Ikrimah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: When this statement of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, was revealed:“If you do not go forth, He will punish you with a painful punishment and will replace you with another people” [__QUR_N__] , meaning if you do not go forth, Allah will give you a painful punishment and will bring another people in your place, the hypocrites said: There are still some people who have not gone forth, so have they been destroyed? And these were the people who had stayed behind to gain understanding in the religion and to admonish their people when they returned to them. So for them, Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, revealed this excuse:“So why should not a group from every division of them go forth to gain understanding in the religion and to warn their people when they return to them” [__QUR_N__] , meaning why should not a party from every group go forth so that they may gain understanding in the religion, and when they return to their people, they may warn them. And Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, revealed this verse about those hypocrites:“And those who dispute concerning Allah after He has been responded to, their argument is invalid with their Lord” [__QUR_N__] , meaning those who dispute about Allah after their matter has been accepted, their argument is invalid with their Lord.

Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: Do not say in these words, "We have returned from the prayer," because a people turned back so Allah the Exalted turned their hearts away. Rather, say: "We have performed the prayer."

Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) would not include any verse in the Qur'an until two men testified to it. Then an Ansari man came to him and informed him about the last two verses of Surah At-Tawbah: "There has certainly come to you..." (i.e., the Messenger of Allah has come to you). So Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I do not seek any other testimony from you regarding this; this matter is also established from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Thus, he included these verses in the Mushaf.

Abdur Rahman bin Yazid (may Allah have mercy on him) says that he, meaning a person, intended to join an army for a wage, so in the morning he was making preparations. I said to him: What happened to you? Did you not intend to go for a wage? He said: Why not, but I recited Surah Bara’ah, that is, At-Tawbah, at night and I heard that it encourages jihad.

Muhammad bin Sawqah (may Allah have mercy on him) says: I entered the palace of Kufa with ‘Awn bin ‘Abdullah (may Allah have mercy on him). I said to him: If you had seen us during the time of Hajjaj when we were brought into this palace and we were overcome with grief and distress! So ‘Awn said to me: Have you passed over it as if you never called upon Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, in hardship? Go to that place, give thanks to Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, and remember Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, there. Sufyan narrated words of the same meaning.

Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) used to recite this verse as: «قُلْ لَوْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ مَا تَلَوْتُهُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَلَا أَنْذَرْتُكُمْ بِهِ» That is, say: If Allah had willed, I would not have recited it to you, nor would I have warned you through it.

Raja bin Hayat, may Allah have mercy on him, says: I was in the mosque of Mina when a storyteller was narrating a story, so Raja bin Hayat said to me: Preserve these words. Then the storyteller began to say: There are three traits, whoever acts upon them, they will return upon him; deceit, oppression, and breaking a covenant. Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, has said: ﴿يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنَّمَا بَغْيُكُمْ عَلَىٰ أَنْفُسِكُمْ﴾ meaning: O people! Your oppression is only against yourselves, and He said: ﴿وَلَا يَحِيقُ الْمَكْرُ السَّيِّئُ إِلَّا بِأَهْلِهِ﴾ meaning: And evil plotting does not encompass except its own people, and He said: ﴿فَمَنْ نَكَثَ فَإِنَّمَا يَنْكُثُ عَلَىٰ نَفْسِهِ﴾ meaning: So whoever breaks [his covenant] , only breaks it against himself. Then he said: O people! There are three traits such that as long as you act upon them, Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, will not punish you; gratitude to Allah, supplication, and seeking forgiveness. Then he recited these verses: ﴿مَا يَفْعَلُ اللَّهُ بِعَذَابِكُمْ إِنْ شَكَرْتُمْ وَآمَنْتُمْ﴾ meaning: What would Allah do with your punishment if you are grateful and believe, and He said: ﴿قُلْ مَا يَعْبَأُ بِكُمْ رَبِّي لَوْلَا دُعَاؤُكُمْ﴾ meaning: Say: My Lord would not care for you were it not for your supplication, and He said: ﴿وَمَا كَانَ اللَّهُ مُعَذِّبَهُمْ وَهُمْ يَسْتَغْفِرُونَ﴾ meaning: And Allah would not punish them while they seek forgiveness.

Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said regarding Allah Almighty’s statement:“For those who do good is the best reward and even more”(__QUR_N__): The“even more”is a chamber of pearl which has four doors; its structure and its doors will all be made from a single pearl.

Abdur Rahman bin Sabit (may Allah have mercy on him) said: The increase is to look at the Face of your Lord, the Mighty and Majestic.

Alqamah (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked about excess, so he said: The reward for a good deed is given tenfold.