Tafsir of Fussilat 41:33

"And who is better in speech than one who invites to Allah"—that is, to His Oneness, Exalted is He, and to His obedience. The apparent meaning is generality, covering every caller to Him, Exalted is He; this is the view of al-Hasan, Muqatil, and a group. It is also said to be specific; Ibn Abbas said: He is the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. It is also narrated from him that they are the Companions of Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Aisha, Qais bin Abi Hazim, Ikrimah, and Mujahid said: It was revealed concerning the mu'adhdhins (those who call to prayer). One should interpret their statement as meaning that they are included in the verse, for otherwise, the entire Surah is Meccan without dispute, and the Adhan was not practiced in Mecca; it was only prescribed in Medina. Committing to the position that the ruling of the verse was delayed from the time of its revelation is as you can see. The apparent meaning is that what is intended is the invitation by tongue; it is also said to be by tongue and by hand, such as inviting to Islam and struggling in the way of Allah. Zayd bin Ali said: "He invited to Allah by the sword," and perhaps—and Allah, the Exalted, knows best—this is what motivated him to revolt with the sword against some of the oppressors among the Umayyad kings. This Zayd, may Allah, the Exalted, be pleased with him, was a scholar of the Book of Allah, the Exalted, and he had a tafsir (exegesis) which he dictated to some of those who transmitted from him while he was imprisoned by Hisham bin Abd al-Malik, containing a generous share of knowledge and evidence from the speech of the Arabs. It is said that he and his brother, Muhammad al-Baqir, engaged in scholarly debate, with people gathering with inkpots to write down the knowledge emanating from them—may Allah, the Exalted, have mercy on them and be pleased with them.

The interrogative is in the meaning of negation, i.e., "There is no one better in speech than one who invites to Allah."

"And does righteousness"—that is, a righteous deed, whatever that righteous deed may be. Abu Umamah said: "He prayed between the Adhan and the Iqamah," but the limitation therein is not hidden. Ikrimah said: "He prayed and fasted." Al-Kalbi said: "He fulfilled the religious obligations." The truth is its generality.

"And says, 'Indeed, I am of the Muslims'"—meaning he verbalizes that, rejoicing in being among them and taking pride in it, while intending the reward, for it does not contradict it. Or, he adopted and took Islam as his religion, from their saying: "This is the qawl (position/doctrine) of such-and-such," meaning his school of thought and belief. Some consolidate these two aspects into one. The meaning, based on the view that the verse is specific to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, is that he chose affiliation with Islam over worldly prestige and honor—which is their saying, "Do not listen to this Quran, and [instead] speak noisily over it." Ibn Abi Abla and Ibrahim bin Nuh narrated from Qutaybah: "And says, innii" with a doubled nun without the nun of protection (i.e., inni instead of innan-i).

Abu Bakr ibn al-Arabi used the verse as evidence for the non-conditionality of making an exception (istithna) when a speaker says, "I am a Muslim" or "I am a believer." In the verse is an indication that it is necessary for the caller to Allah, the Exalted, to be one who performs righteous deeds, so that people may be more inclined to accept his call and more at ease with it.