgiveness." I do not think anyone would say that, so contemplate it.

Then, in these verses, according to what the majority have held, there is an indication that the believers are of three classes: the God-fearing, the repentant, and those who persist [in sin]. And that for those who do not persist, their sins are forgiven and they enter Paradise. As for its indicating that those who persist will not have their sins forgiven and will not enter Paradise, as some have claimed, this is not so, because silence regarding a ruling is not a statement of their ruling for some, and is an indication of the opposite for others. It is sufficient for its occurrence [of concern] that they are wavering between fear and hope and that they are not free from reprimand. If only they were reproached for what they sinned in detail—and what a disgrace that would be! This is something inevitable, as indicated by the texts of the Book and the Sunnah. In that case, the complete forgiveness they would have is not achieved, as it is for the repentant. Furthermore, the implication of what is in the verses is that Paradise would not be a reward for the persistent, nor [would] forgiveness. As for denying [God's] grace regarding them, this is not so. This is clear based on the principle of the Mu'tazilah, because of the distinction between reward and grace, in terms of necessity and lack of necessity. As for based on the principle of the People of the Sunnah, it is also [the same], because grace is of two types: a type contingent upon action, like the sequence of satiety upon eating, which is called "reward" and "recompense." A type that is not contingent upon action; from it is what is the completion of the reward, in quantity or quality, such as what He promised of doubling [the reward] and so on. And from it is what is pure grace, in reality and in name, such as pardoning those who commit major sins, the vision of Allah in the abode of settlement, and other things that only Allah knows, as some investigators have stated. The scholar al-Tayyibi mentioned that His saying, the Exalted: (And fear the Fire which has been prepared for the disbelievers) was sent as a discourse to the usurers among the believers, as a deterrent against persisting in what leads them to the depths of the destroyed among the disbelievers, and as an incitement to repentance and hastening to attain degrees with the successful among the God-fearing and the repentant. Including the persistent in this context is far-fetched, because it would be an encouragement and motivation for sin, not a deterrent or threat. Thus, the meaning of "the God-fearing" was explained by the verses for the sake of encouragement and threat, and for further portraying the stations of the saints and their ranks, so that it may be an incitement for them to join their ranks. It is necessary to mention the repentant, their seeking forgiveness, and their not persisting, so that it may be a kindness to them. All the benefits that were mentioned in His saying, the Sublimely Exalted: (And who forgives sins except Allah?) enter into the meaning. It is known from this that the indication of (And did not persist in what they did) is abandoned, because the context of incitement and encouragement excluded the persistent. The result is that the condition of the indication of the concept here is absent; therefore, arguing with that for the Mu'tazilah is not valid at all.