The Book is the Mim [Muhammad], and those to whom He caused the Book to be inherited are the believers whom He chose and who believed in him. "Among them is he who wrongs himself" means [he who wrongs] his brother, in that he satiates himself while leaving his brothers hungry, or clothes himself while leaving them naked. "Among them is he who is moderate" means he who consoles them (muwasin). "Among them is he who is foremost in good deeds by permission of God" means he who prefers them over himself (mu'thirun) with that which he himself needs of worldly goods, and treats them with kindness without being asked.
In another aspect: the one who "wrongs himself" is he who hungers while satiating his brothers, and remains naked while clothing them. "Among them is he who is moderate" is he who consoles them. "Among them is he who is foremost in good deeds" is a conjunction applying to the first, who prefers his brothers over himself and treats them with kindness without being asked. In this speech, there is an transposition of order (taqdim wa ta'khir), and the like of it is common in the speech of the Arabs. The poet said:
I saw your husband in the fray, girded with a spear and a sword (safa).
He [al-Khasibi] related—may God sanctify him—regarding the words of the Almighty: {And he [Solomon] inspected the birds and said, "Why do I not see the hoopoe, or is he among the absent?"}1. The Hoopoe is the personage of the Gate.
His saying: {But he [the hoopoe] stayed not long and said, "I have encompassed [in knowledge] that which you have not encompassed, and I have come to you from Sheba with certain news"}2. This [questioning tone] is a particle of inquiry; meaning: I have not known except that which You know better than I, nor have I encompassed except that which You encompass. Sheba is the name of a city in Yemen.