Allah, the Exalted, says:

"And a group of the People of the Book said: 'Believe in what has been revealed to those who believe at the beginning of the day and disbelieve at its end, so that perhaps they will return.'"

"And do not believe except for one who follows your religion. Say: 'Indeed, guidance is the guidance of Allah, that anyone should be given the like of what you have been given, or they should argue with you before your Lord.'"

Allah, the Exalted, informs in this verse that a group of the Jews, from their scholars, went to deceive the Muslims with this scheme. Al-Hasan said: This was said by the Jews of Khaybar to the Jews of Medina. Qatadah, Abu Malik, Al-Suddi, and others said: Some of the scholars said: Let us show faith to Muhammad at the beginning of the day, then let us disbelieve at the end of the day. The Muslims will then say: What is with these people? They were with us, then they turned away from us? This is only because the truth has become clear to them, and they doubt, so perhaps they will return from believing in Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him. And since the scholars are thought to possess knowledge and good insight and to be knowledgeable of the ancient scripture, they hoped that the Arabs would be deceived by this scheme, so they did that: they came to the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, in the morning and said: O Muhammad, you are the one described in our book, but give us time until the evening to consider our matter. Then they returned in the evening and said: We have considered, and you are not that one.

"'At the beginning of the day'" in this interpretation is understood as: 'Show faith in the morning,' and the pronoun in His saying: 'at its end' refers back to the day. Ibn Abbas, Mujahid, and others said: This verse was revealed because the Jews went to plot against the believers. They prayed with the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, the Fajr prayer, then they returned at the end of the day and prayed their prayer so that the people would see that they had found error in him after they had followed him. And this saying is close to the first saying.

And a group of the interpreters said: This verse was revealed concerning the matter of the Qiblah. This is because the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, prayed the Fajr prayer facing the Levant as he used to pray, then the Qiblah was changed, and he prayed (the Dhuhr) - and it was said (the Asr) - facing Mecca. The scholars said to their followers and to the Arabs: Believe in what was revealed at the beginning of the day and disbelieve in this last Qiblah.

The subject of His saying: "at the beginning of the day" - according to this interpretation - is His saying: "was revealed," and the pronoun in His saying: "at its end" may refer back to the day or refer back to "what was revealed." And "they will return" - in this interpretation - means: from Mecca to our Qiblah which is the Levant, as said by the one who holds this interpretation. And "at the beginning of the day" is the first part that is faced, likening it to the face of a human. Likewise, you say: the beginning of the day and the start of the year and the month. From this is the saying of the Prophet, peace be upon him: "Did you kill him at the beginning of Islam?" And from this is the saying of Al-Rabi' ibn Ziyad Al-Absi:

Whoever was pleased with the killing of Malik, Let him come to our women at the beginning of the day. He will find the women mourning him, They had risen before the dawn of the dawn.

He says this about Malik ibn Zuhayr ibn Judhaymah al-Absi. They had taken revenge for him. The slain among them is not mourned or lamented except after taking revenge for him.

So the meaning is: whoever is pleased by our calamity concerning him, let him look to what indicates that we have attained his revenge. Let him be choked by that and grieve. From the metaphor of the face is their saying: I did such and such on the face of time, meaning in the past.

And Allah, glorified and exalted is He, mentioned about this group of the People of the Book that they said: "And do not believe except for one who follows your religion." There is no disagreement among the people of interpretation that this saying is from the words of the group. People have differed regarding His saying, glorified and exalted is He: "That one should be given like what you have been given or that they should argue with you." Mujahid and others from the people of interpretation said: The entire speech is from the words of the group to their followers. And His saying, glorified and exalted is He: "Say, indeed guidance is the guidance of Allah," is an interruption between the two speeches.

The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: The speech regarding this interpretation can carry meanings, one of which is: And do not believe with a true belief and do not have faith except for one who comes with a religion like yours, out of dislike or fear or caution that one might be given from prophethood and honor like what you have been given. And caution that they might argue with you by your belief in them before your Lord if you do not remain steadfast upon it. And this saying regarding this meaning is the fruit of envy and disbelief, along with the knowledge of the truth of the prophethood of Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him.

