Tafsir of Al-Ahqaf 46:19

"And for all" — from the two groups mentioned in His saying, the Exalted: "Those are they from whom We accept," and in His saying, the Glorified: "Those are they upon whom the sentence has been passed." If you wish, you may say: concerning those who said, "Our Lord is Allah," and the one who said to his parents, "Uff" — "are degrees from what they have done," meaning: from the recompense of what they have done. Thus, the speech contains an implied genitive addition (mudaf), and the prepositional phrase is an adjective for "degrees," with "from" (min) being explanatory or indicating inception, and "what" (ma) being a relative pronoun—meaning: from that which they performed of good and evil—or an infinitive particle—meaning: from their performing of good and evil. It is also permissible for "from" to be causal without the need for an implied addition, with the prepositional phrase functioning as previously mentioned.

"Degrees" (darajat) is the plural of darajah, which is like a station (manzilah), except that a station is called a darajah when considered in terms of ascent, and a darakah when considered in terms of descent. For this reason, it is said: "the degrees (darajat) of Paradise and the depths (darakat) of Hell."

The expression "degrees" is used—as more than one scholar has stated—by way of dominance (taghlib), encompassing both groups. That is, for each there are stations and ranks, whether they be degrees or depths. Those of degrees were given dominance because they are the ones more deserving of the term, especially since their recompense has been mentioned repeatedly, while the recompense of their counterparts has been mentioned only once.

"That He may fully compensate them for their deeds," meaning: the recompense of their deeds. The agent is His pronoun, the Exalted. Al-A‘mash, Al-A‘raj, Shaybah, Abu Ja‘far, the two reciters of Kufa (Hamzah and Al-Kisa’i), Ibn Dhakwan, and Nafi‘ (in one of the narrations from him) recited it as linuwaffiyannahum (that We may fully compensate them), using the nun of majesty. Al-Sulami recited it with a ta’ (as tuwaffiyahum), attributing the action to the "degrees" metaphorically.

"And they will not be wronged" — by a decrease in reward or an increase in punishment. The discussion regarding such phrases has passed more than once. This sentence is a circumstantial qualifier confirming the full compensation, or it is a statement initiating a confirmation of it. The lam (in li-yuwaffiyahum) relates to a delayed, implied verb, as if it were said: "And He will fully compensate them for their deeds, and He will not wrong them," through the act of determining the recompenses according to the measures of their deeds; thus, He made the reward degrees and the punishment depths.