Tafsir al-Tustari

When the help of God comes along with victory,He said:When the help of God comes for your religion, and victory for your religion.

and you see people entering God�s religion in throngs,and you see people, the people of Yemen, entering God�s religion in throngs, in multitudes (zumaran) � the tribe with its families, and the whole people. So, help your spirit (rūḥ) against your lower self (nafs) by preparing for the Hereafter, for it [the spirit] comes from it. The lower self desires the world because it comes from that, but the spirit desires the Hereafter because it comes from that. Gain ascendancy over the lower self and open for it the door to the Hereafter by glorifying [God] (tasbīḥ) and seeking forgiveness for your nation. From then on, he [the Prophet would seek forgiveness and glorify God] a hundred times in the morning and a hundred times in the evening. Furthermore, he would strive in worship night and day to the point where his feet swelled up, his eyes became red, and his cheeks became pale. He would smile little and weep and ponder a lot.It has been narrated from Ibn ʿAbbās y that he said, �When this sūra was revealed, the Companionsof the Prophet were gladdened by it, but Abū Bakr wept profusely. So the Messenger of God asked him �What makes you weep?� He said, �The parting of your soul has been announced for you O Messenger of God.� The Prophet said to him, �You have spoken the truth.� Then he said: �O God, grant him understanding of the religion, and teach him [the science of] interpretation (taʾwīl).� This is also a teaching in religion and glorification for his nation. Indeed Rabīʿ b. Khaythum said, �Reduce your speech except in nine [areas]: [in saying],�Glory be to God!�, �Praise be to God!�, �There is no god except God�, �God is Great�, and in the recitation of the Qurʾān, commanding what is right, forbidding what is wrong, asking for goodness and seeking refuge from evil.�

He is ever ready to relent.He accepts repentance over and over again, each time the servant repents to Him. And know that our Lord is too generous not to be with you, [assisting you] against your lower self. He [also] said: Truly God loves those who repent [2:222]. If you oppose your lower self, He will be �on its side� with a pardon and if you are on its side in opposition to God�s commandments and prohibitions, He will be against you. Whoever conforms to God�s commandments against his lower desire will be delivered, whereas whoever accedes to his lower desire in opposition to God�s commandments will be ruined. Indeed, the commandments of God, Exalted is He, are bitter whereas the desire of the lower self is sweet. Its similarity is none other than the likeness of delicious foods which contain within them the [bitterness] of aloes (ṣabr); whereas medicine is drunk despite its bitterness, because of the benefits that have been placed within it. One of the righteous used say, �Ah, the pity, even if You [do] forgive them! For among them, there is one who is wary of the withdrawal [of forgiveness], and another who weeps out of shame, even if he is pardoned.�His words, Exalted is He: