(Shall We treat those who believe) in Muhammad (pbuh) and in the Qur'an (and do good works) and perform acts of obedience between themselves and their Lord; the reference here is to 'Ali Ibn Abi Talib, Hamzah Ibn 'Abd al-Muttalib and 'Ubaydah Ibn al-Harth (as those who spread corruption) as the idolaters (in the earth) i.e. 'Utbah and Shaybah the sons of Rabi'ah, and al-Walid Ibn 'Utbah; (or shall We treat the Pious) who ward off disbelief, idolatry and indecent acts, i. e. 'Ali and his two fellow believers (as the wicked) as the disbelievers: 'Utbah and Shaybah the sons of Rabi'ah, and al-Walid Ibn 'Utbah? Each one of these three had, on the Day of Badr, a dual with 'Ali, Hamzah and 'Ubaydah, respectively; 'Ali killed al-Walid Ibn 'Utbah, Hamzah killed 'Utbah Ibn Rabi'ah and 'Ubaydah killed Shaybah.