the God-fearing, and those who believe in what has been revealed to you; and that "they" is in the nominative case by virtue of the pronoun referring back to them in His statement "upon guidance from their Lord"; and that the second "those who" is conjunctionally linked to the preceding speech, as we have explained.

We considered that to be the most appropriate interpretation of the verse only because God—may His praise be exalted—described both groups with their praised description, then commended them. So it would not be like Him, the Mighty and Majestic, to single out one of the two groups for praise when they are equal in the attributes for which they deserved praise. Just as it is not permissible in His justice that they be equal in the deeds for which they deserve reward, and then He singles out one of them for reward to the exclusion of the other, depriving the other of the reward for his deed. Likewise is the way of praise for deeds, because praise is one of the categories of reward.

As for the meaning of His statement {They are upon guidance from their Lord}, its meaning is: that they are upon light from their Lord, clear proof, uprightness, and correctness, through God's directing them rightly and His granting them success. Just as:

293- Ibn Ḥumayd narrated to me, saying: Salama ibn al-Faḍl narrated to us, from Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq,