Continuing the great roll-call of Prophets begun in the previous verses, Allah now names four more: Isma'il (forefather of the Arabs and the Prophet ﷺ), Al-Yasa' (Elisha, successor of Ilyas), Yunus (Jonah, the prophet of Nineveh), and Lut (Lot, nephew of Ibrahim). Maududi notes the variety: some are sons of prophets, some are nephews, some emerged from non-prophetic households — guidance is not a hereditary entitlement but a sovereign election by Allah. Each of them was given faḍl (preference) "over all mankind" of their time, demonstrating that prophethood is the highest rank a human being can attain.

Maududi explains the verb ijtabaynāhum ("We chose them") as denoting Allah's active selection — He picks out from among the fathers, descendants, and brothers of these prophets those whom He elevates to guidance. The verse subtly refutes the polytheists' tribal pride: not every relative of a prophet is guided, and many of the guided come from outside obvious prophetic lineages. Guidance to the ṣirāṭ mustaqīm (straight path) is the supreme gift, granted by Allah's choice alone, not by birth or merit.

A staggering principle: even the noble service of a prophet, were it tainted by shirk, would be voided. Maududi underscores the gravity: laḥabiṭa 'anhum mā kānū ya'malūn — "all that they had done would have been rendered vain." If this were true for prophets, what hope is there for the ordinary worshipper who clings to idols? The verse establishes Tawhid as the absolute precondition for the acceptance of any deed — without it, even mountains of worship become weightless before Allah.

Three gifts were given to this line of prophets: al-Kitāb (revealed scripture), al-Ḥukm (judgement / wise discernment in applying revelation), and al-Nubuwwah (prophethood). Maududi reads the second half of the verse as a direct warning to the Quraysh: if you reject this revelation, Allah has already entrusted it to a people who will not disbelieve in it — a clear prophecy of the Ansār of Madinah and the Muslims to come. The torch of guidance is never extinguished by human rejection; it simply passes to those willing to carry it.

Allah commands the Prophet ﷺ: fa-bi-hudāhumu iqtadih — "follow their guidance." This is the only place in the Qur'an where the Prophet ﷺ is directly ordered to follow a previous example, and Maududi explains it points to the unbroken continuity of pure Tawhid across all prophets. The companion declaration — "I ask of you no reward" — is the universal mark of a true prophet: no fees, no fundraising, no personal benefit. Their motivation is purely the deliverance of a divine reminder (dhikrā) to all mankind.

Maududi explains wa mā qadarū Llāha ḥaqqa qadrih as the indictment that lies beneath every form of disbelief: people fail to estimate Allah properly. They deny that Allah would speak to humans, send guidance, or intervene in history — an absurd position once they admit the Torah was revealed. The verse confronts the Jews of Madinah (and the Quraysh by extension) with the historical fact of revelation to Musa: who else but Allah could have sent it? The accusation of selectively disclosing and concealing parts of the Book is a direct charge of tampering. The closing command — "leave them in their play" — is a sign of the futility of debating those who argue in bad faith.

Maududi observes the precise vocabulary: mubārak (blessed, abundant in benefit) and muṣaddiq (confirming) — the Qur'an does not abolish previous scriptures but ratifies their original truth and corrects their corruption. Umm al-Qurā ("Mother of Cities") refers to Makkah; the mission begins there and radiates outwards to "those around it" — eventually the whole world. The hallmark of true believers is named: belief in the Hereafter and constancy in prayer. Maududi notes these two — accountability in the next life and disciplined ṣalāh — are the twin axes of faith.

Maududi identifies three categories of the most unjust people: (1) those who invent lies about Allah (attributing teachings, laws, or actions to Him He never authorized); (2) false claimants of prophethood (such as Musaylimah the Liar, who emerged during the Prophet's lifetime); and (3) those who arrogantly say, "I can produce something like the Qur'an" — a challenge the Qur'an has thrown back at every generation. The terrifying scene that follows — the angels stretching their hands at the moment of death, commanding the soul to come out to face 'adhāb al-hūn (the chastisement of humiliation) — is one of the most sobering passages in the Qur'an. The two crimes named are lying about Allah and arrogance toward His signs.

A devastating rebuke at the gateway of the Hereafter. Maududi paints the scene: every person arrives furādā — alone, naked, stripped of wealth, family, status, and the false patrons (shufa'ā') they used to invoke. The very things they trusted as "partners with Allah" — saints, idols, ideologies, ancestors — are nowhere to be found at the moment of greatest need. The phrase laqad taqaṭṭa'a baynakum ("the bond between you has been severed") is final: every social and religious link built on shirk is cut. Maududi urges the reader: imagine yourself in that scene before death comes, and let it reform your attachments now.

Maududi observes a deliberate shift: after the terrifying scenes of judgment, the verse returns to the gentle, daily miracle of creation. Fāliq al-ḥabb wa al-nawā — "the Splitter of the grain and the date-stone." Picture a single seed in the cold dark earth: Allah cracks it open and from death pulls forth life. He brings the green shoot from the dead seed; He brings the dead matter (chaff, fallen leaves) from the living plant. Every loaf of bread on the table, every date eaten, every harvest is a sermon on resurrection. The closing question — fa-annā tu'fakūn ("then where are you being turned away to?") — is incredulous: how can you still drift toward disbelief?