His saying, exalted is He: "So, due to the wrongdoing of those who were Jews, We prohibited them from good things that had been made lawful for them, and because of their hindering many from the way of Allah." "And their taking of usury while they were forbidden from it, and their consuming the wealth of people unjustly. And We have prepared for the disbelievers among them a painful punishment." "But the firmly rooted in knowledge among them and the believers believe in what has been revealed to you and what was revealed before you, and they establish prayer and give zakah, and they believe in Allah and the Last Day. Those are the ones We will give a great reward."

His saying, exalted is He: "So, due to the wrongdoing"; it is connected to His saying: "So, because of their breaking [the covenant]"; as if He said: "So, by their breaking [the covenant], We cursed them and made their punishment obligatory; so, due to their wrongdoing, We prohibited them from the good things." Allah made this worldly punishment in response to the wrongdoing of the Children of Israel in their obstinacy and their other vile morals. The good things here refer to the fats, some of the sacrifices, birds, fish, and others. Ibn Abbas read: "good things (that were) made lawful for them."

And His saying, exalted is He: "and because of their hindering many from the way of Allah"; it is possible that He means: "hindering themselves"; and it is possible that He means: "hindering others"; and to this, Al-Tabari went. He said: It is their denial of the matter of Muhammad - blessings and peace be upon him -; for they hindered by that a great number of people from the way of Allah. And "and their taking of usury"; it is: the dirham for two dirhams for a specified term; and similar to that is what is corrupt. They were forbidden from it, yet they legislated it for themselves and continued upon it; among that is the renting of the eye and similar things.

And consuming the wealth of people unjustly is bribery. Then Allah, exalted is He, excepted from the Children of Israel those firmly rooted in the knowledge of the Torah, who verified the matter of Muhammad - blessings and peace be upon him - and his signs; and they are: Abdullah ibn Salam, and Mukhayriq, and those who followed their example.

And "the believers"; it is connected to "the firmly rooted"; and what was revealed to Muhammad - blessings and peace be upon him - is the Qur'an; and what was revealed before him is the Torah and the Gospel.

People differed regarding the meaning of His saying: "and those who establish [prayer]"; and how its grammatical structure differs from what preceded and followed. Aban ibn Uthman ibn Affan and Aisha - may Allah be pleased with her - said: "That is an error of the scribe of the mushaf." It has been narrated that in the mushaf of Ubayy ibn Ka'b, it is: "and those who establish [prayer]"; and it has been narrated that it is in it: "and those who establish [prayer]"; as it is in the mushaf of Uthman - may Allah be pleased with him.

Al-Farra' said: And in the Mushaf of Ibn Mas'ud: "and the muqimun"; and likewise, 'Ismah narrated from Al-A'mash; and likewise, Sa'id ibn Jubair read; and so did Amr ibn Ubaid; and Al-Jahdari; and 'Isa ibn 'Umar; and Malik ibn Dinar; and likewise, Yunus; and Harun; from Abu 'Amr. And others said: This is not from the error of the writer; nor an error in the Mushaf; rather, this is from the cutting of the attributes; when they are numerous; on the accusative with "a'ni"; and the nominative thereafter with "hum"; and some grammarians from Kufa and Basra went to this meaning; and it was reported from Sibawayh that it is a cutting for praise; and the news of "but": "they believe"; because praise cannot be except after the completion of the first sentence; and this is like the saying of Khirnaq bint Hafan:

Do not let my people be far away, who are *** the poison of the enemies and the affliction of the slaughter.

(p-66) * those who descend in every battleground * and the good ones are the places of the burdens.

Qadi Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: And there is a distinction made between the verse and the poem by the conjunction in the verse; for it is prevented by some of them from estimating the verb; and there is a consideration in this.

And some said: His saying, the Exalted, "and the muqimin"; is not an addition to His saying: "and the believers"; but rather to "what"; in His saying: ﴿and what was revealed before you﴾; and the meaning is: and they believe in the muqimin of prayer; and they are the angels; and some of them said: Rather, those who preceded from the prophets; they said: Then he returned with his saying: "and the mutun"; so it was added to his saying: "and the believers"; and some said: "and the muqimin"; was added to "and what was revealed"; and the intended meaning by them is the believers in Muhammad; that is: the firmly rooted ones believe in them; and in what they are upon; and his saying: "and the mutun"; means: and they are the mutun; and some said: "and the muqimin"; was added to the pronoun in "minhum"; and others said: Rather, to the kaf in His saying: "min qablik"; and he means the prophets; and a group read: "we will give them"; with the noon; and a group read: "He will give them"; with the ya.