Tafsir of Al-An'am 6:52

Having mentioned the non-God-fearing among the Muslims and commanded that they be warned so they might become God-fearing, He followed this by mentioning the God-fearing among them. He commanded that they be drawn near and honored, and that the Prophet (ﷺ) should not obey those who desired otherwise regarding them. He praised them for "calling upon their Lord," meaning worshipping Him and persisting in it. The mention of "morning and evening" signifies constancy. It is also said it means they perform the dawn and afternoon prayers. He marked them with sincerity in their worship by saying, "desiring His Countenance," for "countenance" is an expression for the essence and reality of a thing.

The Occasion of Revelation It is narrated that leaders of the polytheists said to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ): "If you would send away these slaves"—meaning the poor Muslims, such as Ammar, Suhayb, Bilal, Khabbab, Salman, and their peers (may Allah be pleased with them and their wool cloaks)—"we would sit with you and converse with you." The Prophet (ﷺ) replied, "I will not send away the believers." They said, "Then make them stand away from us when we come; when we leave, you may seat them with you if you wish." He said, "Yes," hoping for their faith. It is narrated that Umar (ra) said, "If you were to do so, we might see what becomes of them." He said, "Write that down in a document," and called for a scroll and for Ali (ra) to write. Then this verse was revealed. He threw the scroll away, and Umar apologized for his suggestion.

Salman and Khabbab said: "It was revealed concerning us. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) would sit with us and draw near until his knees touched ours. When he wanted to rise, he would wait for us, until the verse was revealed: 'And keep yourself patient with those who call upon their Lord.' Thereafter, he would not rise until we rose from him, saying: 'Praise be to Allah who did not cause me to die until He commanded me to be patient with a people of my nation. With you is my life, and with you is my death.'"

"And not upon you is anything of their account" This is like His saying: "Their account is only upon my Lord" (Ash-Shu'ara: 113). This is because the polytheists had cast doubt upon their religion and sincerity. So He said, "Not upon you is anything of their account," after testifying to their sincerity and their desire for the Face of Allah in their deeds. The meaning is: Even if the matter were as they claim before Allah, you are only obligated to consider the outward appearance and the mark of the God-fearing. If they had an inward state that was not pleasing, their account is upon them and does not extend to you, just as your account is upon you and does not extend to them, as in His saying: "And no bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another" (Az-Zumar: 7).

If you ask: Was not the phrase "Not upon you is anything of their account" sufficient, without adding "nor is there anything of your account upon them"? I say: The two sentences are treated as one, intended to convey a single meaning, which is the meaning in His saying: "And no bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another." This meaning is not complete without both sentences together, as if it were said: Neither you nor they shall be held accountable for the account of the other. It is also said the pronoun refers to the polytheists; the meaning being: they are not held accountable for your account, nor you for theirs, so that you should be concerned with their faith or be moved by eagerness for it to the point of sending away the believers.

"Lest you become of the wrongdoers" "Lest you send them away" is the response to the negation; "lest you become" is the response to the prohibition. It is also permissible for it to be a conjunction to "send them away" in the sense of causation, because being a wrongdoer is caused by sending them away. It is also recited: "In the morning and the evening."

"And thus We have tried some of them through others, that they might say, 'Is it these whom Allah has favored among us?' Is not Allah most knowing of the grateful?"