يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ مَن يَرْتَدَّ مِنكُمْ عَن دِينِهِۦ فَسَوْفَ يَأْتِى ٱللَّهُ بِقَوْمٍ يُحِبُّهُمْ وَيُحِبُّونَهُۥٓ
"O you who believe! Whoever among you turns back from his religion — God will bring a people whom He loves and who love Him: humble towards the believers, unyielding towards the deniers; they strive in the way of God and fear no reproacher's reproach."
The order of the sentence should be recorded: He loves first, then they love. The verb is the same root (ح-ب-ب), in two directions, and which side is given priority is plain.
| Attribute | Root | What it conveys |
|---|---|---|
| Adhillatin ʿala'l-muʾminīn | ذ-ل-ل | Gentle, humble towards the believers |
| Aʿizzatin ʿala'l-kāfirīn | ع-ز-ز | Unyielding, unbowed towards the deniers |
| Yujāhidūna fī sabīli'llāh | ج-ه-د | Effort for the way |
| Wa lā yakhāfūna lawmata lāʾim | ل-و-م | Carrying no fear of reproach |
A note on the language of the root ذ-ل-ل is needed: the root gives both dhill (humiliation) and dhalūl (docile, a broken-in mount). The lexicographers distinguish the first as by force and the second as willing. Here the preposition is ʿalā — adhillatin ʿala'l-muʾminīn — and the lexicographers record that this gives the sense "gentle towards them, bending towards them".
The same pair was treated in other words at al-Fatḥ 48/29 (ashiddāʾu ʿala'l-kuffāri ruḥamāʾu baynahum); I rely on that treatment. The two verses build the same two-directional stance.
وَلَا يَخَافُونَ لَوْمَةَ لَآئِمٍ — and the fourth attribute is the condition of the one before it: a man who fears reproach cannot hold in two directions.
And the prohibition of verse fifty-one finds its positive counterpart here. Innamā is a particle of restriction: your protector is only this.
I record this as an observation about the structure: the text first says which bond of protection is not to be formed, then which one is. The prohibition is not left in a void.
ٱلَّذِينَ يُقِيمُونَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَيُؤْتُونَ ٱلزَّكَوٰةَ وَهُمْ رَٰكِعُونَ — the exegetes differ on whom this phrase points to, and the disagreement is not concealed:
| View | Content |
|---|---|
| A | Wa hum rākiʿūn is a circumstantial clause completing the general description: believers who keep up the prayer, give the alms and bow down |
| B | The phrase points to a particular event, and this is transmitted in the classical sources |
No preference is adopted in this commentary and the detail of the reports is not entered into. But that the word rukūʿ is used in the Qurʾān both for the bowing in prayer and for submission in general is a fact of the language.
فَإِنَّ حِزْبَ ٱللَّهِ هُمُ ٱلْغَٰلِبُونَ (56) — ḥizb (ح-ز-ب): a group that has come together, a party. The phrase was treated at al-Mujādala 58/22 (ulāʾika ḥizbu'llāh).