On the Day when some faces are whitened…This means, the faces of the believers will become white through the light of their faith; …and some faces are blackened…, namely, the [faces] of the disbelievers, due to the darkness of their disbelief.He was asked about His words, Abasement and wretchedness were cast upon them [2:61]. He replied:The purpose of these bodies is in the ‘deposits’ (waḍāʾiʿ) that God has placed within them, by which He puts His creatures to the test. Among [these deposits] is one from which the obedient(ṭāʾiʿūn) should draw admonitory lessons, namely, disbelief (kufr). [On the other hand], there are those which are proof against the heedless (ghāfilūn), namely, gnosis (maʿrifa) and affirmation (taṣdīq) through speech and actions, just as He has said, And He appointed darknessesand light [6:1]. The inner meaning of this verse is that light is knowledge (ʿilm) and darkness is ignorance (jahl), in accordance with His words, And he whom God has not granted any light has no light [24:40], that is, the heart [of such a person] has not [the light] by which to perceive faith in God. The light of faith is one of the greatest blessings (minan) of God, Mighty and Majestic is He, and tokens of His generosity (karāmāt). The second [blessing] is the ‘good word’ which is referred to in His words, Exalted is He, Come now to a word that is agreed upon between us and you [3:64]. The third [great blessing] is obedience (iṭāʿa) that the bodily members carry out purely for God’s sake, as when the prayers are maintained and obligatory alms (zakāt) are paid [in a spirit of] satisfaction (qunūʿ) and contentment (riḍā). Thus, [in this latter verse] He summoned them to the best speech, and the most excellent actions. If it had not been for faith in God and the Qurʾān, which is the knowledge of God, and which contains a call [for people] to affirm His lordship and to serve Him in fear, then the prophets, upon whom be blessings and peace, would not have known who among the people had responded to them.His words:
