And when this included praise of the Torah; he made it clear; and he said - emphasizing their blame for turning away from what it called them to, both in principle and branch; and warning against a similar state to theirs -: "Indeed, We have sent down"; meaning: based on what We have of greatness; "the Torah"; then he began his saying - magnifying it: "in it is guidance"; meaning: words that guide; by what it calls to; to the path of Paradise; "and light"; meaning: a clarification that leaves no ambiguity; then he resumed the praise for those who act by it; and he said: "the prophets judge by it"; and he described them with the highest attributes; and that is pure wealth; he said - praising; not restricting -: "those who have submitted"; meaning: they have given their submission to their Lord - glorified is He -; until there remained for them no choice at all; and therein is an insinuation that the Jews are far from Islam; otherwise they would have followed their prophets in it; so they would have believed in everyone upon whom proof of his prophethood was established.

And when it was known that their ruling by the command of Allah for them to follow the Torah; and to observe it; it was understood that the estimation is: "by what they were entrusted with of the Book of Allah"; so it was omitted for the indication of what will come upon it; and the indication of Islam by it; then he clarified the one who is ruled for; restricting it by it; indicating that it will be abrogated; he said: "for those who have become Jews"; meaning: for whoever adhered to Judaism; "and the rabbis"; meaning: the people of truth; among them are those who have detached themselves from the world; and excelled in what necessitates the attribution to the Lord; "and the scholars"; meaning: the scholars who have submitted; "by what"; meaning: because of what; and when the reason for their submission was by preservation; not because it is from Allah without intermediary; he built for the passive the saying: "they were entrusted"; meaning: the prophets; and those after them; "from the Book of Allah"; meaning: because of what they requested from them; and commanded them with preservation of the Book which has all attributes of perfection; which is His attribute; so its greatness is from His greatness; and its preservation: is studying it; and acting by what is in it; "and they were"; meaning: and by what they were; "witnesses upon it"; meaning: observers; present; they do not absent themselves from it; nor do they leave observing it at all; so the verse - as you see - is from the art of interweaving: "He left first" by "what they were entrusted with"; for the indication of what he mentioned here upon it; and he left the mention of Islam here for the indication of its mention first upon it"; and he specifically mentioned the first with the mention of Islam because the prophets are more deserving of it; and it is a call to preservation certainly; and he specifically mentioned the second with the preservation because the followers are more deserving of it; and it indicates Islam.

And when all of this is a condemnation of the Jews for what they have abandoned of their Book; and a praise for those among them who have adhered to it; and that abandonment was either out of hope or fear; He said - addressing this entire nation; both its obedient and disobedient; warning them of a similar state to theirs; and encouraging them to a state like that of the prophets; and those who follow them in goodness; causing them to understand this -: ﴿So do not fear the people﴾; meaning: in acting by a ruling from the rulings of Allah; ﴿and fear Me﴾; meaning: for that will lead you to justice and goodness; so whoever among you is a Muslim; obedient, let him increase in obedience; and whoever is not like that, let him hasten to submission; and obedience; and this includes the Jews and others.

And when He presented fear; because it has a stronger effect; He followed it with hope; so He said: ﴿And do not exchange﴾; and when buying means persistence in taking something for a price; and the valued item is more honorable than the price; in that it is desired; He made the verses a valuable item; even if it is accompanied by 'ba' (meaning 'for'); so that the speech conveys astonishment at the desire for it; and that it cannot rightly be a price; so He said: ﴿For My verses for a small price﴾; meaning: from bribes; and others; to exchange them as the people of the Book exchanged.

