Al-Inshiqaq (The Sundering): (25) Except for those who believed...

There are two opinions regarding this exception:

1. The author of Al-Kashshaf holds that the exception is discontinuous (munqati').
2. The majority hold that it means: "Except for those among them who repent." Although they are currently disbelievers, once they repent, believe, and perform righteous deeds, they will have a reward, which is the great recompense.

Regarding the meaning of: {Those who believed and performed righteous deeds—for them is a reward unending} (or "uninterrupted," ghayr mamnūn), there are several interpretations:

1. That the reward reaches them without obligation (mann) or harm (adhā).
2. That it is without cessation (i.e., eternal).
3. That it is without any spoiling or diminishing (tanghīs).
4. That it is without any reduction (nuqṣān).

The preferable view is to interpret the word (mamnūn) to encompass all these meanings, because the complete attainment of the reward requires all these conditions to be met.

It is as if the Almighty promised them a reward that is pure from impurities, eternal without interruption, without diminution, and without being undervalued. This represents the ultimate promise, serving as an encouragement toward acts of worship, just as what preceded it served as a deterrent from sins.

And Allah, the Glorified and Exalted, knows best. Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds.