And when the People of the Book followed their desires in hating the unlettered ones, their hearts were imbued with the belief that prophethood was exclusive to them because they are the children of Ibrahim (peace be upon him) from his cousin's daughter. The Arabs - even though they are his children - are from the nation, and they did not realize that their being from his offspring is a qualification for the prophethood of some of them, and their being from the nation prepares them for the universality of the message due to the generality of the lineage. He indicated that they became like animals, seeing only the tangible. He connected the preposition with 'they believed' and 'He will give you' and what follows: 'so that they may know,' meaning to know with great knowledge that affirms the content of his news and negates its opposite - by what is indicated by the addition of the negation. 'The People of the Book' refers to the two groups that limited themselves to their book and their prophets and did not believe in the final prophet and what was revealed to him. 'Indeed,' meaning that they are not able at any time to have anything, even if it is little, from the bounty of Allah, the Most High, who has favored you with what He has favored you with. It is not prevented, nor by giving you, where He removed prophethood from them and placed it in their cousin Isma'il (peace be upon him), whom they did not regard at all, saying: 'They are the children of the nation, and they are unlettered, and there is no way for them from them.' He made the prophethood that He favored you with general, as indicated by what is in the son of the nation from inclusiveness in his lineage and branching. And where they worked a lot and gave little: 'The Jews from the beginning of the day for one qirat, and the Christians from noon for one qirat, and this nation from the afternoon prayer for two qirats, so the two groups said: Why do we have more work and less reward?' He said: 'Have I wronged you in your rights at all?' They said: 'No.' He said: 'That is My favor; I give it to whom I will.'

Ibn Burjan mentioned the meaning of this hadith - as previously stated by him recently - from the Gospel and applied it to it. I mentioned it in Al-A'raf. Imam Ahmad narrated in (p-327) several places from the Musnad, and Al-Bukhari in seven places regarding prayer, the hiring, the mention of the Children of Israel, the virtues of the Qur'an, and the Oneness of Allah, and Al-Tirmidhi in the parables - and he said: 'Good and authentic' - from various sources. I gathered its words from Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with them, that the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, said: 'Your example' - and in this narration: 'The example of this nation,' and in another narration: 'The example of my nation,' and in another narration: 'Indeed, your example and the example of the Jews and Christians is like a man.' In another narration: 'Your example and the example of the People of the Two Books is like the example of a man who employed workers.' In another narration: 'He hired laborers and said: Who will work for me from the Fajr prayer [and] in another narration [another]: from dawn until noon for one qirat?' So the Jews worked.' - And in a narration: 'The Jews said: We are - and they worked. Then he said: Who will work for me from noon until the Asr prayer for one qirat?' So the Christians worked.' - And in a narration: 'The Christians said: We are, and they worked. Then he said: Who will work for me from the Asr prayer until sunset - and in a narration: until the sun sets - for two qirats, two qirats? So you are the ones who worked.' In a narration: 'You work,' and in a narration: 'And you Muslims work from the Asr prayer until the night.' In a narration: 'until the Maghrib,' and in a narration: 'the sunset for two qirats, two qirats. So for you is the reward twice.' The Jews and Christians became angry and said: 'We are - and in a narration: what is with us - more in work and less in reward.' In a narration: 'reward.' Allah, the Exalted, said: 'Did I diminish anything of your rights?' - and in a narration: 'Did I wrong you?' - 'Did I diminish anything of your reward?' They said: 'No.' He said: 'Then indeed, it is a favor.' - and in a narration: 'For that is My favor; I give it to whom I will.' - and in a narration: 'I give it to whom I wish.'

And in one narration: I heard the Prophet ﷺ while he was standing on the pulpit saying: 'Indeed, your duration, and in another narration: your remaining, and in another narration: your lifespan is among the lifespans of those who have passed from the nations.' - And in one narration: 'As between the prayer of 'Asr and Maghrib.' - And in another narration: 'Until sunset.' - And in another narration: 'Indeed, the example of your lifespans in the lifespans of the nations before you is like the time between the prayer of 'Asr and the setting of the sun.' - And in another narration: 'Until the Maghrib.' - And in another narration: 'Until the sunsets.' - The people of the Torah were given the Torah, and they worked with it until midday, then they became unable, so they were given one qirat. And the people of the Gospel were given the Gospel, and they worked with it until - and in another narration: until - the prayer of 'Asr, and in another narration: until the 'Asr prayer was performed, then they became unable, so they were given one qirat. Then you were given the Qur'an, and you worked with it until the sun set, and in another narration: until sunset, so you were given two qirats, two qirats. And in another narration: 'Then we were given the Qur'an and we worked until sunset, so we were given two qirats, two qirats.' Then the people of the two books - and in another narration: the people of the Torah and the Gospel - said: 'Our Lord, these are less than us in action and more in reward.' - And in another narration: 'in recompense.' - And in another narration: 'O our Lord, You have given these two qirats, two qirats, and You have given us one qirat, one qirat, while we have done more work than them.' Allah, Blessed and Exalted, said: 'Did I wrong you in your reward - and in another narration: in your wages - in anything?' They said: 'No.' So He said: 'Then that is My grace; I give it to whom I will.' And some of the scholars have taken from this hadith what was before these nations and left their conditions, and said: 'Indeed, it indicates the people of Noah and Abraham, peace be upon them. They had the night, and the people of Noah were in the beginning of it in complete darkness for a long time, with no sign of dawn or any indication of morning. And Noah, peace be upon him, informed them about it and commanded them to prepare for it, so his trial with them was prolonged. And only a few believed with him. As for the people of Abraham, peace be upon him, they were as if they were in the latter part of the night, with the signs of morning appearing to them and the flashes of success illuminating for them. Therefore, Lot, peace be upon him, believed, as did Sarah, his wife, and all his children from her and from others. And Islam continued in his offspring and prophethood until Moses, peace be upon him, came. His time was like the time between dawn and noon. His people were sometimes in light and sometimes in darkness, sometimes thinking they were in light, however they were, and they would weave right and left (p-330), and they would be like someone who entered caves and dens, then they would come out of them and return to the light. Their mistakes were sometimes great and sometimes small. As for the people of Jesus, peace be upon him, they were like someone in the midday sun in intense brightness, and their mistakes could only be due to great blindness. Therefore, their mistakes were the most severe and the most outrageous. - And Allah is the Grantor of success - 'And that' means: 'And know that the grace' [that] 'is not needed by the one who has it' [is] 'in the hand of Allah' [the One to whom belongs all command] 'He gives it to whom He wills' from among them or from others [whether it be prophethood or otherwise].

And when it was that perhaps someone thought that it is not specific to him except because it does not encompass all people, he refuted that with his saying: "And Allah," meaning the One who encompasses all attributes of perfection, "the Possessor of great favor," meaning its owner in a way that does not detach from it, nor does anyone have ownership in it with Him, nor any control in any way at all. Therefore, He specifies whom He wills with what He wills, so no one has the power to object in any way. Indeed, all that is in the heavens and the earth has glorified Him with the greatest glorification. He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise, and there is no Exalted in Might other than Him, nor Wise besides Him. Thus, as you see, the end of it corresponds to its beginning, and its details return to its connections - and Allah is the Guide to the right path, and to Him is the return and the abode.