"In Allâh and in the Last Day (bi'ilâhi wa bi'l-yawm al-âkhir)"

Consider this: the Revelation either takes exactly what others have said, or taking its substance, puts in another form, or summarizes it. According to the first of these, by mentioning the first and last of the pillars of belief [the dissemblers] are demonstrating their firmness [of belief). For in their view, these pillars are the most acceptable. And by repeating [the preposition] "in (bâ')" despite the proximity [of the two words], they are alluding to the other pillars. Then according to the second [possibility], if it is the Most High's word, by mentioning only these two poles of belief, it is indicating that what they claim to believe in most powerfully even, is not belief. For their belief in them is not as it should be. And the repetition of the preposition "in (bâ')" indicates difference. For belief in Allâh is belief in His existence and unity, and belief in the Last Day is belief in its reality and that it will come, as was discussed above. [That is, belief in both is multifaceted and not only in one respect.]

"But they do not really believe (wa mâ hum bi-muminîn)"

• If you were to ask: Why does the verse not say 'and they do (lit. did) not believe (wa mâ âmanû), which would be similar [in tense and form] to "we believe (âmannâ)"!

You would be told: Lest it should be supposed that there is any inconsistency, if only in form. And so that the negation should not refer to "we believe (âmannâ)," which [despite being a verb in the perfect tense] is an exclamatory clause (jumla inshâ'iyya). Thus its explicitness disallows its denial. Rather, the negation and denial refer to the sentence implicit in "we believe (âmannâ)," which is 'for we are believers' (fa-nahnu mu minûn). Furthermore, because this negative sentence is a nominal one, it infers that their unbelief is continuous.

• If you were to ask: Why doesn't it indicate its non-continuance, since the negating particle mâ comes at the beginning of the clause?

You would be told: Negation is what is signified by the dense [visible] letter (al-harf al-kathîf), whereas continuance is signified by the light structure (al-hey'at al-khafîfa) [of the nominal clause]. So the negation is closer to what is being expressed.