His words, Exalted is He:

It will be abasing [some], exalting [others].

He said:

This means: on the Day of Resurrection some people will be brought low by their false claims (daʿāwā), and some people will be raised high by their realities (ḥaqāʾiq).^{1i.e. that which they have truly realised.}

His words, Exalted is He:

you will be three kinds (azwāj).

He said:

That is to say, three different groups (firaq).

Those of the right [hand], what of those of the right [hand]?

This means those who are given the book [of deeds] in their right hand.^{1Tustarī discusses each person’s being given the book of their deeds at the Resurrection, either in their right hand or their left, below, for example in his commentary on 69:19, 25 and 32.}

And those of the left hand, what of those of the left [hand]?

This means those who are given the book [of deeds] in their left hand.

And the foremost, the foremost.

He said:

They are those for whom God’s election (ikhtiyār) and special friendship (wilāya) preceded them before they were even brought into existence. The ones who are brought near [to God] [56:11] are in stations of proximity (manāzil al-qurb), and [enjoy] the ease of intimacy (rawḥ al-uns). They are the ones who were the foremost (sabaqū) in this life. The prophets were the foremost in having faith in God; the veracious (ṣiddīqūn) and martyrs (shuhadāʾ) among the Companions and others were the foremost in having faith in the prophets.

His words, Exalted is He:

a multitude from the former [generations],^{1These words occur again in verse 39.}

He said:

That is, a group of those of old (awwalūn), and they are the people of gnosis (maʿrifa) [from the past].

His words, Exalted is He:

They will not hear therein any vain talk or any sinful words.

He said:

It is in no way a scene of frivolity (laghw), nor is it a place of sin (ithm), for it is a place which has been sanctified with [divine] lights for the holy (muqaddasūn) among His servants. Indeed, it is what has become manifest from them and upon them that makes them worthy of that station.

and a few from later ones.

They are those who believed in Muḥammad ﷺ and in all the messengers and books.

His words, Exalted is He:

Why then, when it reaches the dying man’s throat,

That is, his soul reaches the throat, while he is in a state of bewilderment (mutaḥayyir), as he does not know what will become of him.

Similarly, it was related of Masrūq b. al-Ajdaʿ that he wept while he was dying and when his weeping intensified, he was asked, ‘What makes you weep?’ He replied, ‘How can I not weep when it is a matter of an hour and then I do not know where I will be taken.’

Thus if he be of those brought near,

By which is meant the prophets, the martyrs and the virtuous (ṣāliḥūn), of whom some are superior in rank to others. Their stations in nearness [to God] are according to the degree of proximity of their hearts to the gnosis (maʿrifa) of God, Exalted is He.

then repose and a goodly provision and a garden of bliss,

in Paradise. Abū al-ʿĀliya said regarding this verse, ‘Not one of these men would leave this world until he had been brought a sprig from the fragrant herb (rayḥān) of Paradise,^{1Usually said to be basil, which indeed bears the name rayḥān in Arabic.} and given a whiff of it, then he would die, his spirit flowing into it [Paradise].’

and if he be of those of the right [hand],

He said:

By which is meant those who realise God’s oneness (muwaḥḥidūn). The outcome (ʿāqiba) will be theirs,^{1i.e. they will be the winners that day, the Day of Resurrection.} for they were God’s faithful servants who delivered the trust (amāna),^{2This is probably an allusion to 33:72: We offered the trust to the heavens and the earth and the mountains, but they refused to carry it; and man carried it. The trust (amāna) is traditionally interpreted to mean obedience (ṭāʿa) and carrying out the obligatory duties (farāʾiḍ) prescribed by religion, as may be seen in many of the traditions included by Ṭabarī in his Jāmiʿ al-bayān, and this is how Tustarī has understood it here. According to Qushayrī (Laṭāʾif, vol. 3, p. 173), amāna is upholding what is obligatory according to the principles (uṣūl) and applications (furūʿ) [of fiqh], or it is tawḥīd in faith (ʿaqdan) and keeping the limits (ḥifẓ al-ḥudūd) in endeavours (jahdan). Maybudī, however, interprets the trust to be love, for which see Kashf al-asrār, vol. 8, p. 101.} namely, that which He has commanded and prohibited. Those who followed in excellence (iḥsān) did not commit any transgressions nor did they make any slips, so they became secure from the fear (khawf) and terror (hawl) which comes to [others].