Tafsir of Al-Baqarah 2:5

"Those are upon guidance..." The sentence is in the nominative case if alladhīna yu’minūna bi-l-ghayb (those who believe in the unseen) is the subject (mubtada’); otherwise, it has no grammatical place.

The structure of the discourse on both views is this: If you intend the beginning to be with alladhīna yu’minūna bi-l-ghayb, you have treated it as an isti’nāf (resumption). When it was said, "Guidance for the God-fearing," and the God-fearing were singled out as having the Book as guidance, a questioner might ask: "Why are the God-fearing singled out for this?" Thus, the statement alladhīna yu’minūna bi-l-ghayb comes as an answer to this implied question. It brings the attributes of the God-fearing—which contain the qualities that made them worthy of God’s kindness and special treatment—to say: "Those whose beliefs and deeds are such are worthy of God guiding them and granting them success."

An analogy is saying: "I love the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) and the Ansar who fought for him and removed distress from his face; those are worthy of love."

If you make it a follower (tābi’) of "the God-fearing," then the isti’nāf begins at "Those" (ulā’ika). It is as if it were asked: "Why have those who possess these qualities been singled out for guidance?" The answer is: "Those who are described in this way are not unlikely to win—to the exclusion of others—guidance in this world and success in the Hereafter."

Know that this type of isti’nāf sometimes comes by repeating the noun of the one about whom the speech was resumed (e.g., "I have done good to Zayd; Zayd is worthy of kindness"), and sometimes by repeating his attribute (e.g., "I have done good to Zayd, your old friend; he is worthy of that from you"). Resumption by repeating the attribute is better and more eloquent, as it contains the explanation and summary of the cause.

If you ask: "Is it permissible for the first relative pronoun (alladhīna) to follow 'the God-fearing,' and for the second (ulā’ika) to be in the nominative as a subject with its predicate?" I say: Yes, provided that their being singled out for guidance and success is an allusion to the People of the Book who did not believe in the prophethood of the Messenger of God (peace be upon him), while they imagine they are on guidance and hope to attain success with God.

In the demonstrative pronoun "Those" (ulā’ika), there is an indication that those who follow it are worthy of attaining what was mentioned before it, due to the excellent qualities enumerated for them. As Hatim said, describing a poor man with noble qualities, then concluding: "If he dies, his praise suffices me; and if he lives, he does not sit down weak and disgraced."

The meaning of "elevation" in "upon guidance" (‘alā hudan) is a metaphor for their firm grasp of guidance, their stability upon it, and their adherence to it. Their state is likened to one who has mounted and ridden something. Similar expressions are "he is upon truth" or "upon falsehood." They have explicitly used this in their sayings: "He made error a mount," "he rode ignorance," and "he sat upon the hump of desire."

The meaning of "guidance from their Lord" is that they were granted it from Him and given it by Him. It is the kindness and success (tawfīq) that supported them in performing good deeds and ascending to what is better and better.

"Guidance" (hudan) is indefinite to denote an unspecified type, the essence of which cannot be reached and the magnitude of which cannot be estimated. It is as if it were said: "Upon what kind of guidance?" just as you say, "If you saw so-and-so, you would have seen a man." The Hudhayli poet said: "No, by the father of the birds that linger in the morning upon Khalid, he has indeed fallen upon meat."

Regarding the nūn in "from their Lord" (min rabbihim), it is assimilated with and without nasalization (ghunnah). Al-Kisa’i, Hamzah, Yazid, Warsh (in one narration), and al-Hashimi from Ibn Kathir did not nasalize it, while the others did, except for Abu ‘Amr, for whom two narrations exist.

The repetition of "Those" (ulā’ika) is a warning that just as the distinction of guidance is established for them, so too is the distinction of success. Each of these two distinctions is placed in such a position that, were it alone, it would suffice as a unique identifier.

If you ask: "Why did it come with a conjunction (wa), and what is the difference between it and the verse, 'Those are like livestock; nay, they are more astray. Those are the heedless' (Al-A‘raf: 179)?" I say: The two predicates here are different, hence the conjunction entered. Unlike the other verse, where the two predicates are identical—for branding them with heedlessness and likening them to beasts is one and the same—the second sentence there is a confirmation of the first, and thus it is far from being a conjunction.

"They" (hum) is a separator (faṣl). Its benefit is to indicate that what follows it is a predicate, not an attribute; it serves for emphasis and to mandate that the benefit of the predicate is fixed for the subject to the exclusion of others. Or, it is a subject, and al-mufliḥūn (the successful) is its predicate, and the sentence is the predicate of ulā’ika.

The meaning of the definite article in "the successful" (al-mufliḥūn) is to indicate that the God-fearing are the very people you heard would be successful in the Hereafter. It is like when you hear that someone from your town has repented, and you ask who it is, and it is said: "Zayd, the repentant one"—meaning he is the one whose repentance you were told about. Or, it means that if the quality of the successful is realized and they are envisioned in their true form, then they are indeed those people; they do not deviate from that reality. Just as you say to your companion, "Do you know the lion and the extreme courage he is built upon? Zayd is truly that."

Look at how God, the Almighty, repeated the warning regarding the God-fearing being singled out for what no one else attains, through various methods: the mention of the demonstrative pronoun, its repetition, the definite article for "the successful," and the insertion of the separator between it and ulā’ika. This is to make you see their ranks, to make you desire what they sought, to energize you to offer what they offered, and to discourage you from empty greed, false hope, and wishing from God what His wisdom does not necessitate and His word has not preceded.

O God, adorn us with the garment of piety and gather us in the company of those with whose mention the Surah of Al-Baqarah began.

Al-mufliḥ is the one who attains his goal, as if the doors of victory have opened for him and have not been locked. Al-muflij (with a jīm) is the same. From this is their saying to a divorced woman, "Seek your success (istafliḥī) in your affair," with both ḥā’ and jīm. The root indicates the meaning of splitting and opening, as do its cognates in fā’ and ‘ayn, such as falaqa (to split), faladha (to slice), and falā (to examine/split).