وَمَا كَانَ لِنَبِىٍّ أَن يَغُلَّ ۚ وَمَن يَغْلُلْ يَأْتِ بِمَا غَلَّ يَوْمَ ٱلْقِيَٰمَةِ ۚ ثُمَّ تُوَفَّىٰ كُلُّ نَفْسٍۢ مَّا كَسَبَتْ وَهُمْ لَا يُظْلَمُونَ
A prophet may not breach his trust, and whoever breaches his trust will bring his breaches on the Day of Resurrection; then every soul shall be recompensed fully for what it has earned, and they will not be wronged.
أَفَمَنِ ٱتَّبَعَ رِضْوَٰنَ ٱللَّهِ كَمَنۢ بَآءَ بِسَخَطٍۢ مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ وَمَأْوَىٰهُ جَهَنَّمُ ۚ وَبِئْسَ ٱلْمَصِيرُ
Is he who follows [the course of] Allah’s pleasure like him who earns Allah’s displeasure and whose refuge is hell, an evil destination?
هُمْ دَرَجَٰتٌ عِندَ ٱللَّهِ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ بَصِيرٌۢ بِمَا يَعْمَلُونَ
They have ranks with Allah, and Allah watches what they do.
لَقَدْ مَنَّ ٱللَّهُ عَلَى ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ إِذْ بَعَثَ فِيهِمْ رَسُولًۭا مِّنْ أَنفُسِهِمْ يَتْلُوا۟ عَلَيْهِمْ ءَايَٰتِهِۦ وَيُزَكِّيهِمْ وَيُعَلِّمُهُمُ ٱلْكِتَٰبَ وَٱلْحِكْمَةَ وَإِن كَانُوا۟ مِن قَبْلُ لَفِى ضَلَٰلٍۢ مُّبِينٍ
Allah certainly favoured the faithful when He raised up among them an apostle from among themselves to recite to them His signs and to purify them and teach them the Book and wisdom, and earlier they had indeed been in manifest error.
أَوَلَمَّآ أَصَٰبَتْكُم مُّصِيبَةٌۭ قَدْ أَصَبْتُم مِّثْلَيْهَا قُلْتُمْ أَنَّىٰ هَٰذَا ۖ قُلْ هُوَ مِنْ عِندِ أَنفُسِكُمْ ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍۢ قَدِيرٌۭ
What, when an affliction visits you—while you have inflicted twice as much—do you say, ‘How is this?’! Say, ‘This is from your own souls.’ Indeed Allah has power over all things.
وَمَآ أَصَٰبَكُمْ يَوْمَ ٱلْتَقَى ٱلْجَمْعَانِ فَبِإِذْنِ ٱللَّهِ وَلِيَعْلَمَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ
What befell you on the day when the two hosts met, was by Allah’s permission, so that He may ascertain the faithful,
وَلِيَعْلَمَ ٱلَّذِينَ نَافَقُوا۟ ۚ وَقِيلَ لَهُمْ تَعَالَوْا۟ قَٰتِلُوا۟ فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ أَوِ ٱدْفَعُوا۟ ۖ قَالُوا۟ لَوْ نَعْلَمُ قِتَالًۭا لَّٱتَّبَعْنَٰكُمْ ۗ هُمْ لِلْكُفْرِ يَوْمَئِذٍ أَقْرَبُ مِنْهُمْ لِلْإِيمَٰنِ ۚ يَقُولُونَ بِأَفْوَٰهِهِم مَّا لَيْسَ فِى قُلُوبِهِمْ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا يَكْتُمُونَ
and ascertain the hypocrites. [When] they were told: ‘Come, fight in the way of Allah, or defend [yourselves], they said, ‘If we knew any fighting, we would have surely followed you.’ That day they were nearer to unfaith than to faith. They say with their mouths what is not in their hearts, and Allah knows well whatever they conceal.
ٱلَّذِينَ قَالُوا۟ لِإِخْوَٰنِهِمْ وَقَعَدُوا۟ لَوْ أَطَاعُونَا مَا قُتِلُوا۟ ۗ قُلْ فَٱدْرَءُوا۟ عَنْ أَنفُسِكُمُ ٱلْمَوْتَ إِن كُنتُمْ صَٰدِقِينَ
Those who said of their brethren, while they themselves sat back: ‘Had they obeyed us, they would not have been killed.’ Say, ‘Then keep death off from yourselves, if you are truthful.’