And when He prohibited the two matters; and the abandonment of ruling by the Book is either due to disdain; or fear; or hope; or desire; He concluded the verses with disbelief; and injustice; and sinfulness. Ibn Abbas - may Allah be pleased with them - said: Whoever denies the ruling of Allah has disbelieved; and whoever does not rule by it while acknowledging it is an unjust sinner; so when the determination was: "So whoever judges by what Allah has revealed, those are the Muslims"; He connected to it what He made understood from His saying: (p-147) ﴿And whoever does not judge﴾; meaning: to establish the ruling; and to implement it continuously; ﴿by what Allah has revealed﴾; meaning: that which has complete perfection; so there is no command for anyone alongside it; in terms of devotion by turning away from it; more general than whether his abandonment of it is ruling by something else; or not; ﴿So those﴾; meaning: the far ones from all good; ﴿are the disbelievers﴾; meaning: those who are specifically entrenched in disbelief; and these verses are from His saying (the Exalted): ﴿O Messenger, let not those who hasten into disbelief sadden you﴾ [Al-Ma'idah: 41]; up to here; it was revealed regarding adultery; but when the context was for warfare; and both killing; and highway robbery; and theft; are apparent warfare; with it being corruption; He stated that explicitly; and when adultery is a hidden warfare; considering its obscenity; and prohibition; and leading in some cases to warfare; and not being warfare considering it is mostly consensual; and its perpetrator is not adorned in the attire of warriors; He did not explicitly mention it in these verses even though it was revealed regarding it; Al-Bayhaqi narrated from Ibn Abbas - may Allah be pleased with them - that Umar - may Allah be pleased with him - said in his sermon: "Indeed, Allah sent Muhammad; and revealed to him a Book; and in what was revealed to him is the verse of stoning; and we recited it; and understood it: (The male and female adulterer, when they commit adultery, stone them both absolutely as a punishment from Allah, and Allah is Exalted in Might and Wise); and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ stoned, and we stoned after him..."; the hadith; and at the end of it: "If I were not afraid that people would say: He added to the Book of Allah; I would have written it in the margin of the Mus'haf." And its origin is in the two Sahihs; and others; and for Al-Hakim; and Al-Tabarani; from Abu Umamah ibn Sahl; from his maternal aunt - may Allah be pleased with her - with the wording: (The male and female adulterer, when they commit adultery, stone them both absolutely for what they have earned of pleasure); and in the Sahih of Ibn Hibban from Ubayy ibn Ka'b (p-148) - may Allah be pleased with him - that he said to Zirr ibn Hubaysh: How many verses do you count in Surah "Al-Ahzab"? He said: I said: Seventy-three; he said: By the One whom oaths are taken by; Surah "Al-Ahzab" was equivalent to Surah "Al-Baqarah"; and in it was the verse of stoning: (The male and female adulterer...); the hadith; and for the two Shaykhs; Al-Bukhari; in places; and Muslim; and Ahmad; and Abu Dawood - and this is its wording - and Al-Darami; and Al-Tirmidhi; in the limits; and Al-Nasa'i in stoning; from Ibn Umar - may Allah be pleased with them - that he said: "Indeed, the Jews came to the Prophet ﷺ and mentioned to him that a man from them and a woman committed adultery; so the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to them: 'What do you find in the Torah regarding adultery?' They said: We disgrace them and they are flogged - and in one narration: So he said: 'Do you not find in the Torah the stoning?' They said: We do not find anything in it - so Abdullah ibn Salam - may Allah be pleased with him - said: You have lied; bring the Torah and recite it if you are truthful; so they brought the Torah; and spread it; and one of them - and in one narration: the one who studies it among them - placed his hand on the verse of stoning and began to read what was before it and what was after it; so Abdullah ibn Salam said to him: Raise your hand; so he raised it; and he said: What is this? And behold, in it is the verse of stoning; so they said: Muhammad has spoken the truth; in it is the verse of stoning; so the Messenger of Allah ﷺ ordered that they be stoned; Abdullah (p-149) ibn Umar - may Allah be pleased with them - said: I saw the man shielding the woman from the stones;" And in a wording for Al-Bukhari; in the interpretation; that the Prophet ﷺ said: "Do you not find in the Torah the stoning?"; they said: We do not find anything in it; so Abdullah ibn Salam said to them: You have lied; bring the Torah and recite it if you are truthful;" And in a wording for him; in the Oneness - which is the narration of Ahmad - "That the Prophet ﷺ is the one who said: 'Bring the Torah and recite it if you are truthful.'" And for Abu Dawood from Ibn Umar also - may Allah be pleased with them - he said: "A group of Jews came; and they called the Messenger of Allah ﷺ to the school; so he came to them in the house of the school; and they said: O Abu al-Qasim; indeed, a man from us committed adultery with a woman; so judge; and they placed a cushion for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ; so he sat on it; then he said: 'Bring me the Torah'; so it was brought to him; and he removed the cushion from beneath him; and placed the Torah on it; then he said: 'I believe in you; and in the One who revealed you'; then he said: 'Bring me your most knowledgeable one'; so a young man was brought to him;" He mentioned the story of stoning similar to the one before it; and Abu Dawood remained silent about it; (p-150) and the hafiz Al-Mundhiri in his summary; and its chain is good; and for Muslim; and Abu Dawood - and this is its wording - and Al-Nasa'i and Ibn Majah; from Al-Bara' ibn Azib - may Allah be pleased with them - that he said: "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ passed by a Jewish man who was being punished; so he called them; and said: 'Is this how you find the punishment for the adulterer?' They said: Yes; so he called a man from their scholars; and said: 'I urge you by Allah who revealed the Torah to Moses; is this how you find the punishment for the adulterer in your Book?' He said: O Allah, no; and if you had not urged me by this, I would not have informed you; we find the punishment for the adulterer in our Book is stoning; but it has become common among our nobles; so when we took the noble man, we let him go; and when we took the weak man, we imposed the punishment on him; so we said: Let us come together on something we can impose on the noble and the lowly; so we agreed on flogging; and we left stoning; so the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: 'O Allah, I am the first to revive Your command when they have killed it'; so he ordered that he be stoned;" So Allah - Exalted and Majestic - revealed ﴿O Messenger, let not those who hasten into disbelief sadden you﴾ [Al-Ma'idah: 41]; up to His saying: ﴿They say: If you are given this, then take it; but if you are not given it, then beware﴾ [Al-Ma'idah: 41]; up to His saying: ﴿And whoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed, those are the disbelievers﴾; regarding the Jews - up to His saying: ﴿And whoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed, those are the unjust﴾ [Al-Ma'idah: 45]; regarding the Jews; - up to His saying: ﴿And whoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed, those are the sinful﴾ [Al-Ma'idah: 47]; he said: It is regarding all disbelievers; meaning this verse.

And Al-Daraqutni narrated in the last of the vows from the Sunnah from Jabir - may Allah be pleased with him - who said: "The Prophet ﷺ was brought a Jewish man and a Jewish woman who had committed adultery. He said to the Jews: 'What prevents you from carrying out the punishment on them?' They said: 'We used to do so when we had the kingdom, but when our kingdom was taken away, we do not dare to act.' He said to them: 'Bring me the most knowledgeable of your two men.' They brought him two sons of Surya. He said to them: 'Are you the most knowledgeable of those behind you?' They said: 'They say.' He said: 'I ask you by Allah who revealed the Torah to Moses, how do you find their punishment in the Torah?' They said: 'The man with the woman is an adulterer, and there is a punishment for it; and the man on the belly of the woman is an adulterer, and there is a punishment for it; and if four witnesses testify that they saw him entering her as the male enters the kohl pot, he is to be stoned.' He said: 'Bring me the witnesses.' Four witnesses testified, and the Prophet ﷺ stoned them." This is the end.

This verse is referring to the verse: ﴿O you who have believed, fear Allah and seek the means to Him﴾ [Al-Ma'idah: 35]; the verse; and the one after it; what a reference; and that is because these people, when they abandoned this ruling, were led to disbelief; and there is no restriction in these narrations - as you see - regarding stoning being conditional upon being chaste; (p-152) and it is likewise in what is found with them in the Torah; it is said in the third book and others: (Then Allah spoke to Moses and said to him: Tell the Children of Israel: Any man from the Children of Israel and from those who come to any of them and dwell among the Children of Israel; if he plants his seed in a foreign woman, that man shall be killed; let all the people stone him with stones; and I also will bring down My wrath upon that man; and I will destroy him from his people; because he has planted his seed in a foreign woman; and he intended to defile My sanctities and to defile My holy name; if the people of the earth are heedless of the man who planted his seed in a foreign woman; and do not impose the death penalty upon him; I will bring down My wrath upon that man; and upon his tribe; and I will destroy him; and I will destroy whoever is led astray by him; because they were led astray by foreign women; who are not lawful for them; then it was said: The man who comes to his neighbor's wife; and the wife of a foreign man; both shall be killed; and the man who commits with a male like him; so he commits with him what he commits with women; they have both committed filth; they shall be killed; and their blood is upon their necks; and the man who marries a woman and her mother has indeed committed a sin; he and they shall be burned in the fire; and the man who commits with an animal what he commits with women shall be killed; and the animal shall also be stoned; and the woman who lies between the hands of the animal to commit with it the abomination shall be killed; the woman and the animal both shall be killed; and their blood is upon their necks; and the man who comes to a menstruating woman and uncovers her private parts; he has uncovered her fountain; and she has also uncovered her fountain of blood; (p-153) they shall both be destroyed from their people; and it was said: And the man who comes to his father's wife; he has uncovered the private parts of his father; they shall both be killed; and their blood is upon their necks; and the man who comes to his daughter-in-law shall both be killed; because they have committed a sin; and their blood is upon their necks; and the man who marries his sister from his mother or from his father; and sees her private parts; and she sees his private parts; this is a great disgrace; they shall both be killed before their people; and that is because he uncovered the private parts of his sister; their sin shall be upon their heads; do not uncover the private parts of your aunt or your maternal aunt; because they are your relatives; and whoever does that shall be punished for his disgraceful sin; and the man who comes to his uncle's wife has indeed uncovered the private parts of his uncle; they shall both be punished for their sin and die; and the man who marries his brother's wife has indeed committed a sin; because he has uncovered the private parts of his brother; they shall die); rather, he explicitly stated the stoning of the unmarried; he said in the fifth book; regarding one who married a virgin and claimed that he found her to be a widow: (If his accusation against her is true and he did not find her to be a virgin, the girl shall go to her father's house; and the people of the village shall stone her with stones; and she shall die; because she has committed a sin before the Children of Israel; and committed adultery in her father's house; keep evil away from you; and if a man is found committing adultery with the wife of another man; they shall both be killed; the man and the woman); rather, he explicitly stated the stoning of the unwilling virgin; he said after what has preceded: (And if a man has a fiancée who is a virgin and has not yet consummated the marriage with her; and she goes out and a man overcomes her; and he has sexual relations with her; they shall both be brought out and stoned until they die; and the girl is killed with the man because she did not scream; and did not seek help); it has ended.

So the beneficial hadiths regarding [ihsan] in this story should be considered weak; because its narrators thought that the Islamic path was a law for them.