His saying, exalted and majestic is He:

﴿O you who have believed, if you obey a party of those who were given the Scripture, they will turn you back after your faith to being disbelievers﴾ ﴿And how could you disbelieve while to you are recited the verses of Allah and among you is His Messenger? And whoever holds firmly to Allah has indeed been guided to a straight path﴾

The address in His saying: "O you who have believed" is general for the believers. The reference at the time of its revelation is to the Aws and Khazraj due to the incident of Shas ibn Qays. The term "party" refers to a group of people, and what is meant here are the scholars and leaders. And "they will turn you back" means: by misleading, doubting, deceiving, and showing deceit in the guise of advice.

Then He cautioned the believers about this repugnant and far-fetched matter that the Jews intend for them, saying: ﴿And how could you disbelieve while you are﴾ in these described conditions? And "how" is in the accusative case, as in His saying, exalted is He: ﴿How could you disbelieve in Allah while you were dead and He brought you to life﴾ [Al-Baqarah: 28]. And the meaning is: Are you disbelieving? Are you ignorant? Are you taking it lightly? Are you apostates? And similar to this is the estimation. The "and" in His saying: "And how could you disbelieve" connects one statement to another, and it is not permissible for "how" in this verse to be like in your saying: "How do you do such and such?" while you are asking about something that is established and certain to occur, because it would necessitate that the disbelief of the believers is established and certain to occur. And consider the meaning of "how" when it is followed by a verb, and its meaning when it is followed by a noun.

The majority of people read: "are recited" with the "ta" from above, and Al-Hasan read: "is recited" with the "ya" since the verses are the Qur'an.

And His saying, exalted is He: "and among you" indicates the presence and witnessing of his person, blessings and peace be upon him, and he is in his community until the Day of Resurrection with his sayings and effects. And "holds firmly" means: he clings and seeks refuge. Something is protected if it is prevented and guarded. From this is His saying: ﴿He will protect me from the water﴾ [Hud: 43]. And the means are the reasons by which one is supported, and one seeks refuge from failure in the desired objective. And Al-A'sha said:

To the man Qays, I prolong the journey and take from every living thing means.

And the variations of the wording are very many, and the rest of the verse is clear. And Allah is the One sought for help.