وَلَا تَحْسَبَنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ قُتِلُوا۟ فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ أَمْوَٰتًۢا ۚ بَلْ أَحْيَآءٌ عِندَ رَبِّهِمْ يُرْزَقُونَ
Do not suppose those who were slain in the way of Allah to be dead; no, they are living and provided for near their Lord,
فَرِحِينَ بِمَآ ءَاتَىٰهُمُ ٱللَّهُ مِن فَضْلِهِۦ وَيَسْتَبْشِرُونَ بِٱلَّذِينَ لَمْ يَلْحَقُوا۟ بِهِم مِّنْ خَلْفِهِمْ أَلَّا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ
exulting in what Allah has given them out of His grace, and rejoicing for those who have not yet joined them from [those left] behind them, that they will have no fear, nor will they grieve.
۞ يَسْتَبْشِرُونَ بِنِعْمَةٍۢ مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ وَفَضْلٍۢ وَأَنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يُضِيعُ أَجْرَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ
They rejoice in Allah’s blessing and grace, and that Allah does not waste the reward of the faithful.
ٱلَّذِينَ ٱسْتَجَابُوا۟ لِلَّهِ وَٱلرَّسُولِ مِنۢ بَعْدِ مَآ أَصَابَهُمُ ٱلْقَرْحُ ۚ لِلَّذِينَ أَحْسَنُوا۟ مِنْهُمْ وَٱتَّقَوْا۟ أَجْرٌ عَظِيمٌ
Those who responded to Allah and the Apostle [even] after they had been wounded—for those of them who have been virtuous and Godwary there shall be a great reward.
ٱلَّذِينَ قَالَ لَهُمُ ٱلنَّاسُ إِنَّ ٱلنَّاسَ قَدْ جَمَعُوا۟ لَكُمْ فَٱخْشَوْهُمْ فَزَادَهُمْ إِيمَٰنًۭا وَقَالُوا۟ حَسْبُنَا ٱللَّهُ وَنِعْمَ ٱلْوَكِيلُ
—Those to whom the people said, ‘All the people have gathered against you, so fear them.’ That only increased them in faith, and they said, ‘Allah is sufficient for us, and He is an excellent trustee.’
فَٱنقَلَبُوا۟ بِنِعْمَةٍۢ مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ وَفَضْلٍۢ لَّمْ يَمْسَسْهُمْ سُوٓءٌۭ وَٱتَّبَعُوا۟ رِضْوَٰنَ ٱللَّهِ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ ذُو فَضْلٍ عَظِيمٍ
So they returned with Allah’s blessing and grace, untouched by any harm. They pursued the pleasure of Allah, and Allah is dispenser of a great grace.
إِنَّمَا ذَٰلِكُمُ ٱلشَّيْطَٰنُ يُخَوِّفُ أَوْلِيَآءَهُۥ فَلَا تَخَافُوهُمْ وَخَافُونِ إِن كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ
That is only Satan frightening [you] of his followers! So fear them not, and fear Me, should you be faithful.
وَلَا يَحْزُنكَ ٱلَّذِينَ يُسَٰرِعُونَ فِى ٱلْكُفْرِ ۚ إِنَّهُمْ لَن يَضُرُّوا۟ ٱللَّهَ شَيْـًۭٔا ۗ يُرِيدُ ٱللَّهُ أَلَّا يَجْعَلَ لَهُمْ حَظًّۭا فِى ٱلْءَاخِرَةِ ۖ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ
Do not grieve for those who are active in unfaith; they will not hurt Allah in the least: Allah desires to give them no share in the Hereafter, and there is a great punishment for them.
إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱشْتَرَوُا۟ ٱلْكُفْرَ بِٱلْإِيمَٰنِ لَن يَضُرُّوا۟ ٱللَّهَ شَيْـًۭٔا وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌۭ
Those who have bought unfaith for faith will not hurt Allah in the least, and there is a painful punishment for them.
