"And upon the three," meaning: and He turned in mercy to those who were held back from the expedition of Tabuk; and they are those who were postponed in the first verse in His saying—Exalted and Majestic is He—: "And others deferred for the command of Allah." They are: Ka'b ibn Malik, Hilal ibn Umayyah, and Murarah ibn Rabi'ah.
"Until when the earth, for all its vastness, became constricted for them," meaning: for all its spaciousness, "and they perceived," meaning: they realized
﴿وعَلى الثَّلَاثَة﴾ أَيْ: وَتَابَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ خُلِّفُوا عَنْ غَزْوَةِ تَبُوكَ؛ وَهُمُ الَّذِينَ أرجوا فِي الْآيَة الأولى فِي قَوْلِهِ ﷿: ﴿وَآخَرُونَ مرجون لأمر الله﴾ وَهُمْ: كَعْبُ بْنُ مَالِكٍ، وَهِلالُ بْنُ أُمَيَّةَ، وَمُرَارَةُ بْنُ رَبِيعَةَ.
﴿حَتَّى إِذَا ضَاقَتْ عَلَيْهِمُ الأَرْضُ بِمَا رَحبَتْ﴾ أَي: بسعتها ﴿وظنوا﴾ عَلِمُوا
