Al-Anfal: (40) And if they turn away, then know...

(And if they turn away and do not cease their disbelief) (then know that Allah is your Protector): meaning your Supporter, so trust in Him and do not concern yourselves with their enmity. (Excellent is the Protector): He does not abandon one whom He takes under His protection. (And excellent is the Helper): He is not overcome, the one whom He supports.

From the dimension of allusion in the verses: (And you killed them not, but it was Allah who killed them): This is a discipline from Him, Exalted is He, for the people of Badr, and a guidance for them toward the annihilation of actions, in that He stripped the act from them entirely. Similar to this, in one respect, is His saying, Exalted is He: (And you threw not when you threw, but it was Allah who threw). The difference is that when the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) was in the station of subsistence in the Truth (the Almighty), the act was attributed to him by His saying, Exalted is He: (When you threw), while simultaneously stripping it from him (in "when you threw") and affirming it for Allah, Exalted is He, in the realm of rectification, to signify the meaning of differentiation in the very moment of union. Thus, the thrower is Muhammad (peace be upon him) by Allah, not by himself. Because of his exalted station (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), and because they [the Companions] were not in that supreme station, He attributed to him (peace be upon him) what He attributed, and did not attribute any action to them (may Allah be pleased with them). This is one of the secrets of changing the style between the two sentences; for He did not attribute [the action] in the first, but did in the second. There remains the secret of the expression using the imperfect verb negated by "lam" in one, and the perfect verb negated by "ma" in the other—so return to your reflection, and perhaps Allah, Exalted is He, will open it for you.

(That He might test the believers with a good test from Himself): meaning, to grant them a beautiful gift, which is the unification of actions—this is the intended purpose for which He did that. (Indeed, Allah is All-Hearing) of the promptings of your souls regarding the attribution of killing to yourselves, (All-Knowing) that He is the killer in reality and that you were the manifestation of His action. (And [know] that Allah is the one who weakens the plan of the disbelievers) because of their veiling by their own selves.

(If you seek the opening/decision) the verse: It is said regarding this: meaning, if you open the doors of your hearts with the keys of sincerity, purity, and the abandonment of other-than-Allah in seeking the manifestation, (then the opening/decision has come to you) through manifestation. For He, Exalted is He, has always been manifesting and will always be, but this is only perceived by one who opens his heart. (And if they cease) from seeking other-than-Allah, (it is better for you) because of the success in attaining the Protector found therein. (But if you return) to seeking the world and its adornments, (We return) to abandoning you and leaving you to your own selves. (And your company) of worldly nature (will not avail you anything) of what belongs to His special domain, (even if it should be numerous), because it is like a mirage in a lowland.

(O you who have believed, obey Allah and His Messenger and do not turn away from him while you hear [his command]): for the fruit of hearing is understanding and belief, and the fruit of these is intent, and the fruit of that is obedience. Therefore, the claim of hearing is invalid while turning away. (And do not be like those who say, "We have heard," while they do not hear): because they are veiled from understanding. (Indeed, the worst of living creatures in the sight of Allah are the deaf) to hearing, (the dumb) to acceptance, (who do not use reason) as to why they were created. (And if He had known any good in them) a proper readiness, (He would have made them hear) a hearing of understanding. (And if He had heard them) without the knowledge of good in them, (they would have turned away) and would not have benefited from it, and they would have apostatized quickly, as the nature of the fleeting is to vanish, and they are inherently turners-away.

(O you who have believed, respond to Allah and to the Messenger) through purification (when he calls you to that which gives you life): which is the knowledge of Allah, Exalted is He. It may also be said: Respond to Allah, Exalted is He, through the inward and the actions of the heart, and to the Messenger through the outward and the actions of the soul. Or: Respond to Allah, Exalted is He, by annihilation in [Divine] Unity, and to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) by observing the rights of differentiation when he calls you to that which gives you life through subsistence. (And know that Allah intervenes between a man and his heart), so the readiness vanishes, so seize the opportunity, (and that to Him you will be gathered) and He will recompense you according to your ranks.

(And fear a trial that will not strike those who have wronged among you exclusively): rather, it will encompass them and others through the misfortune of association.

