قُلْ أَتُعَلِّمُونَ اللَّهَ بِدِينِكُمْ وَاللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَاللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ ﴿۱۶﴾ يَمُنُّونَ عَلَيْكَ أَنْ أَسْلَمُوا قُلْ لَا تَمُنُّوا عَلَيَّ إِسْلَامَكُمْ بَلِ اللَّهُ يَمُنُّ عَلَيْكُمْ أَنْ هَدَاكُمْ لِلْإِيمَانِ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ صَادِقِينَ ﴿۱۷﴾ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَعْلَمُ غَيْبَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَاللَّهُ بَصِيرٌ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ ﴿۱۸﴾

﴾16﴿ Qul atu'allimoonal laaha bideenikum wallaahu ya'lamu maa fis samaawaati wa maa fil ard; wallaahu bikulli shai'in 'Aleem
﴾17﴿ Yamunnoona 'alaika an aslamoo qul laa tamunnoo 'alaiya Islaamakum balillaahu yamunnu 'alaikum an hadaakum lil eemaani in kuntum saadiqeen
﴾18﴿ Innal laaha ya'lamu ghaibas samaawaati wal ard; wallaahu baseerum bimaa ta'maloon

﴾16﴿ Say, Do you inform Allah the Exalted about your religion, while Allah the Exalted knows all that is in the heavens and all that is on the earth? And Allah the Exalted is All-Knowing of everything
﴾17﴿ They consider it a favor to you that they have accepted Islam. Say, Do not regard your Islam as a favor to me. Rather, it is Allah the Exalted who bestows favor upon you by guiding you to faith, if you are truthful
﴾18﴿ Indeed, Allah the Exalted knows the unseen of the heavens and the earth, and Allah the Exalted sees all that you do

[16] This is a rebuke directed at the hypocrites — meaning that since their claim of “We believe” (آمَنَّا) is false, they have two underlying intentions in saying it:
First, they intend to inform Allah of their faith.
Second, they aim to show favor and place a burden of gratitude upon the Messenger of Allah (May Allah bless him and give him peace).
So in this verse, they are being admonished regarding their first intention.
[17] This is another rebuke of the hypocrites — this time concerning their second intention, which was placing a favor upon the Messenger of Allah (May Allah bless him and give him peace).
Here, the word “Aslamū” (they submitted) is used because they would outwardly participate with the Prophet (May Allah bless him and give him peace) and the noble Companions in certain acts, such as performing prayer, engaging in jihad, etc.
Then they would act as if they had done a favor upon the Prophet (May Allah bless him and give him peace) by saying, “We are supporting you.”
This is similar to how even today, some ignorant people perform an act according to the Sunnah, and then boast about it to their elder or teacher as though they’ve done them a favor.
Khatib al-Sharbini said: “Placing a favor upon someone for a good deed done toward a creation makes the blessing bitter and unpleasant — but if it is attributed to Allah, then the blessing becomes sweet and meaningful.”
This verse is proof that at whatever level a person receives guidance or blessings, he must recognize it as coming from Allah and not be arrogant about it.
(إِنْ كُنْتُمْ صَادِقِينَ) — This implies that true faith is a blessing from Allah, and if you were truly truthful, you would recognize it as such.
[18] This verse contains a refutation of the hypocrites — meaning: O hypocrites, you are not truthful in your claim of faith because Allah is the Knower of the unseen, and thus He knows what is in your hearts as well.
This verse also rejects associating partners in deeds (shirk fi’l-‘amal) — that is, performing actions outwardly for Allah while inwardly intending to please others or seek worldly gain.