َ هُوَ الَّذِي بَعَثَ فِي الْأُمِّيِّينَ رَسُولًا مِنْهُمْ يَتْلُو عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتِهِ وَيُزَكِّيهِمْ وَيُعَلِّمُهُمُ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَإِنْ كَانُوا مِنْ قَبْلُ لَفِي ضَلَالٍ مُبِينٍ ﴿۲﴾ وَآخَرِينَ مِنْهُمْ لَمَّا يَلْحَقُوا بِهِمْ وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ ﴿۳﴾ ذَلِكَ فَضْلُ اللَّهِ يُؤْتِيهِ مَنْ يَشَاءُ وَاللَّهُ ذُو الْفَضْلِ الْعَظِيمِ ﴿۴﴾

﴾2﴿ Huwal lazee ba'asa fil ummiyyeena Rasoolam min hum yatloo 'alaihim aayaatihee wa yuzakkeehim wa yu'allimuhumul Kitaaba wal Hikmata wa in kaanoo min qablu lafee dalaalim mubeen
﴾3﴿ Wa aakhareena minhum lammaa yalhaqoo bihim wa huwal 'azeezul hakeem
﴾4﴿ Zaalika fadlul laahi yu'teehi many-yashaaa; wallaahu zul fadlil 'azeem

﴾2﴿ Allah alone is the One who sent among the unlettered people a Messenger from among them, who recites to them the verses of Allah, purifies them, and teaches them the Quran and Sunnah, even though before this, they were certainly in clear misguidance
﴾3﴿ And (He sent this Messenger) to other people among them who have not yet joined them. And Allah alone is the Almighty, the Most Wise
﴾4﴿ This is the bounty of Allah; He grants it to whomever He wills. And Allah is the Possessor of great bounty

[2] After monotheism, the truthfulness of the Messenger of Allah (May Allah bless him and give him peace) is mentioned.
It indicates that human glorification of Allah must follow the way of the Messenger.
"(Among the unlettered)"—Originally, “unlettered” refers to those who neither read nor write, meaning those who had not been given any divine scripture before—that is, the Arabs.
The Prophet's sending among the unlettered was such that in every Arab tribe, there existed a familial connection to the Prophet (May Allah bless him and give him peace), either through the father’s side or the mother’s side—except for the tribe of Banu Taghlib, because they had adopted Christianity.
Among the unlettered (Arabs), the wisdom of the Prophet’s mission was that their lineage was superior to that of all non-Arabs, and within the Arabs, the Quraysh, and within them, the Banu Hashim, were the most honorable of all families and tribes in the world.
"(A Messenger from among themselves)"—A Messenger of their own kind, meaning a human being.
This is a clear statement confirming the Prophethood and humanity of the Prophet (May Allah bless him and give him peace).
Therefore, denying or doubting either his Prophethood or humanity is disbelief, as Al-Alusi explained in Ruh al-Ma‘ani in the tafsir of Surah Aal ‘Imran.
"(And purifies them)"—This refers to teaching the practical way of worship and character development, including the times, measures, methods, and manners of actions.
This is the stage of acting upon and teaching practice, which is the core purpose of the Prophet’s mission.
That is why purification (tazkiyah) is mentioned between preaching and teaching—because it is the main goal.
This is known as the science of tazkiyah or ethics (akhlaq), but to label it as tasawwuf or Sufism is not correct, because abandoning a legally transmitted name (like tazkiyah) for a non-transmitted one is against the principles of Shari‘ah.
"(And indeed, they were before, in clear misguidance)"—This is a clear proof that apart from faith and following the Messenger, all other paths are misguidance.
Thus, the only true path to salvation from all misguidance is to follow the Qur'an and the Sunnah of the Prophet (May Allah bless him and give him peace).
[3] The meaning of "(others among them)" refers to all those believers—whether Arab or non-Arab—who came after the noble Companions: the Followers (Tabi‘in), their Followers (Taba‘ Tabi‘in), and all other believers until the Day of Judgment.
"(Who have not yet joined them)"—This has two interpretations:
First, that they were not present during the time of the Companions, but came afterward.
Second, that they have not reached the level of the noble Companions in virtue and rank.
This implies that even if a Tabi‘i possesses great knowledge and piety, he still cannot attain the status of even the lowest-ranking Companion.
[4] This is a refutation of the Jews, who considered prophethood to be exclusive to their own people.
“Dhalika” (that) refers either to the sending of the Messenger of Allah (May Allah bless him and give him peace) among the unlettered (i.e., Arabs), or more generally to revelation and prophethood.