Tafsir of Al-Fajr 89:27

His saying, Exalted is He, "O soul that is at peace," is a narration of the states of those who have attained peace through the remembrance of Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, and His obedience, following the narration of those who found peace in the worldly life and settled within it. It is mentioned that this is based on an implied verb; that is to say, Allah, Exalted is He, says: "O soul..." either directly, just as He, Glory be to Him, spoke to Moses, peace be upon him, or through the tongue of an angel. It is considered most likely that this speech occurs at the completion of the reckoning. Consider the disparity between that human being and this soul: the former says, "Oh, I wish I had sent ahead for my life," while to this one, Allah, Exalted is He, says, "O soul that is at peace..." It is as if, to signal the extreme divergence, the verb was omitted and the clause was not joined to the preceding one.

"Soul" (Nafs) is said to mean the essence. It is described as being at peace because it ascends with its rational faculty through the stages of causes and effects toward the First Cause, whose attributes and names are majestic. It feels yearning and agitation before arriving at the knowledge of Him, Exalted is He; but when it reaches Him, it finds peace, becomes independent of its own existence and all its affairs through Him, Glory be to Him, and pays no heed whatsoever to anything other than Him.

It is also said that it is the believing soul, at peace with the Truth, having reached the coolness and refreshment of certainty, such that no doubt mingles with it, nor does the heat of the heart’s agitation concerning the Truth affect it at all. This is a sound interpretation. The connection [between this and the preceding context] is that this soul is the one that takes admonition and remembers, in contrast to the human described earlier, for remembrance is in proportion to the strength of certainty. Do you not see His saying, Exalted is He: "Only those of understanding will remember"?

It is also said that it is the secure soul, which is neither agitated by fear nor sorrow on the Day of Resurrection—meaning the believing soul that died upon faith. This is supported by the recitation of Ubayy: "O soul that is secure and at peace," as it is as if the two descriptions are considered for their compatibility in most cases. According to this, it also contrasts with the aforementioned one who is regretful and sorrowful.

Zayd recited "Ya ayyoha" (O you) without the feminine 'ta'. The author of al-Badi’ mentioned that "ayya" can be treated as masculine even when addressing a feminine noun. It is said there is a logical basis for this: just as it is neither dualized nor pluralized when calling the dual or plural, it is not feminized when calling the feminine. Regarding the soul here as masculine, then feminine, is something that the "soul at peace" does not concern itself with.