At-Tawbah (The Repentance): (50-51) If good befalls you...

Know that this is another type of the hypocrisy of the hypocrites and the malice of their inner selves. The meaning is:

If a good thing befalls you in some battle—whether it is victory, spoils of war, or the submission of some border kings—it grieves them. And if a calamity befalls you, such as a setback, hardship, affliction, or misfortune, they rejoice in it, saying, "We have secured the position we are known for: caution, vigilance, and acting with prudence," meaning before what occurred. They then turn away from the place of discussing this and gathering for it, returning to their families, rejoicing and delighted.

It is narrated from Ibn Abbas that the "good" refers to the day of Badr, and the "misfortune" refers to the day of Uhud. If this interpretation is confirmed by reliable reports, it must be adopted. Otherwise, the obligation is to interpret it generally, applying to every good thing and every misfortune, since it is known of the hypocrites' state that they react to every good and every misfortune with the description Allah mentioned here.

Then the Almighty said: {Say: Nothing shall ever happen to us except what Allāh has ordained for us}. There are several views regarding this:

The First View: The meaning is that neither good nor evil, neither fear nor hope, neither hardship nor ease, shall befall us except that it is decreed for us and written by Allah. The fact that it is written by Allah indicates that it is known by Allah and decreed by Him. For anything else is possible, and the possible cannot be favored over its opposite except by the preference of the Necessary (Wajib). All possibilities ultimately terminate in His decree and predestination.

Know that our scholars rely on this verse to assert that Allah's decree encompasses all created things and that a change in what Allah has decreed is impossible. The establishment of this argument rests on several grounds:

1. The Necessary and the Possible: What exists is either necessary (Wajib) or possible (Mumkin). The possible cannot favor one of its two sides over the other by itself; therefore, it must ultimately depend on the preference of the Necessary (Wajib) by its very nature. Everything else becomes necessary through His creation, effect, and being. For this reason, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "The pen has dried regarding what is to occur until the Day of Resurrection."
2. Knowledge and Truth: Since Allah wrote down all states in the Preserved Tablet (al-Lawh al-Mahfūẓ), He has known them and judged them. If an event occurred contrary to what was written, it would necessitate the transformation of knowledge into ignorance and true judgment into falsehood, all of which are impossible. We have elaborated extensively on this debate in the exegesis of the verse: {Indeed, those who disbelieve, whether you warn them or do not warn them, it is all the same for them; they will not believe} (Al-Baqarah: 6).

If it is argued: Allah mentioned this statement only to console the Messenger regarding their joy at his sorrow and hardship. What connection does this doctrine have with that?

We reply: The connection lies in the Prophet's saying: "Whoever knows the secret of Allah concerning destiny, calamities become light for him." For when a person knows that what has occurred could not have not occurred, contention is removed from the soul, and contentment is achieved regarding it.

The Second View in interpreting this verse is that the meaning is: {Nothing shall ever happen to us except what Allāh has ordained for us} meaning concerning the outcome of our affair—victory over the enemy and dominance over them. The purpose is to show the hypocrites that although the circumstances of the Messenger and the Muslims vary between joy and grief, the ultimate outcome (the dominion, the conquest, the victory, and the triumph) will be on their side. This would then be a source of vexation for the hypocrites and a rebuttal to their joy.

The Third View: Al-Zajjaj said: The meaning is that if we become defeated, we become deserving of a great reward and immense recompense. And if we become victorious, we become deserving of reward in the Hereafter, and we attain abundant wealth and beautiful praise in this world. If this is the case, then those afflictions and sorrows become bearable compared to this attainment of high ranks.

Although these views are sound, the correct truth is the first one.

Then the Almighty said: {He is our Mawlā} (Our Protector/Master). What our scholars mean by this is that He, the Exalted, acts excellently in the world as He wills, because He is their Owner and their Creator, and because there is no objection to be raised against any of His actions. This statement aligns with what preceded it. Therefore, we say that even if Allah brings various types of calamities upon some of His servants, it is obligatory to be content with them because Allah is their Master and they are His servants. Thus, those actions are excellent on His part simply by virtue of Him being their Master, and no one has the right to object to any of His actions.

Then the Almighty said: {And upon Allāh let the believers rely}. This means that even though nothing is obligatory upon Allah towards any of the servants, He is nevertheless immensely Merciful, possessing great bounty and grace. Therefore, the believer must rely solely upon Him and cut off hope except from His bounty and mercy, because the phrase {And upon Allāh let the believers rely} implies restriction (Hasr). This serves as a reminder that the state of the hypocrites is the opposite: they rely only on worldly means and fleeting, immediate pleasures.

7 < { Say: Do you await for us except one of the two best things? And we await for you that Allāh will afflict you with a punishment from Himself or by our hands. So wait; indeed, we, along with you, are waiting. } > 7