(And remember when you were few) in terms of worth due to your ignorance, (weak and oppressed) in the land of the soul, (fearing that the people might snatch you away): the people of sensory powers, due to the weakness of your souls. (Then He sheltered you) in the city of knowledge, (and supported you with His victory) in the station of the unification of actions, (and provided you with the good things): meaning, the knowledges of the manifestations of the Attributes, (so that you might be grateful) for that. It may also be said: Remember, O spirits and hearts, when you were few, having nothing with you, as the spiritual qualities and moral characters had not yet been established for you; (weak and oppressed) in the land of the body, (fearing that the people might snatch you away): the soul and its helpers. (Then He sheltered you) in the enclosures of His holiness, (and supported you with His victory) through Lordly outpourings, (and provided you with the good things): which are His manifestations, Exalted is He.

(O you who have believed, do not betray Allah) by abandoning faith, (or the Messenger) by failing to adopt his character (peace and blessings be upon him), (or betray your trusts) which are what Allah, Exalted is He, has provided you of power and the soundness of your faculties, by abandoning good deeds. Or: Do not betray Allah, Exalted is He, by violating the innate covenant of [Divine] Unity [established] before, and [do not betray] the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) by breaking the resolution and discarding the subsequent commitment; and [do not] betray your trusts of knowledges and realities which Allah, Exalted is He, has deposited in you according to your readiness, by concealing them with the qualities of the soul, (while you know) the ugliness of that, or [while] you know that you are the bearers thereof.

(And know that your properties and your children are a trial) Allah, Exalted is He, tests you with them to see if you will be veiled by your love for them from His love, or if you will not be veiled. (And that Allah has with Him a great reward) for those who are not tried by that and are not kept from His love.

(O you who have believed, if you fear Allah) by avoiding betrayal and being veiled by the love of wealth and children, (He will grant you a criterion): a light by which you distinguish between truth and falsehood. It may also be said: This is an allusion to a light by which they distinguish between things, knowing them by its means with a knowledge by which some are distinguished from others; this is what they call "discernment" (firasah). In some narrations: "Beware of the discernment of the believer, for he looks with the light of Allah." (And He will remove from you your misdeeds): which are the qualities of your souls, (and forgive you) the sins of your own selves. (And Allah is the possessor of great bounty), so He grants you the criterion, and He does, and He does.

(And when those who disbelieved plotted against you) the verse: Some made it an address to the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), and its meaning is what we previously mentioned. Others made it an address to the Spirit, and this is a self-referential interpretation (ta'wil nafsani), meaning: And when they plot against you, O Spirit—those who disbelieved, which is the soul and its powers—(to restrain you) to bind you in the shackles of nature, (or kill you) through the disappearance of your traces, (or evict you) from the world of spirits. (And Allah would not punish them while you are among them): because you are a mercy to the worlds. (And Allah would not punish them while they seek forgiveness): for there is no sin alongside seeking forgiveness, nor is there punishment without sin. (But why should Allah not punish them?): meaning, they are deserving of that. How should He not, when they block those who have the readiness from the Sacred Mosque, which is the heart, by enticing them toward the matters of the soul and natural pleasures? (And they were not its guardians) due to the dominance of the qualities of their souls over them. (Its guardians are none but the righteous): [those who are righteous] against those qualities. (But most of them do not know) that judgment. Al-Naysaburi said: "But most of them," i.e., the righteous, "do not know that they are His guardians," for the guardian may not know that he is a guardian. (And their prayer at the House) which is that Mosque (was not except whistling) and satanic whisperings and promptings, (and clapping) and resolution toward heinous acts.

(Indeed, those who disbelieved spend their wealth) from their innate readiness in other than the pleasure of Allah, Exalted is He, (to avert [people] from the way of Allah): His path that leads to Him. (So they will spend it, then it will be for them a regret), for their pleasures will vanish until they become forgotten and obliterated, (then they will be overcome) due to the entrenchment of blameworthy characters within them, so they will not be able to turn away from them. (And those who disbelieved) i.e., they [the aforementioned], but the overt was placed in the position of the pronoun as a causal explanation for the judgment contained in His saying, Exalted is He: (Into Hell will they be gathered), and it is the Hell of severance.

(Say to those who have disbelieved, if they cease) from what they are upon, (what has past will be forgiven for them) due to the increase of bounty. (And fight them): meaning, fight, O believers, the disbelievers of the souls, for the struggle against them is the greatest struggle (until there is no trial) preventing access to the Truth, (and the religion, all of it, is for Allah) and the religion of the soul which it legislated disappears. (And if they cease, indeed Allah is Seeing of what they do), so He will recompense them for that. And Allah, Exalted is He, is the Granter of success to the clearest paths; there is no Lord other than Him, and no one is hoped for but His goodness.