You can only warn him who listens to the warning and fears Ar-Rahman secretly. So give him good news of forgiveness and a generous reward.
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Tafseer
'Abdullāh Ibn 'Abbās / Muḥammad al-Fīrūzabādī
تفسير : (thou warnest only) your warning by means of the qur'an benefits only (him who followeth the reminder) i.e. the qur'an and acts upon its teachings, like abu bakr and his fellow believers (and feareth the beneficent in secret) and works for the beneficent even though he does not see him. (to him bear tidings of forgiveness) of his sins in the life of this world (and a rich reward) and a fair reward in paradise.
Jalāl al-Dīn al-Maḥallī
تفسير : you can only warn, in other words, your warning will only benefit, him who follows the remembrance, the qur’ān, and fears the compassionate one in secret, who fears him despite not having seen him; so give him the good tidings of forgiveness and a noble reward, namely, paradise.
Sahl al-Tustari
تفسير : you can only warn him who follows the remembrance, and fears the compassionate one in secret…he said:the one who worships god in his innermost secret (sirr), will be endowed with certainty (yaqīn) by god. the one who worships god with a truthful tongue, will find his heart ascends to the very throne. the one who worships god with equity (inṣāf), will have the heavens and the earth weigh [in his favour]. he was asked, ‘what is equity (inṣāf) [in worship]?’ he replied:it is that none of your bodily members moves unless it be for god. furthermore, when you ask him for the next day’s provision (rizq), your equity has left you, for the heart cannot bear two concerns (hammān). equity between you and other people is when you take from them with the attitude that you are receiving a favour. however, if you demand to be treated justly, that means you are not being equitable. it was related of john the baptist and jesus <img border="0" src="images/alyhialsalam.jpg" width="34" height="19"> that they went out walking, and john bumped into a woman, upon which jesus said to him, ‘o son of my maternal aunt! today you have committed a grave sin for which i do not think god will forgive you.’ he responded, ‘and what is that?’ he said, ‘you bumped into a woman.’ he said, ‘by god, i did not notice her.’ jesus said ‘glory be to god! your body is with me but where is your heart?’ he said, ‘it is attached to the throne, and if my heart were to find rest with the angel gabriel <img border="0" src="images/alyhialsalam.jpg" width="34" height="19"> for just a blinking of the eye, i would consider myself as not having known god, mighty and majestic is he.’his words:
