َ وَإِنَّكَ لَعَلَى خُلُقٍ عَظِيمٍ ﴿۴﴾ فَسَتُبْصِرُ وَيُبْصِرُونَ ﴿۵﴾ بِأَيْيِكُمُ الْمَفْتُونُ ﴿۶﴾ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ هُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِمَنْ ضَلَّ عَنْ سَبِيلِهِ وَهُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِالْمُهْتَدِينَ ﴿۷﴾ فَلَا تُطِعِ الْمُكَذِّبِينَ ﴿۸﴾ وَدُّوا لَوْ تُدْهِنُ فَيُدْهِنُونَ ﴿۹﴾

﴾4﴿ Wa innaka la'alaa khuluqin 'azeem
﴾5﴿ Fasatubsiru wa yubsiroon
﴾6﴿ Bi ayyikumul maftoon
﴾7﴿ Innaa Rabbaka Huwa a'lamu biman dalla 'an sabeelihee wa Huwa a'lamu bilmuhtadeen
﴾8﴿ Falaa tuti'il mukazzibeen
﴾9﴿ Waddoo law tudhinu fa-yudhinoon

﴾4﴿ And indeed, you are in great hardship
﴾5﴿ So soon you will see, and they will also see
﴾6﴿ Which of you is afflicted with madness
﴾7﴿ Indeed, your Lord is most knowing of who strays from the path of Allah, and He is most knowing of those who are rightly guided
﴾8﴿ So do not accept the words of those who deny the truth
﴾9﴿ They wish that if you become lenient, they too would become lenient

[4] This is the third consolation and a refutation of those disbelievers who used to say: “This Prophet is a corrupter and evil person, and he insults our gods and forefathers.”
The essence of the response is: he possesses the highest standard of noble character—these accusations against him are false.
(خُلُقٍ عَظِيمٍ) – Khuluq refers to manner and etiquette, but it also includes one’s way of life and religion.
In a hadith from Sahih Muslim, ‘A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: The character of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was the Qur’an.
[5,6] This is another consolation for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).
(فَسَتُبْصِرُ) – The letter س (sa) indicates nearness, meaning: you will see (the truth) either in this world or in the hereafter, because it is near—similar to what is mentioned in Surah Al-Qamar (54:26).
It is preceded by fa (فَ) because the previous consolations were related to the Prophet’s qualities (peace be upon him), and this one is a consequence concerning the future based on those qualities.
(بِأَيِّكُمُ الْمَفْتُونُ) – There are several interpretations of this.
The first is that al-maftūn means “mad” or “possessed,” and b- is for emphasis.
The second interpretation is that maftūn is a verbal noun (masdar mīmī), meaning “trial” or “fitnah,” and b- is in its proper place. The intended meaning of fitnah here is madness or misguidance.
[7] This too is a consolation, and it serves as a reasoning—connected either to فَسَتُبْصِرُ or to بِأَيِّكُمُ الْمَفْتُونُ.
That is why no conjunction ( حرف عطف ) has been used here.
The statement about Allah’s knowledge alludes to the fact that He will give recompense accordingly.
[8,9] This is a continuation of the previous point, encouraging the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to remain firm in his call and warning against compromise.
(فَلَا تُطِعِ) – The object of obedience is omitted, but the description of the deniers clearly indicates it—meaning: do not obey them in their actions, words, and traits that involve denial and rejection.
(وَدُّوا لَوْ تُدْهِنُ) – This provides the reason for lā tuṭi‘, which is why no conjunction is used here.
Wudd implies intense love or desire.
(تُدْهِنُ) – Mubarrad said that id'hān and mudāhanah mean betrayal, or presenting words that contradict what is in the heart.
Some scholars have said it means softness in speech or conduct, whether in good or evil, but it is mostly used in a negative sense.
Qurtubi mentioned twelve interpretations of this phrase in his tafsir, but their essence is one: that in the matter of tawḥīd, softness is shown to the extent that shirk is not refuted and the truth is concealed—so the disbelievers and polytheists do not oppose or insult in return.
Nowadays, many people call this “unity” or “wisdom,” but this is a false understanding.