His saying, exalted is He: "And those who believe in Allah and His messengers and do not differentiate between any of them, those are the ones who will be given their rewards. And Allah was Forgiving and Merciful." "The People of the Book ask you to bring down to them a book from the heaven. They have asked Moses for something greater than that, saying, 'Show us Allah openly.' So the thunderbolt seized them for their wrongdoing. Then they took the calf after the clear signs had come to them. So We forgave that and gave Moses a clear authority."

When Allah, exalted is He, mentioned that those who differentiate between the messengers are truly the disbelievers; He followed that by mentioning the believers in Allah and His messengers altogether; and they are the believers in Muhammad - blessings and peace be upon him -; to declare the promise for these, just as He declared the warning for those. So He clarified the distinction between the two ranks. And some of the seven reciters read: "He will give them" with a 'ya', meaning: Allah will give them. The majority read: "We will give them" with a 'noon'; among them are Ibn Kathir, Nafi', and Abu Amr. The interpreters differed on how the People of the Book asked Muhammad - blessings and peace be upon him - to bring down to them a book from the heaven. Al-Suddi said: The Jews said: 'O Muhammad, if you are truthful, then bring a book from the heaven, just as Moses brought a book.' And Muhammad ibn Ka'b al-Qurazi said: Moses came with tablets containing the Torah; so you come with tablets containing your book. And Qatadah said: Rather, they asked him to bring a specific book for the Jews, commanding them to believe in Muhammad. And Ibn Jurayj said: The Jews said: 'O Muhammad, we will not follow you in what you call us to until you bring us a book from Allah to so-and-so; and to so-and-so; that you are the Messenger of Allah.'

Qadi Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: The saying of Ibn Jurayj implies that their question was similar to the question of Abdullah ibn Abi Umayyah al-Makhzumi al-Qurashi.

Then He, exalted is He, said: "They have asked Moses for something greater than that"; as a means of consolation for Muhammad - blessings and peace be upon him -; and presenting the example. And in the speech, there is an implied meaning that indicates what has been mentioned; its estimation is: 'So do not be concerned, O Muhammad, about their question and their exaggeration; for that is their habit; they have asked Moses for something greater than that.' And the majority of the people read: "greater" with a single dot on the 'ba'; and Al-Hasan read: "more" with three dots on the 'tha'. And the majority of the interpreters are of the opinion that "openly" is an object for "show us"; meaning: until we see Him openly; that is, visibly, in a clear and manifest sight. And it has been narrated from Ibn Abbas that he used to see that "openly" is an object for "they said"; meaning: they said it openly from them; and explicitly: "Show us Allah."

Qadi Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said:

The people of the Sunnah believe that these individuals did not ask something impossible by reason; however, it is impossible from the perspective of the Shari'ah. For He, the Most High, has informed through the tongues of His Prophets that He is not seen in this worldly life. The vision in the Hereafter is established from the Prophet - blessings and peace be upon him - through the mutawatir report. It is permissible by reason, without specification, without description, and without limitation. Just as He, glorified and exalted is He, is known, not like the known things; likewise, He is seen, not like the seen things. This is the proof of the people of the Sunnah and their statement. My father - may Allah have mercy on him - narrated to me from Abu Abdullah al-Nahwi that he used to say when teaching this issue: 'The example of knowledge of Allah is the shaving of the beards of the Mu'tazila in their denial of the vision.' The statement they made: 'Show us Allah openly' is the one that went with Musa for the presence of the conversation. Its story has already been mentioned in Surah Al-Baqarah.

And the majority of the people read: 'Then the thunderbolt seized them'; and Abu Abdur-Rahman al-Sulami and Ibrahim al-Nakha'i read: 'The stunning blow.' The meaning is close, as all of that is an expression of the severe occurrence from the sound that strikes a person with its intensity. It leads to his stillness and the stillness of his senses. Their injustice is their obstinacy, and their asking for what they have no right to ask.

And His saying, the Most High: 'Then they took the calf' is an arrangement in the report, not in the essence of the matter. The estimation is: 'Then it was from their affair that they took the calf.' This is because the taking of the calf occurred at the time of proceeding to the conversation. So those who were struck down were not among those who took the calf; rather, those who took it had received clear signs regarding the matter of the sea's passage, the matter of the staff, the drowning of Pharaoh, and other than that.

And His saying, the Most High: 'So We forgave that' means regarding what He tested them with concerning the killing of their souls. Then forgiveness occurred for the remaining ones among them; and 'the sultan' is the proof.