His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "So if they argue with you, say, 'I have submitted my face to Allah and [so have] those who follow me.' And say to those who were given the Scripture and to the unlettered, 'Have you submitted?' If they have submitted, then they have been guided; but if they turn away, then upon you is the responsibility of notification. And Allah is All-Seer of the servants.'"

"They argue with you" is derived from the word for argument. The pronoun in "they argue with you" refers to the Jews and the Christians of Najran. The meaning is: if they debate you and persist with fabricated statements and fallacies, then refer to what you have been tasked with in terms of faith and notification. And upon Allah is your victory.

And His saying, "my face" could mean the intention, as one might say: 'So-and-so went in the direction of such-and-such.' Thus, the meaning of the verse is: 'I have made my intention for Allah.' It could also mean: 'I have submitted my person, my essence, and my entirety; and I have made that for Allah.' He expressed it with "face" because the face is the noblest of the person's limbs and encompasses all the senses. The skilled speakers have said regarding His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "And the Face of your Lord will remain" [Ar-Rahman: 27] that it is an expression of the essence.

In this context, "I have submitted" means I have pushed forward and proceeded, and it does not mean I have entered into peace, as that does not extend beyond it. And His saying, "and those who follow me" is in the nominative case, connected to the pronoun in "I have submitted." It is also possible that it is a subject, meaning: 'And whoever follows me has submitted his face.' Some have said it may be in the genitive case, connected to the name of Allah, exalted and majestic is He, as if He is saying: 'I have made my intention for Allah through faith in Him and obedience to Him, and for whoever follows me by preserving him and adhering to his teachings and companionship.' In "follow me," the omission of the 'ya' and its affirmation are both permissible, but omitting it is better in accordance with the script of the Mus'haf. This 'noon' is only to preserve the opening of the 'lam' of the verb, and it suffices with the kasrah instead of the 'ya,' especially if it is at the beginning of a verse, as it resembles the rhymes of poetry, as Al-A'sha said:

'Will the fear of death prevent me from traveling to the lands?'

And from that is His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "My Lord has honored me" [Al-Fajr: 15]. If there is no noon, then affirming the 'ya' is better, but they have said: 'This boy has come,' so they sufficed with the kasrah as an indication of the 'ya.'

And "those who were given the Scripture" in this context encompasses both the Jews and the Christians by consensus. And the unlettered ones are those who do not write, and they are the Arabs in this verse. This attribution is to the mother or to the nation, meaning as it is the mother, or in the state of a person emerging from the mother, or in the state of the naive nation before learning and sophistication.

And His saying, "Have you submitted?" is a confirmation that inherently includes a command, as Al-Tabari and others have said, "and that is clear." And Al-Zajjaj said, "Have you submitted?" is a threat, and this is good, as the meaning is: 'Have you submitted or not?' And His saying, "then they have been guided" [Al-Baqarah: 137] has come in the past tense, emphasizing the occurrence of guidance for them and its attainment.

And His saying, exalted is He: "So your duty is only to convey the message," some people mentioned that this is a verse of reconciliation, and that it is among what was abrogated by the verse of the sword. This requires knowing the history of its revelation. As for the apparent timing of the revelation of this verse during the delegation of Najran, the meaning of "So your duty is only to convey the message" includes both fighting and other matters. The conveying is the source of 'balagha' with the lightening of the root of the verb. And in His saying, exalted is He: "And Allah is All-Seer of the servants," there is a promise for the believers and a warning for the disbelievers.