'Abdullāh Ibn 'Abbās / Muḥammad al-Fīrūzabādī
تفسير : (and whomsoever it is allah's will to guide) to his religion, (he expandeth his bosom) his heart (unto the surrender) unto accepting islam, (and whomsoever it is his will to send astray) to leave in error and disbelief, (he maketh his bosom) he leaves his heart (close) like the ferrule of a spear (and narrow) in doubt; this could also mean: the light cannot find a way, or a passage to his heart (as if he were engaged in sheer ascent) like a person who is told to rise in heaven: the heart of such a person is not guided to islam. (thus allah layeth ignominy) allah leaves denial (upon those) in the heart of those (who believe not) in muhammad (pbuh), or in the qur'an, and then he punishes them for their disbelief.
Jalāl al-Dīn al-Maḥallī
تفسير : whomever god desires to guide, he expands his breast to islam, by casting into his heart a light which it [the heart] expands for and accepts, as reported in a hadīth; and whomever he, god, desires to send astray, he makes his breast narrow (read dayqan or dayyiqan), [unable] to accept it, and constricted, extremely tight (read harijan, ‘constricted’, as an adjective, or harajan as a verbal noun, by which it [the heart of the misguided one] is described hyperbolically) as if he were engaged in ascent (yassa‘‘ad, is also read as yassā‘ad: in both [forms] the original tā’ has been assimilated with the sād; a third [variant reading] has yas‘ad) to the heaven, when he is charged with [the obligations of] the faith, because of the hardship for him therein. so, like this making [of the breast narrow], god casts ignominy, chastisement, or [he casts] satan, that is, he gives him authority, over those who do not believe.
Sahl al-Tustari
تفسير : when god wishes to guide someone, he expands their breast to islam…sahl said:truly god has distinguished between the one who seeks (murīd) and the one who is [divinely] sought (murād), even though they are both from him (min ʿindihi). but he simply wanted to distinguish the elite (khuṣūṣ) from the generality (ʿumūm), and so he singled out the one who is sought (murād) in this sūra and others. he also mentioned the one who seeks (murīd), representing the generality, in this sūra in his words, exalted is he: do not drive away those who call upon their lord morning and evening, seeking his countenance [6:52]. this is the servant’s being intent (qaṣd) upon god in his every moment of activity and stillness (fī ḥarakātihi wa sukūnihi), just as he also said: and those who hearken to their lord and maintain the prayer… [42:38]. thus, whoever finds that he has the state of both the seeker and the sought, that is due to a grace (faḍl) from god to him. do you not see how he has brought them together in his words, exalted is he: whatever grace you have, it is from god [16:53]?he was asked, ‘why are they [murīd and murād] separated then?’ he said:the seeker who makes an effort to direct himself towards (qaṣd) god, exalted is he, and to worship him, and seeks the way to him, is still in the state of seeking (ṭalab). as for the sought, it refers to the establishment of worship for him by god, exalted is he. man has within himself that which [shows him] to be both a seeker (murīd) and one who is sought (murād). at one time, ⸢he enters into his acts of obedience [applying to them] struggle (mukābada) and striving (mujāhada), and this is [when he is] at the level of the seeker (murīd), when he may be stirred [into action] (tuhayyijahu) by the inducement of hope (raghba), or by fear (rahba). then at another time⸣, he finds himself carried through those acts without effort (taklīf) or striving (jahd), [and this is] a solicitude from god, exalted is he, towards him. then after that, he will move on to the highest stations (maqāmāt) and most elevated ranks (darajāt).[at this point] he was asked about the meaning of the stations (maqāmāt), and he replied:they are mentioned in the book of god, exalted is he, in the story about the angels, and there is not one of us but [that he] has a known station [37:164]. he has also said, all shall have degrees according to that which they have done [6:132].regarding the characteristic of the seeker (murīd), he said:the occupation of the seeker is the performance of what is obligatory, seeking forgiveness for sins committed, and seeking safety (salāma) from people.sahl said:truly, god, mighty and majestic is he, looks at the hearts and the hearts are with him; those that he finds to be the humblest towards him, he selects for what he wishes. then after that, come those [hearts] that are the quickest in turning back [to him]. these are the two qualities [of hearts].and he said:whenever god looks upon a heart and sees within it concern [or desire, hamm] for this world, he abhors it, and this abhorrence (maqt) is manifested through his abandoning it (tark) [the heart] along with [that person’s] soul. the heart is not owned by anyone except god most high, and it does not obey anyone except him. so, if you are mindful [of] it, deposit your secret with god, for if you entrust it to anyone besides god, mighty and majestic is he, that person will divulge it.his words:
