[3:152] God has been true to His promise, when you slew them by His leave, until you lost heart, and quarreled over the command; and you disobeyed after he had shown you what you longed for.
The allusion in this verse is to the fact that the Real (al-ḥaqq) raises His friends up (aqāma) in the truth of His truth (ḥaqq ḥaqqihi) and restrains them from attaining their worldly fortunes (ḥuẓūẓ). He (s) stands (qāma) as sufficient for them in every way. Whoever persists in the path of uprightness (istiqāma) will not deviate from His boundary, and He will not deviate from His pact, for God has been true to his promise to them with beautiful and continuous sufficiency. But whoever falls away from uprightness - even if only a step - stumbles in his walking, and his state and ability is destabilized to the extent of his offence. So whoever has been increased has been increased from Him, and whoever suffers decrease has suffered decrease from Him
[3:152 cont'd] Some of you desired this world; and some of you desired the Hereafter. Then He turned you away from them, so that He might try you; yet now He has pardoned you, and God is Bounteous to the believers.
The value of each person is his desire (irāda). So whoever's aspiration is for this world, his value is base and paltry like this world. Whoever's aspiration is for the Hereafter, his rank is a noble one. Whoever's aspiration is knowledge of the Lord (rabbāniyya), he is the master (sayyid) of his time.
It is said that anyone who is purified of his desire reaches Him, and anyone who reaches Him draws near - by His kindness - to Him and is brought close in the locus of intimate friendship (khuṣūṣiyya) in His presence.
Then He turned you away from them: The allusion in it is that He has turned some people away from Him and distracted them from Himself by what is other than Him. Others He turned from anything other, singling them out for Himself. He turned the ascetics away from this world, the worshippers from following whims, the aspirants (murīdūn) from lower desires (al-munā), and those who declare oneness from everything other [than Him].