It is possible that the intended meaning is that "not to be given" and the "not" was omitted due to the indication of the speech. And it is possible that the speech means: And do not believe and have faith that one should be given like what you have been given except for one who follows your religion and comes with something like it and supports it, for indeed that will not be given to anyone other than you. "Or they should argue with you before your Lord" means: except that they should argue with you, as you say: I will not leave you or you demand your right from me. And this saying regarding this meaning is the fruit of the denial of Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, based on their belief that prophethood would not be except among the Children of Israel.

And the speech may mean: And do not believe in Muhammad and acknowledge his prophethood when you have known its truth except for the Jews who are among you. And "that one should be given like what you have been given" is a description of the state of Muhammad. So the meaning is: You conceal by your acknowledgment that indeed one has been given like what you have been given, or indeed they - meaning the Arabs - will argue with you by acknowledging before your Lord.

Abu Ali said: 'And

This is because anything that is in common use does not come in a necessary part of the speech, because it does not convey meaning. Ibn Kathir read alone among the seven: "An yu'ta" with elongation in the manner of questioning, which is a confirmation. Abu Ali interpreted Ibn Kathir's reading as meaning that all the speech is from the saying of the group, except for the interruption which is: ﴿Say: Indeed, guidance is the guidance of Allah﴾. There is no disagreement that it is from the words of Allah, the Most High, to Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him. He said: So it is not permissible with the questioning to take: "An yu'ta" as referring to what preceded it from the verb, because the questioning is decisive. It is permissible for "An" to be in the position of raising by the beginning, and its news is omitted, its estimation being: You believe in it or you acknowledge it or you mention it to others, and similar to this is what the speech indicates. And "Yuhajjukum" - based on this - is connected to "An yu'ta." Abu Ali said: And it is permissible for the position of "An" to be in the accusative, so the meaning would be: Do you spread or do you mention ﴿An yu'ta ahadun mithla ma u'titum﴾? And this would be in the meaning of His saying, the Most High, about them: ﴿Do you inform them of what Allah has opened upon you﴾ [Al-Baqarah: 76]. So in both cases, the meaning of the verse is a reprimand from the scholars to the followers for their belief that Muhammad is a sent prophet. And His saying, the Most High: "Or do they argue with you" in the interpretation of the accusative of "An" means: Or do you want them to argue with you? Abu Ali said: And "Ahadun" in the reading of Ibn Kathir indicates plurality, and the decisive questioning has prevented it from being supported by the negation that is at the beginning of the speech. So it remains only to estimate that "Ahadun" in your saying: "Ahadun wa 'ishrun" is in the affirmative because it means one, and he gathered its pronoun in his saying: "Or do they argue with you" in plurality based on the meaning, since "Ahadun" intended by the like of prophethood are followers, so it is in the meaning of plurality. Abu Ali said: And this is a position where the reading of others should be preferred over the reading of Ibn Kathir, because singular names are not necessarily indicative of plurality.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: Except that "Ahadun" in the like of prophethood indicates it in terms of requiring followers.

And Al-Amash and Shu'ayb ibn Abi Hamzah read: "In yu'ta" with the hamzah broken, meaning: No one has been given like what you have been given of honor. And this reading may be that the speech is an address from the group that is speaking, and their saying: "Or do they argue with you" means: Or let them argue with you. And this is on the condition that it is not given to anyone like what was given, and it is possible that it means: Except that they argue with you, and this is on the assumption that anyone could be given that if the proof is established for him. This is the arrangement of the interpretation and readings according to the saying of those who said: All the speech is from the saying of the group.

