Afaman sharaha Allahu sadrahu lil-islami fahuwa AAala noorin min rabbihi fawaylun lilqasiyati (surah Zumar: 22)

Tafseer Tafheem-ul-Quran by Syed Abu-al-A'la Maududi

(39:22) Can he whose breast Allah has opened up for Islam *40 and who is thus (moving along a Path) illumined by a light from Allah *41 (be likened to him who derives no lesson from what he observes)? Woe, then, to those whose hearts were further hardened *42 after Allah's admonition. Such are indeed in obvious error.

Afaman sharahal laahu sadrahoo lil Islaami fahuwa `alaa noorim mir Rabbih; fa wailul lilqaasiyati quloobuhum min zikril laah; ulaaa`ika fee dalaalim mubeen

*40) "Whose breast... Islam": Whom Allah helps to learn a lesson from these realities and to be satisfied with Islam as based on the Truth. Opening of a man's breast for something is, in fact, a state in which there remains no anxiety or ambiguity or suspicion and doubt in his mind about the thing, nor has he the feeling of any danger and loss in accepting and adopting it, but he decides with full satisfaction of the heart that it is the Truth; therefore, he must follow it whatever be the consequences. Having made such a decision when a person adopts the way of Islam, he obeys whatever Command he receives from Allah and His Messenger willingly and with pleasure, without any hesitation. He accepts whatever beliefs and ideas, rules and regulations, he comes across in the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Prophet as if they were the voice of his own heart. He does not feel any compunction on giving up an unlawful gain, because he believes that it was no gain for him at all; it was rather a loss from which Allah saved him by His grace. Likewise, even if he incurs a loss while following the way of righteousness, he dces not feel sad about this but bears it with patience and regards it as an ordinary loss as compared to the loss of turning away from the Way of Allah. The same is his behaviour on confronting dangers. He believes that there is no other way for him, which he may follow in order to avoid the danger. The Straight Way of AIlah is only one, which he has to follow in any case: if there is a danger in following it, let it be.
*41) "In the light shown by his Lord" : In the light of the knowledge of the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Prophet, by the help of which he sees clearly at every step which is the straight path of the Truth among the countless by-paths of life.
*42) As against the opening of the breast there can be two other states of man's heart: (1) The state of narrowing of the breast and squeezing of the heart; and in this state there still remains some room for the truth to permeate it; and (2) the state of hardening or petrifying of the heart; in this there is left no room whatever for the truth to permeate. About this second state Allah says that the person who reaches such a stage is totally ruined. This means that if a person becomes inclined to accept the truth, even though with an unveiling and squeezed heart, there remains some possibility for him to be redeemed. This second theme becomes obvious from the style and tenor of the verse itself, though Allah has not stated it directly. For the real intention of the verse was to warn those who were bent upon stubbornness in their antagonism towards the Holy Prophet, and had made up their mind not to listen to him at all. For this they have been warned, as if to say: "You take pride in this stubbornness of yours, but, as a matter of fact, there cannot be a greater misfortune and unworthiness of man than that his heart should become even more hardened, instead of becoming soft, when he hears Allah being mentioned and the admonition sent by Him. "