His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "Say, 'Do you argue with us about Allah while He is our Lord and your Lord? For us are our deeds, and for you are your deeds, and we are sincerely devoted to Him.'" "Or do you say that Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and the descendants were Jews or Christians? Say, 'Are you more knowing or is Allah?' And who is more unjust than one who conceals a testimony he has from Allah? And Allah is not unaware of what you do." "That is a nation that has passed; for it is what it earned, and for you is what you earn, and you will not be asked about what they used to do." The meaning of the verse: Say, O Muhammad, to those Jews and Christians who claimed that they are the children of Allah and His beloved ones and asserted that they are more entitled to Allah than you due to the antiquity of their religions and their scriptures: "Do you argue with us about Allah?" That is, do you dispute with us over your claim? And the Lord, exalted is He, is one. And everyone will be rewarded for his deeds. So what effect does the antiquity of religion have? Then they were reprimanded by His saying: "And we are sincerely devoted to Him," meaning: and why are you sincere? How can you claim what we are more entitled to than you? Ibn Muhaisin read: "Do you argue with us" by merging the two نs, and the plural was softened between two silent letters because the first is a letter of prolongation and leniency. The prolongation is like the movement, and from this category is: دابّةٌ and شابّةٌ. And in Allah means: in His religion, and closeness to Him, and favor with Him. And His saying, exalted is He: "Or do you say" is an addition to the ألف of the previous question. This reading with the ت from above was read by Ibn 'Amir, Hamzah, Al-Kisai, and Hafs from 'Asim. And Ibn Kathir, Nafi', Abu 'Amr, and Abu Bakr from 'Asim read: "Or do they say" with the ي from below, and "Or" in this reading is disconnected. Al-Tabari mentioned this, and it was reported from some grammarians that it is not disconnected because if you say: "Do you stand or does 'Amr stand?" the meaning is: is this or that? The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: and this example is not good because the speaker in it is one and the addressee is one, while the saying in the verse is from two and the addressee is two different ones. The equivalence of "Or" is directed to the ألف on the basis of the semantic ruling, as if the meaning of "Say, do you argue with us" is: do they argue, O Muhammad, or do they say? It was said that "Or" in this position is not equivalent in the two readings, and the evidence for that is the difference in the meaning of the two verses and that they are not two divisions, but rather the argument exists in their claims against the prophets, peace be upon them. And He, exalted is He, stopped them at the point of interruption in the argument because if they said: the mentioned prophets were upon Judaism and Christianity, they would be lying, for He has known that these two religions arose after them. And if they said: they were not upon Judaism and Christianity, they would be told: then come to their religion if you acknowledge the truth. And His saying, exalted is He: "Say, are you more knowing or is Allah?" is a confirmation of the invalidity of their claim, for there is no answer for the one who is created except that Allah, exalted is He, is more knowing. "And who is more unjust" its wording is interrogative, and the meaning is: no one is more unjust than them, and He intended them by concealing the testimony.

And there was a difference regarding the testimony here, what is it? Mujahid, Al-Hasan, and Al-Rabi' said: It is what is in their books that the prophets are upon the Hanifiyyah, not upon what they claimed. And Qatadah and Ibn Zayd said: It is what they have regarding the command to believe in Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, and to follow him. The first is more in line with the context of the meaning of the verse. Allah, glorified and exalted is He, entrusted them with this testimony, and that is why He said: 'from Allah.' So whoever is upon this is related to 'with Him,' as if the meaning is a testimony that was obtained for him from Allah. It is also possible that 'whoever' is related to 'concealed,' meaning its concealment from Allah.

And His saying, glorified and exalted is He: 'And Allah is not unaware of what you do,' is a warning and an indication that He does not leave their matter in vain, and that their deeds are recorded and they will be rewarded for them. The unaware is one who does not perceive matters due to negligence on his part, taken from the heedless earth, which has no knowledge of it.

And His saying, glorified and exalted is He: 'That was a nation,' He repeated it closely because it contains the meaning of warning and intimidation. That is, if those prophets are rewarded for their deeds, then you are more deserving. Therefore, it was necessary to emphasize it, and that is why He repeated it, and for the repetition of their mention also in a meaning different from the first.