According to Taberî, in this verse Allah is commanding the Prophet to give glad tidings to those who are patient. Those who are patient are: those who know that the blessings given to them are from Allah, those who acknowledge servitude to Him, those who affirm His oneness in His lordship, those who believe in resurrection after death and return to Allah, those who submit to His decree, those who hope for His reward and fear His punishment. When these people encounter trials such as fear, hunger, and deficiency in wealth, life, and crops, they say 'Innâ lillâhi wa innâ ilayhi râjiûn.'

وأصل التبشير: إخبار الرجل الرجل الخبر يسره أو يسوءه لم يسبقه به إليه غيره

This text explains the mansûb (accusative) reading of the word 'al-muqîmîn' through the assumption of 'al-nûn' (that is, the nun letter that falls due to the construct state is considered to exist). Furthermore, it points to a difference in qirâ'ah (recitation) regarding Ibn Masûd's reading of this word in its original form (without dropping the construct state nun) as 'wa-al-muqîmîn al-salâh.'

بالنصب على تقدير النون . وقرأ ابن مسعود : ( والمقيمين الصلاة ) على الأصل

According to Fahreddin er-Râzî, the expression 'innâ lillâh' means the slave's acknowledgment of his servitude to Allah and that his ownership belongs to Him, thus entrusting his affairs to Him and showing contentment with the affliction that befalls him. The expression 'innâ ilayhi râji'ûn' is an acknowledgment of the inevitable return to the afterlife and resurrection after death; according to this view, the awareness that no one other than Allah will have authority in the afterlife is a complete source of consolation in worldly afflictions. Er-Râzî also conveys various hadîths and narrations concerning those who are patient and perform 'istircâ'' (seeking return to Allah), emphasizing the virtue of such submission and contentment in this matter.

واعلم أن الرجوع إليه ليس عبارة عن الإنتقال إلى مكان أو جهة ، فإن ذلك على الله محال ، بل المراد أنه يصير إلى حيث لا يملك الحكم فيه سواه ، وذلك هو الدار الآخرة

According to Kurtubî, Allah has made the words 'Innâ lillâhi wa innâ ilayhi râji'ûn' a refuge for those afflicted and a protection for those tested; because these words contain together an affirmation of divine oneness, acknowledgment of servitude and that ownership belongs to Allah, and a confession of our own destruction, resurrection from the grave, and that all affairs return to Him. As support for this view, it is narrated from Sa'îd b. Jubayr that these words were not given to any prophet before our Prophet, and had Jacoby known them, he would not have said 'Ya asafâ alâ Yûsuf.' Furthermore, through hadîths from the Prophet and from Umm Salamah, it is reported that Allah will build a house in Paradise for those who are patient and speak these words, and will respond to their afflictions with goodness.

جعل الله تعالى هذه الكلمات ملجأ لذوي المصائب وعصمة للممتحنين لما جمعت من المعاني المباركة فإن قوله : إنا لله توحيد وإقرار بالعبودية والملك وقوله : وإنا إليه راجعون إقرار بالهلك على أنفسنا والبعث من قبورنا واليقين أن رجوع الأمر كله إليه كما هو له

According to Ibn Kesîr, the words 'innâ lillâhi wa innâ ilayhi râji'ûn' spoken at the time of affliction arise from the person's acknowledgment that he is a slave to Allah and will return to Him; because of this acknowledgment, Allah grants in return for the affliction both patience with the affliction and something better. This view is exemplified by the hadîth narrated by Umm Salamah about the death of Abû Salamah and the narration of Ka'b b. Ujrah regarding how the Prophet should be invoked with blessings.

لا يصيب أحدا من المسلمين مصيبة فيسترجع عند مصيبته ثم يقول اللهم أجرني في مصيبتي وأخلف لي خيرا منها إلا فعل ذلك به

According to Beydâvî, the address in the verse is directed to the Prophet or to one who can give glad tidings. Affliction encompasses every kind of hardship that befalls a person; patience is not merely saying 'istircâ'' with the tongue, but also imagining in the heart why one was created and that one will return to one's Lord, remembering Allah's blessings and seeing that what remains in one's hand is many times greater than what departed from it, and making this easy for oneself. The word 'salawât' originally means supplication, and when it comes from Allah it means purification and forgiveness; its plural form indicates its abundance and variety, and mercy means favor and beneficence.

وليس الصبر بالاسترجاع باللسان، بل به وبالقلب بأن يتصور ما خلق لأجله، وأنه راجع إلى ربه، ويتذكر نعم الله عليه ليرى أن ما أبقى عليه أضعاف ما استرده منه فيهون على نفسه، ويستسلم له.