And in His saying, the Most High: "And believe in what I have sent down" (p-316), it means the existence of its sending down, "confirming what is with you" is a confirmation of "That Book, there is no doubt in it." They were commanded, as Al-Harali said, to renew their faith in the Qur'an for what it contains of news about matters of the unseen that were not in their book, such as the details of the Hereafter that the Qur'an has fulfilled. This is because it is the final book, and there is no book after it that is awaited for clarification. It has preserved for every book before it a remnant that refers to what comes after it, so that the clarification reaches the ultimate of what the Qur'an has sent down when it had not been entrusted to them except in its essence in general. This is concluded. And in His saying: "And do not be the first to disbelieve in it," there is a precise meaning in rebuking them and a great matter in admonishing them. This is because the intended meaning of "first" is not its apparent meaning that comes to mind. The Arabs often use "the first" and do not intend its reality, but rather the exaggeration in precedence, as was said by Miqyas ibn Subabah when he killed a person from the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, who had accidentally killed his brother and returned to Mecca as an apostate:

I have made my vow with it and I have reached my goal, and I was the first to return to the idols.

This is in the context of affirmation. So if you negate by forbidding, and you say: do not be the first doer of such and such, its meaning is that if you do that, your description will only be like that. It is an expression outside the realm of exaggeration in blame with what is the description of the prohibited, so there is no understanding of it. And he expressed it as a warning that when they abandoned following this book, they were, due to their knowledge of its truth, in the utmost obstinacy. Their action in disbelief was, even if delayed, the action of one who races someone to something. Or the meaning may be that they were not prevented from believing in it by ignorance of the evidence nor by lack of knowledge of what their prophets brought from among the humans, but merely out of envy for the Arabs that a prophet should be from them, which necessitates envy for this prophet specifically. Because the ruling on the general necessitates the ruling on the specific as it is among the individuals of the general. Thus, the rank of their disbelief became prior to the rank of the disbelief of the ignorant Arabs regarding him or those who envy him, blessings and peace be upon him, specifically, not for the generality of the Arabs. So the people of the book were the first to disbelieve in him, and their disbelief could not occur except in this way, which is the ugliest of ways. The meaning is do not disbelieve in him, for if disbelief occurs from you regarding him, it would be the first disbelief, because its rank is the first rank of disbelief occurring from anyone other than you. So you were the first disbelievers, and you fell into the ugliest forms of disbelief. That is why he specified and did not say: disbelievers, and Allah knows best.

And when He forbade them from disbelief in the signs, He forbade them from what leads to it by His saying: "And do not exchange" (p-319), meaning do not burden yourselves and insist on replacing "My signs" which you know in the matter of following this noble prophet "for a small price," which is the leadership of your people and what you take from kings and others for carrying the Shari'ah. And the smallness is what is insufficient for sufficiency - this was said by Al-Harali.

'And Me' means specifically. 'So fear Me' means make for yourselves a protection from the descent of My anger. Indeed, piety is the result of fear, just as these actions are the result of what is in the verse of fear.