Tafsir of Al-Teen 95:6

Except for those who have believed and done righteous deeds, according to what has been previously stated, this is a connected exception from the pronoun in radadnahu (We returned him) which refers to [the] man; for it is in the meaning of a plural. Thus, the believers are not returned to the lowest of the low on the Day of Resurrection, nor are their forms made ugly; rather, they increase in splendor upon their splendor and in beauty upon their beauty.

His saying, Exalted is He, “For them is a reward without interruption”—meaning: not cut off, or not one for which they are reminded as a favor—is a confirmation of what the exception provides regarding their exclusion from the ruling of being "returned," and it clarifies the nature of their condition. According to the latter [interpretation], the exception is disconnected; the relative pronoun (alladhina) is the subject, and the sentence "for them is a reward" is its predicate, with the fa (in falahum) included because the subject implies the meaning of a condition. The discourse is in the sense of a corrective (istidrak); it is as if it were said: "However, those who believed have a reward..." This is to dispel the notion that equality in the most abject age necessitates equality in other matters. It should not be argued: "How can it be disconnected when the believers are included among those returned to the most abject age, not differing from others in the ruling?" Some verifiers have said that it is disconnected because the intent was not their exclusion from the ruling—which is the axis of [the definition of] connection and disconnection, as has been explicitly stated in the principles [of jurisprudence]—but rather [the focus is on] the exclusion and inclusion, so do not be heedless.

More than one [scholar] has interpreted these believers as those who were righteous among the elderly; as if it were said: "However, those who were righteous among the elderly have a lasting reward, not cut off or not conferred as a favor upon them, due to their patience regarding what they were afflicted with—namely, senility and old age—which prevented them from performing their duties of worship."

Ahmad, al-Bukhari, and Ibn Hibban narrated from Abu Musa that he said: The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: "If a servant becomes ill or travels, Allah, Exalted is He, records for him the reward of the like of what he used to do when he was healthy and resident." In a narration from him, it is added: Then he, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, recited: "For them is a reward without interruption."

Al-Tabarani narrated from Shaddad ibn Aws that he said: I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, saying: "Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, says: 'If I afflict a servant of My servants who is a believer, and he praises Me for what I afflict him with, he rises from his bed as he was on the day his mother gave birth to him, free of sins.' And the Lord, Almighty and Majestic, says: 'I bound My servant and afflicted him, so continue to record for him what you used to record for him before that while he was healthy.'"

Ibn Abi Hatim narrated from Ibn Abbas regarding this verse: "When a servant grows old and becomes weak from work, the reward of what he used to do in his youth is recorded for him."

Some people have interpreted them as the reciters of the Quran, and they consider the exception to be connected, excluding them from the ruling of being returned to the most abject age, based on what al-Hakim—and he authenticated it—and al-Bayhaqi in al-Shu'ab narrated from the learned scholar [Ibn Abbas], who said: "Whoever reads the Quran will not be returned to the most abject age." And that is His saying, Exalted is He: "Then We returned him to the lowest of the low, except those who believed"—he said: "Except those who read the Quran." 'Abd ibn Humayd and Ibn Jarir narrated something similar from Ikrimah, in which it is mentioned: "He does not descend to that level," meaning senility, so that "one who knows nothing after having known" does not apply to anyone who reads the Quran. It is not hidden that specifying those who believe [as only the reciters] is contrary to the apparent meaning, and there is hesitation regarding the claim that no reciter is returned to the most abject age, so let this be investigated.

The address in His saying, Exalted is He...