وَلَا يَحْسَبَنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوٓا۟ أَنَّمَا نُمْلِى لَهُمْ خَيْرٌۭ لِّأَنفُسِهِمْ ۚ إِنَّمَا نُمْلِى لَهُمْ لِيَزْدَادُوٓا۟ إِثْمًۭا ۚ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌۭ مُّهِينٌۭ
Let the faithless not suppose that the respite that We grant them is good for their souls: We give them respite only that they may increase in sin, and there is a humiliating punishment for them.
مَّا كَانَ ٱللَّهُ لِيَذَرَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ عَلَىٰ مَآ أَنتُمْ عَلَيْهِ حَتَّىٰ يَمِيزَ ٱلْخَبِيثَ مِنَ ٱلطَّيِّبِ ۗ وَمَا كَانَ ٱللَّهُ لِيُطْلِعَكُمْ عَلَى ٱلْغَيْبِ وَلَٰكِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَجْتَبِى مِن رُّسُلِهِۦ مَن يَشَآءُ ۖ فَـَٔامِنُوا۟ بِٱللَّهِ وَرُسُلِهِۦ ۚ وَإِن تُؤْمِنُوا۟ وَتَتَّقُوا۟ فَلَكُمْ أَجْرٌ عَظِيمٌۭ
Allah will not leave the faithful in your present state, until He has separated the bad ones from the good. Allah will not acquaint you with the Unseen, but Allah chooses whomever He wishes from His apostles. So have faith in Allah and His apostles; and if you are faithful and Godwary, there shall be a great reward for you.
وَلَا يَحْسَبَنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ يَبْخَلُونَ بِمَآ ءَاتَىٰهُمُ ٱللَّهُ مِن فَضْلِهِۦ هُوَ خَيْرًۭا لَّهُم ۖ بَلْ هُوَ شَرٌّۭ لَّهُمْ ۖ سَيُطَوَّقُونَ مَا بَخِلُوا۟ بِهِۦ يَوْمَ ٱلْقِيَٰمَةِ ۗ وَلِلَّهِ مِيرَٰثُ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ خَبِيرٌۭ
Let the stingy not suppose that [their grudging] what Allah has given them out of His bounty is good for them; no, it is bad for them. They will be collared with what they grudge on the Day of Resurrection. To Allah belongs the heritage of the heavens and the earth, and Allah is well aware of what you do.
English translation: Ali Quli Qarai
Sources present: Ṭabarsī, Majmaʿ al-Bayān [tabarsi_majma_al_bayan]; Ṭūsī, al-Tibyān [tusi_al_tibyan]; Baḥrānī, al-Burhān [bahrani_al_burhan]; al-Qummī, Tafsīr al-Qummī [qummi]; An Enlightening Commentary [enlightening_commentary]. — Ṭabāṭabāʾī's al-Mīzān is SILENT for this passage: its volume for Āl ʿImrān 121–200 is not on al-islam.org (404) and almizan.org is an unscrapable JS app; al-Mīzān was not retrieved (marked is_silent, not invented).
The passage clears the Prophet of any fraud over the spoils (v.161), contrasts those who follow God's pleasure with those who incur His wrath (vv.162–163), recalls the favour of the messenger (v.164) and the self-caused calamity of Uḥud (vv.165–168), declares the slain in God's path alive and provided for (vv.169–171), praises the steadfast who answered "God suffices us" at Ḥamrāʾ al-Asad (vv.172–174), and warns of the disbelievers' respite, the sifting of the community, and the collar of the misers (vv.175–180).