Al-Suddi and others said: The entire statement from His saying: ﴿Say, indeed, guidance is the guidance of Allah﴾... to the end of the verse, is what Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, was commanded to say to his nation. Al-Zajjaj and others narrated that the meaning is: Say, indeed, this guidance is the guidance, no one is given like what you have been given. It was reported from some grammarians that the meaning is: that no one will be given, and 'no' was omitted because there is evidence for it in the speech, as in His saying, the Exalted: ﴿Allah clarifies to you that you do not go astray﴾ [An-Nisa: 176], meaning that you do not go astray. It was reported from Abu al-Abbas al-Mubarrid: 'no' is not omitted, rather the meaning is dislike for you to go astray, and likewise here: dislike for anyone to be given like what you have been given, meaning from those who oppose the religion of Islam, because Allah does not guide the one who is a lying disbeliever, so the guidance of Allah is far from the non-believers.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: The reading of Ibn Kathir with the question and elongation is far from this saying, and the reading of Al-Amash and Ibn Abi Hamzah: "If one is given" with a broken 'alif' is to be understood as if he, blessings and peace be upon him, is informing his nation that Allah does not give anyone nor has He given in the past like what He has given to the nation of Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, due to its being a middle nation. His saying, the Exalted: "Or will they argue with you" - on these meanings that were arranged in the saying of Al-Suddi - has two possible meanings. One of them is: or let them argue with you before your Lord, meaning the Jews. The meaning is: no one has been given like your share, otherwise let them argue with you who claims other than that. The second meaning is that His saying: "Or will they argue with you" means to affirm and belittle the Jews, as if He said: or do they have the right to argue with you or dispute with you regarding what Allah has granted you and favored you with?

And His saying: "Guidance of Allah" refers to all that has preceded from the news of "Indeed"; and Qatadah and Al-Rabi' said: The statement from His saying: ﴿Say, indeed, guidance is the guidance of Allah﴾ to the end of the verse, is what Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, was commanded to say to the group that said: ﴿And do not believe except for one who follows your religion﴾. This statement aligns with the reading of Ibn Kathir with the question and elongation, and the estimation of the omitted news is: "That no one is given like what you have been given": "You have envied and disbelieved," and His saying: "Or will they argue with you" is to be understood as: as if He said: Do you envy or disbelieve that anyone is given like what you have been given? Or will they argue with you regarding what they have been given, for they will overpower you with evidence.

As for the reading of others than Ibn Kathir without elongation, it is possible that "that" means to affirm without an interrogative particle, and this is the apparent meaning from the wording of Qatadah, for he said: He says when Allah has revealed a Book like your Book and sent a Prophet like your Prophet, you have envied them for that. It is possible that His saying: "That one is given" is a substitute for His saying: "Guidance of Allah" and the meaning is: Say, indeed, guidance is the guidance of Allah, which is that one is given like what has come to us. And His saying: "Or will they argue with you" means: or let them argue with you, for they will overpower you.

And his saying: "that it may be given" can carry the meaning of the news of "indeed". His saying: "the guidance of Allah" may be a substitute for "the guidance". This in meaning is close to what came before. Ibn Jurayj said: His saying, exalted is He: "that it may be given" is from the words of Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, to the Jews. The speech is completed in His saying: "You have been given". His saying, exalted is He: "or they may argue with you" is connected to the saying of the group: "And do not believe except for one who follows your religion". This saying explains its meanings as previously mentioned in the words of others regarding the division, and Allah is the One sought for help.

And Ibn Mas'ud read: "that they may argue with you" instead of "or". This reading aligns with some of the meanings that have been mentioned, but does not align with some of them.

And His saying: "with your Lord" comes in some meanings as meaning "with your Lord in the Hereafter". In some of them, it comes as meaning "with the books of your Lord and the knowledge that He has placed in the servants". Thus, He attributed that to the Lord as a means of honoring, as if the meaning is: or they may argue with you at the truth.

And Al-Hasan read: "If anyone is given", with a broken hamzah and a ta, attributing the action to "anyone". The meaning is that the favor of Allah is not like the favor of anyone from His creation. The clearest interpretation of the reading is that it is a speech from Muhammad, peace be upon him, to his nation, and the object is omitted, its estimation being: If anyone is given to anyone.