Concerning Allah's statement,

﴿وَأَنَّا ظَنَنَّآ أَن لَّن نُّعْجِزَ اللَّهَ فِى الاٌّرْضِ وَلَن نُّعْجِزَهُ هَرَباً ﴾

(And we think that we cannot escape Allah in the earth, nor can we escape Him by flight.) meaning, `we know that the power of Allah is decisive over us and that we cannot escape Him in the earth. Even if we try to flee, we know that He has complete control over us and that none of us can escape Him.'

﴿وَأَنَّا لَمَّا سَمِعْنَا الْهُدَى ءَامَنَّا بِهِ﴾

(And indeed when we heard the Guidance, we believed therein,) They were proud of this, and it is something for them to be proud of, as well as a great honor for them and a good characteristic. Concerning their statement,

﴿فَمَن يُؤْمِن بِرَبِّهِ فَلاَ يَخَافُ بَخْساً وَلاَ رَهَقاً﴾

(and whosoever believes in his Lord shall have no fear, either of a decrease in the reward of his good deeds or an increase in the punishment for his sins.) Ibn `Abbas, Qatadah and others said, "This means, he should not fear that the reward for his good deeds will be decreased or that he will be burdened with anything other than his sins.'' This is as Allah says,

﴿فَلاَ يَخَافُ ظُلْماً وَلاَ هَضْماً﴾

(Then he will have no fear of injustice, nor of any curtailment.) (20:112)

﴿وَأَنَّا مِنَّا الْمُسْلِمُونَ وَمِنَّا الْقَـسِطُونَ﴾

(And of us some are Muslims, and of us some are Al-Qasitun.) meaning, `among us there is the Muslim and the Qasit.' The Qasit is he who behaves unjustly with the truth and deviates from it. This is the opposite of the Muqsit, the one who is just.

﴿فَمَنْ أَسْلَمَ فَأُوْلَـئِكَ تَحَرَّوْاْ رَشَداً﴾

(And whosoever has embraced Islam, then such have sought the right path.) meaning, they sought salvation for themselves.

﴿وَأَمَّا الْقَـسِطُونَ فَكَانُواْ لِجَهَنَّمَ حَطَباً ﴾

(And as for the Qasitun, they shall be firewood for Hell.) meaning, fuel, for they will be used to kindle it (the Fire). Concerning Allah's statement,

﴿وَأَلَّوِ اسْتَقَـمُواْ عَلَى الطَّرِيقَةِ لاّسْقَيْنَـهُم مَّآءً غَدَقاً لِنَفْتِنَهُمْ فِيهِ﴾

(If they had believed in Allah, and went on the way, We would surely have bestowed on them water in abundance. That We might try them thereby.) The commentators have differed over the explanation of this. There are two views concerning it. The First View That if the deviant ones would stand firmly upon the path of Islam, being just upon it and remaining upon it,

﴿لاّسْقَيْنَـهُم مَّآءً غَدَقاً﴾

(We would surely have bestowed on them water in abundance.) meaning, a lot. The intent behind this is to say that they would be given an abundance of sustenance. With this, the meaning of Allah's statement,

﴿لِنَفْتِنَهُمْ فِيهِ﴾

(That We might try them thereby.) is that, `We will test them.' As Malik reported from Zayd bin Aslam, he said, "That We might try them - means, so that We may test them to see who will remain upon the guidance from those who will turn back to sin.''