1. The Prophet's integrity over the spoils (v.161). All read the ghulūl-verse as clearing the Prophet (the missing red qaṭīfa of Badr) and warning that the defrauder bears his fraud on the Day; al-Qummī and al-Burhān add al-Bāqir's "he will see it in the Fire and be charged to bring it out." [tabarsi_majma_al_bayan] [tusi_al_tibyan] [bahrani_al_burhan] [qummi]
2. The self-caused calamity (vv.165–168). All read "whence is this? — from yourselves" as the fruit of disobedience (and the Badr-ransom choice), and the hypocrites' "had we known fighting we would have followed." [tabarsi_majma_al_bayan] [tusi_al_tibyan] [bahrani_al_burhan] [qummi]
3. The living martyrs (vv.169–171). All read the slain in God's path as alive, provided for, and rejoicing for those left behind. [tabarsi_majma_al_bayan] [tusi_al_tibyan] [bahrani_al_burhan] [qummi] Ṭabarsī adds the green-birds ḥadīth and a long martyrdom-reward report. [tabarsi_majma_al_bayan]
4. "God suffices us" (vv.172–174). All read the response at Ḥamrāʾ al-Asad after Uḥud — the threat that "the people have gathered against you" increasing the believers' faith, who said ḥasbunā Allāh wa-niʿma al-wakīl. [tabarsi_majma_al_bayan] [tusi_al_tibyan] [bahrani_al_burhan] [qummi]
5. The respite, the sifting, and the misers' collar (vv.178–180). All read the disbelievers' respite as "that they may increase in sin," and the misers' hoarding as a collar on the Day; al-Qummī and al-Burhān specify the zakat-withholder's fiery-serpent collar. [tabarsi_majma_al_bayan] [tusi_al_tibyan] [bahrani_al_burhan] [qummi]
1. "Those who follow God's pleasure" = the Imams (vv.162–163). al-Burhān (al-Ṣādiq, to ʿAmmār): "those who follow God's pleasure are the Imams… they are degrees for the believers; by their wilāya God multiplies deeds — and 'one who incurs God's wrath' are those who denied the right of ʿAlī and the Imams." [bahrani_al_burhan] The philologists read it generally (the believer vs. the unbeliever, of high vs. base degree). [tabarsi_majma_al_bayan] [tusi_al_tibyan]
2. "The martyrs are alive" = "our Shīʿa" (vv.169–170). al-Qummī and al-Burhān (al-Ṣādiq, al-Bāqir) gloss the living martyrs as "our Shīʿa" who rejoice for the believers left behind — a refutation of those who deny post-mortem requital. [qummi] [bahrani_al_burhan] The philologists read them as the slain of Badr/Uḥud/Biʾr Maʿūna. [tabarsi_majma_al_bayan] [tusi_al_tibyan]
3. "God suffices us" = ʿAlī's word (vv.172–174). al-Burhān and al-Qummī assign the verse to ʿAlī — at Ḥamrāʾ al-Asad (his scouting the enemy's intent) and the ʿAlī-and-ʿAmmār mission to Mecca, where he answered Nuʿaym b. Masʿūd's threat with ḥasbunā Allāh. [bahrani_al_burhan] [qummi] Ṭabarsī also names ʿAlī as the scout (via ʿAlī b. Ibrāhīm) but reads the verse of the band generally. [tabarsi_majma_al_bayan]
4. The favour of the messenger (v.164). al-Qummī and al-Burhān: "this verse is for the Family of Muhammad." [qummi] [bahrani_al_burhan] The philologists read "a messenger of themselves" as of the believers' own kind/lineage. [tabarsi_majma_al_bayan] [tusi_al_tibyan]
The Uḥud reckoning continues and closes here: the Prophet's spotless integrity over the spoils; the gulf between those who seek God's pleasure and those who earn His wrath; the favour of the sent messenger; the self-inflicted nature of the defeat; the consoling certainty that the fallen are alive and provided for; the steadfast pursuit of the fleeing enemy with "God suffices us"; and the warnings against envying the disbelievers' respite, against the unsifted state of the community, and against miserliness. On the plain sense and the historical frame (Badr, Uḥud, Ḥamrāʾ al-Asad, the misers' collar) all the present sources agree, often verbatim. The Imāmī contributions, carried by al-Qummī and al-Burhān, identify the verses' actors devotionally — "those who follow God's pleasure" are the Imams and "those who incur wrath" the deniers of their right; the living martyrs are "our Shīʿa"; the favour of the messenger is "for the Family of Muhammad"; and "God suffices us" is ʿAlī's word at Ḥamrāʾ al-Asad and the Mecca mission. The philologists (Ṭūsī, Ṭabarsī) handle the qirāʾāt (yaghulla/yughalla; qutilū/quttilū), the occasions, the nature of the martyrs' life, and the rich martyrdom ḥadīth; both traditions share the vivid zakat-withholder's-collar ḥadīth of v.180. al-Mīzān is absent by retrieval failure — a specialist should consult Ṭabāṭabāʾī's vv.161–180 in a print edition. al-Burhān's and al-Qummī's narration- and Uḥud-aftermath sets were rendered representatively, and the qirāʾāt/grammar of Ṭabarsī and Ṭūsī for sense.