And when it was from the return of matters to Him, His guidance is for whom He wills; and His misguidance is for whom He wills; He said - praising this nation; so that they may persist in His pleasure with praise; and gratitude; and making the people of the Book despair of His misguidance so that they may increase in confusion; and intoxication -: "You are the best nation"; meaning: you have been found with this established description for you; by nature; and disposition; then He described the nation with what indicates the universality of the message; and that they will overcome the people of the Book; so He said: "brought forth for mankind"; then He clarified the aspect of their goodness with what has not occurred; a group for others on what they are upon of capability; by saying: "You enjoin"; meaning: in a manner of renewal; and continuity; "what is right"; meaning: all that which the Shari'ah has defined; and permitted; "and you forbid what is wrong"; and that which contradicts that; even if the matter reaches fighting; giving them good tidings that it has been decreed in eternity that they will comply with what He has commanded them of enjoining what is right; and forbidding what is wrong; in His saying: "And let there be from you a nation that calls to goodness" [Aali 'Imran: 104]; relieving them from the burden of considering whether they will comply and succeed; and removing from them the burden of danger by their enduring it to win; and gain; so the benefit of the command became abundant in reward; with the intention of fulfilling the obligation; and for Al-Tirmidhi - and he said: it is good - from Bahz ibn Hakim; from his father; from his grandfather; "that he heard the Prophet - blessings and peace be upon him - say regarding this verse: 'You complete seventy nations; you are the best of them; and the most honored before Allah - glorified and exalted is He';" and for Al-Bukhari; in the tafsir; from Abu Huraira - may Allah be pleased with him - he said: "You are the best of people for people; you bring them in chains around their necks; until they enter into Islam."

And when He informed them of this noble description in itself; He followed it with what increased their honor; which is that they did it in the state of their faith; so it is considered with it; due to the existence of its condition; which is the foundation of all goodness; so He said: "and you believe"; meaning: you do that while you believe; "in Allah"; meaning: the Most High King; whose essence has bewildered minds in knowing its reality; and the windows of the insights have turned away, failing to encompass His attributes; meaning: you affirm His Prophets; and His Messengers because of Him; in all that they have informed of; in word; and action; outwardly; and inwardly; and you do all of His commands; and you forbid all of His prohibitions; and this implies that whoever does not believe as they believe; then he is not from this nation at all; because the mentioned existence cannot occur except with all that has been mentioned; and He repeated the greatest name; as an increase in their glorification; and indeed Allah has spoken the truth; and who is more truthful than Allah in speech?!

Imam Abu Umar; Yusuf ibn Abd al-Barr al-Namari; said in the preface of the book Al-Isti'ab: Ibn al-Qasim narrated from Malik that he heard him say: "When the companions of the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, entered Syria; a man from the People of the Book looked at them and said: 'The companions of Jesus son of Mary, who were cut with saws and crucified on wood, were not more diligent than these.'" This has ended.

And since it is known that the implication is: "And that is better for you;" it was followed by his saying: ﴿And if the People of the Book had believed﴾; meaning: they had established faith; just as you have believed in all the messengers; and all that was revealed to them in their books; and otherwise; and they did not differentiate between anything of that; ﴿it would have been﴾; meaning: faith; ﴿better for them﴾; indicating the foolishness of their minds; in their standing with what prevented them from faith due to the transient, trivial matters; and the worthless leadership; and their leaving of the everlasting wealth; and the lasting, glorious honor.

And since this might imply that none of them believed; he said - resuming -: ﴿Among them are the believers﴾; meaning: those who are steadfast in faith; but they are few; ﴿and most of them are transgressors﴾; meaning: those who have exited from the rank of commands and prohibitions; an exit that diminishes with the exit of others.