{ It is He who has sent His Messenger with guidance and the religion of truth, to make it manifest over all religion, even if the Idolaters dislike it. Oh you who have believed! Shall I attest to you all of a transaction that will deliver you from painful punishment? That you believe in Allah and His Messenger, and wage jihad in the cause of Allah with your wealth and with yourselves; this is better for you, if only you knew. He will forgive your sins and will admit you into gardens below which rivers flow and pleasant dwelling places in gardens of Eden; this is the great victory. And other things that you love – support from Allah and impending victory. So give the good news to the Believers! } Al-saff 9-13

It has been mentioned earlier, in a hadith of Abdullah ibn Salam, that the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) wanted to ask the Messenger of Allah (SAW) about the deeds most pleasing to Allah Mighty and Sublime, so they could do them. And so Allah Most High sent down this surah, which includes this verse: { Oh you who have believed! Shall I attest to you all of a transaction that will deliver you from painful punishment? } . Then He expounds on this great transaction that does not fail, that brings one to what he seeks after and does away with peril; the Most High says: { That you believe in Allah and His Messenger, and wage jihad in the cause of Allah with your wealth and with yourselves; this is better for you, if only you knew } : that is, better than the commerce of this life, laboring for it, and being occupied only with this. Then the Most High says: { He will forgive your sins } : that is: If you do what I have commanded you and that of which I have attested to you, I will forgive your errors and I will admit you into the gardens and the dwellings of pleasant delights, degrees of the greatest heights. For this reason the Most High says: { He will admit you into gardens below which rivers flow and pleasant dwelling places in gardens of Eden; this is the great victory } . Then the Most High says: { And other things that you love } : that is: I will add even more to this for you, a bonus that you will love, this being { support from Allah and impending victory } . In other words, if you all fight in His cause and uphold His religion, Allah will promise to support you; Allah Most High said: { Oh you who have believed! If you uphold Allah He will uphold you, and affirm your feet } [Muhammad 7], and the Most High said: { Truly Allah champions those who champion Him; indeed Allah is strong, mighty } [Al-hajj 40]. Regarding the word of the Most High: { Impending victory } ; that is, swift; and this bonus is the best of this world, continuing on to the bliss of the hereafter, for whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger and upholds Allah and His religion. This is why the Most High says: { So give the good news to the Believers! }