Tafsir of Ash-Shu`ara' 26:217

{And rely upon the Exalted in Might, the Merciful}

{And rely} upon Allah; He will suffice you against the evil of those who disobey you, whether they are from among them or others.

Tawakkul (Reliance) is a person entrusting their affair to the One who possesses their affair and has the power to benefit or harm them. It is said: The Mutawakkil (one who relies) is he who, when an affair overwhelms him, does not attempt to repel it from himself through an act of disobedience to Allah. Based on this, if a person falls into a trial and asks another for deliverance, he does not exit the bounds of Tawakkul, because he did not attempt to repel what befell him through disobedience to Allah.

In the codices of the people of Medina and the Levant, it is written {So rely} (fa-tawakkal), and this is how Nafi' and Ibn 'Amir recited it. It has two interpretations regarding the conjunction: either it is linked to {So say} or to {So do not invoke}.

{Upon the Exalted in Might, the Merciful} Upon the One who subdues your enemies with His might and grants you victory over them with His mercy.

{Who sees you when you arise [to pray] * And your movement among those who prostrate}

He then followed the mention of His being "Merciful" to His Messenger with the causes of that mercy: the mention of what he used to do in the depth of the night—his rising for Tahajjud (night prayer), and his movement while observing the states of those among his companions who were also performing Tahajjud. He would look upon them without them realizing, seeking to understand the secret of their affairs: how they worship Allah and how they work for their Hereafter.

It is narrated that when the obligation of the night prayer was abrogated, he walked that night by the houses of his companions to see what they were doing, out of his concern for them and for the acts of obedience and increase in good deeds they might perform. He found them like the houses of hornets, due to the humming sound he heard from them of the remembrance of Allah and recitation.

• "The prostrators" refers to those who pray.
• It is said: It means He sees you when you stand to lead the people in congregational prayer.
• "Your movement among the prostrators" refers to your changing positions among them—standing, bowing, prostrating, and sitting—when you lead them.
• Muqatil narrates that he asked Abu Hanifa (may Allah have mercy on him): "Do you find the congregational prayer in the Quran?" He replied: "It does not come to mind," then he recited this verse to him.
• It is also possible that it means: Your state is never hidden from Him whenever you stand and move among the prostrators in the fulfillment of religious matters.

{Indeed, it is He who is the Hearing} of what you say, {the Knowing} of what you intend and do.

It is also said: It refers to the movement of his (the Prophet's) sight among those praying behind him, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace be upon him): "Perfect your bowing and prostration, for by Allah, I see you from behind my back when you bow and prostrate."

It is also recited: {And He sees you} (wa-yuqallibuka).

{Shall I inform you upon whom the devils descend? * They descend upon every sinful liar * They cast what is heard, and most of them are liars.}