'Abdullāh Ibn 'Abbās / Muḥammad al-Fīrūzabādī
تفسير : (muhammad is the messenger of allah) and this without the witness of suhayl ibn 'amr. (and those with him) i.e. abu bakr, the first who believed in him and called the disbelievers with him to the religion of allah (are hard against the disbelievers) this refers to 'umar ibn al-khattab who was tough with the enemies of allah, strong in the religion of allah and a defender of allah's messenger (and merciful among themselves) and dutiful towards each other; this refers to 'uthman ibn 'affan who was very dutiful and merciful towards the muslims, and spent much of his money on them. (thou (o muhammad) seest them bowing) in prayer (and falling prostrate (in worship)) this refers to 'ali ibn abi talib who abundantly bowed and prostrated in prayer, (seeking bounty) reward (from allah and (his) acceptance) acceptance of their lord through jihad; this refers to talhah and al-zubayr who were very hard on, and tough with, the disbelievers. (the mark of them is on their foreheads from) the sign of their staying awake is on their faces from (the traces of prostration) from repeated prostration at night; this refers to salman al-farisi, bilal, suhayb and their fellow believers. (such is their likeness) their description (in the torah and their likeness) and their description in (in the gospel like as sown corn) this is the prophet (pbuh) (that) allah (sendeth forth its shoot) i.e. abu bakr, the first to believe in him and the first to face the enemies of allah (and strengtheneth it) and assists him; this is 'umar who assisted the prophet (pbuh) with his sword against the enemies of allah (and riseth firm) he became strong with the wealth of 'uthman which he used in jihad in the way of allah (upon its stalk) and spread his message among quraysh through 'ali ibn abi talib, (delighting the sowers) the prophet (pbuh) was pleased with talhah and al-zubayr (that he may enrage the disbelievers with (the sight of) them) by means of talhah and al-zubayr. it is also said that from allah's saying (muhammad is the messenger of allah…) up to here was revealed in praise of those who took part in the swearing of allegiance at ridwan and the sincere, obedient prophetic companions in general. (allah hath promised, unto such of them as believe) in muhammad (pbuh) and the qur'an (and do good works) and do acts of obedience in private between themselves and their lord, (forgiveness) of their sins in this world and in the hereafter (and immense reward) and abundant reward in the garden'.
Jalāl al-Dīn al-Maḥallī
تفسير : muhammad (the subject) is the messenger of god (its predicate) and those who are with him, that is, his companions from among the believers (wa’lladhīna ma‘ahu, [another] subject, the predicate of which [is the following, ashiddā’u]) are hard, tough, against the disbelievers, showing them no mercy [but], merciful among themselves (ruhamā’u is a second predicate [of wa’lladhīna ma‘ahu, ‘and those who are with him’]), that is to say, they show mutual sympathy and affection for one another, much like a father and a son. you see, you observe, them bowing, prostrating [in worship] (both rukka‘an and sujjadan are circumstantial qualifiers). they seek (yabtaghūna is the beginning of a new sentence) bounty from god and beatitude. their mark (sīmāhum is a subject), their distinguishing feature, is on their faces (fī wujūhihim is its predicate): this is a light and a radiance by which, in the hereafter, they will be recognised as having been those who used to prostrate in this world, from the effect of prostration (min athari’l-sujūdi is semantically connected to the same thing to which the predicate is semantically connected, that is to say, kā’inatan, ‘[this] being [from the effect of prostration]’; syntactically, it is a circumstantial qualifier referring to the subject [of kā’inatan], which is also the subject of the predicate [sc. wujūhihim, ‘their faces’]). that, mentioned description, is their description (mathaluhum is the subject) in the torah (fī’l-tawrāti is the predicate thereof); and their description in the gospel (wa-mathaluhum fī’l-injīli, is a subject, the predicate of which is [what follows]) is as a seed that sends forth its shoot (read shat’ahu or shata’ahu) and strengthens it (read āzarahu or azarahu), nourishing it and assisting it, and it grows stout and rises firmly, becoming strong and upright, upon its stalk, its roots (sūq is the plural of sāq), delighting the sowers, that is to say those who planted it, on account of its fairness. the companions, may god be pleased with them, are being described in this way, for at the outset they were weak and very few in number; but then their number grew and they acquired strength in the most wholesome way, so that he may enrage the disbelievers by them (li-yaghīza bihimu’l-kuffāra is semantically connected to an omitted clause, which is suggested by what preceded, that is to say, ‘they are likened to this [so that god may enrage the disbelievers]’). god has promised those of them who believe and perform righteous deeds, the companions (minhum, ‘of them’: min, ‘of’, is an indicator of the genus and not partitive, for they are all possessed of the mentioned attributes) forgiveness and a great reward — paradise. both of these [rewards] will also be given to those who will come after them, as is stated in other verses.
Sahl al-Tustari
تفسير : …the mark is on their faces, from the effect of their prostrations…he said:the believer (muʾmin) in god is a face without a reverse side, [since he is] advancing towards him without ever turning back from him. this is the mark of the believers. ʿĀmir b. ʿabd al-qays said, ‘it is almost as if the face of a believer is informing [us] of that which is hidden within him, and the same can be said of the face of the disbeliever.’ this is what is meant by his words: the mark is on their faces. ibn masʿūd <img border="0" src="images/radeyallahanhom.jpg" width="24" height="22"> said, ‘the secret of the believer is a mantle over him’. but god, glorified and exalted is he, knows best.his words, exalted is he:
