His saying, exalted and majestic is He:

﴿And do not argue with the People of the Book except in that which is best, except for those who have wronged among them. And say, 'We have believed in that which has been revealed to us and revealed to you. And our God and your God is one, and we are Muslims to Him.'﴾

The majority read: "except" as an exception, while Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, read: "Ala" with the hamzah opened and the lam softened. The interpreters have differed regarding the intended meaning of this verse.

Ibn Zayd said: Its meaning is: Do not argue with those who have believed in Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, from the People of the Book. It is as if he said: "The believing People of the Book." ﴿Except in that which is best﴾ means: by agreeing with them in what they have informed you about their early stories and otherwise. And His saying, exalted and majestic is He - according to this interpretation -: ﴿Except for those who have wronged﴾ means those who have remained upon their disbelief among them, like those who disbelieved and betrayed from Banu Qurayzah and Banu al-Nadir and others. Thus, the verse - according to this - is definitive and not abrogated.

And Mujahid said: The intended meaning of the People of the Book is the Jews and Christians who remain upon their religion. Allah, exalted and majestic is He, commanded the believers not to argue with them except in the best manner: by calling them to Allah, exalted and majestic is He, and by pointing out His signs; hoping for their response to faith, not in a manner of harshness and hostility. And His saying - according to this interpretation -: ﴿Except for those who have wronged among them﴾ means: they have wronged you. Otherwise, all of them are wrongdoers in general. It is meant by them those who have not paid the jizyah, declared war, or those who said and declared that Allah has a son, or that He has a partner, or that His hand is chained. Thus, the verse - according to this - is abrogated in terms of making peace with those who do not fight. Qatadah said: It is abrogated by Allah's saying, exalted and majestic is He: ﴿Fight those who do not believe in Allah﴾ [At-Tawbah: 29].

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: The meaning of the verse becomes clear only by understanding the context at the time of the verse's revelation. This is because the surah is Meccan after the first ten verses. At that time, there was no obligatory fighting, nor a demand for jizyah, nor anything else. The Jews were in Mecca and its surroundings. Perhaps there would occur between them and the believers some argument and dispute regarding religion and denial. So Allah, exalted and majestic is He, commanded the believers not to argue with them in a disputatious manner except in the best way, calling to Allah, exalted and majestic is He, and being conciliatory. Then He excluded those who have wronged among them the believers, either by action or by words, or by harming Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, or by declaring gross disbelief, like the saying of some of them: 'Uzayr is the son of Allah,' and similar to this. For this attribute has been excluded for the people of Islam, opposing it with the departure from that which is best. Then this was later abrogated by the verse of fighting and jizyah. And this is the saying of Qatadah.

And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿And say, 'We have believed'﴾. Abu Huraira said: The people of the Book used to read the Torah in Hebrew, and they would interpret it in Arabic for the Muslims. The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, said: "Do not believe the people of the Book nor disbelieve them, and say: ﴿We have believed in what has been revealed to us and revealed to you; our God and your God is one, and we are Muslims to Him﴾." And Abdullah ibn Mas'ud narrated that the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, said: "Do not ask the people of the Book about anything, for they will not guide you, and they have gone astray; either you will disbelieve in the truth or you will believe in falsehood."