Al-Hujurat (The Chambers): (3) Indeed, those who lower...

There is an exhortation here regarding what He guided them to, in two ways.

The first is apparent to everyone, which is in His saying: {Allah has tested their hearts for piety}.

The explanation is that whoever presents himself and raises his voice intends to honor himself and respect his own person. So, the Almighty said that abandoning this self-respect leads to true respect, and turning away from this self-aggrandizement completes the honor, because through it, your piety becomes evident, and {Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you} (Al-Hujurat: 13).

It is ugly for a person to enter a bathhouse, choose a position for himself there, and thereby forfeit his position with the ruler, aggrandizing himself in seclusion and the resting place, and because of this, he becomes insignificant in the great assembly.

And His saying, {Allah has tested their hearts for piety}, has several interpretations:

1. Tested them to know piety from them: For whoever honors one of his own kind because he is a sent messenger, his honoring of the Sender will be greater, and his fear of Him stronger. This is like His saying: {And whoever reveres the sacred symbols of Allah—indeed, it is from the piety of the hearts} (Al-Hajj: 32). Meaning, revering the commands of Allah is from the piety of Allah, and similarly, revering the Messenger of Allah is from His piety.
2. Tested them means He knew and recognized (ʿalima wa ʿarafa). The word imtiḥān (testing) can be used to mean knowing something. In this case, the lām (for/to) relates to an omitted word, estimated as: "Allah knew their hearts were fit for piety," meaning, existing for piety, just as one says, "You are for such-and-such," meaning, fit or existing for it.
3. Tested them means He purified them (aḵlaṣa). Gold is called mumtaḥan (tested) when it is purified in the fire.

All these interpretations are mentioned. It is also possible to say that the meaning is: {Allah has tested their hearts for piety}, where the lām is for causation (taʿlīl). This carries two possibilities:

1. It is a causation that functions as an explanation of a preceding reason, like when one says, "I came to you because of your honoring me yesterday," meaning that past honor became the reason for coming.
2. It is a causation that functions as an explanation of the expected, subsequent goal, like when one says, "I came to you to fulfill the obligation," meaning the obligation is the goal that follows.

If we adopt the first view, its reality is that Allah knew the piety already present in their hearts, and He tested their hearts for the piety that was already in them. If their hearts were not already filled with piety, He would not have commanded them to revere His Messenger and prefer His Prophet over themselves. Rather, He would have told them, "Believe in My Messenger, do not harm him, and do not deny him."

There is a great difference between one who is told, "Do not mock the Messenger of Allah, do not deny him, and do not harm him," and one who is told, "Do not raise your voice in his presence, do not give yourself importance before him, and do not speak loudly in his presence."

Know that the degree to which you prefer the Prophet (peace be upon him) over yourself in this world will correspond to the degree to which the Prophet (peace be upon him) will prefer you in the Hereafter. For no one will enter Paradise unless Allah admits the pious among his Ummah into Paradise.

If we adopt the second view (causation as a subsequent goal), its reality is that Allah, the Exalted, tested their hearts with the knowledge of Him and the knowledge of His Messenger for piety—meaning, so that Allah might grant them the piety that is the true piety of the righteous. This is the piety where, alongside the fear of Allah, one fears no one else. Thus, you see them safe from every frightening thing, not fearing poverty in this world, nor fearing misfortune in the Hereafter.

The discerning, intelligent person, if he knows that by fearing the ruler he is safe from the injustice of the servants, and by avoiding the base people he is saved from the might of the ruler, he makes the fear of the ruler a shield. Similarly, the scholar, if he reflects deeply, will know that salvation in both realms lies in the fear of Allah, and ruin lies in fearing others. Therefore, he makes the fear of Allah his shield, which he feels for himself in this world and the Hereafter.

Then the Almighty said: {For them is forgiveness and a great reward}.

We have already mentioned that forgiveness is the removal of sins that are inherently attached to the self in this world. The great reward points to the life after the soul departs this world, where Allah removes the bestial blemishes from it and clothes it with kingly virtues.

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