'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' His saying, exalted is He: "Did you not see those who were given a portion of the Scripture? They buy misguidance and want you to go astray from the way." "And Allah knows your enemies, and sufficient is Allah as a protector, and sufficient is Allah as a helper." "Among those who are Jews, they distort words from their proper places and say, 'We have heard and disobeyed,' and 'Listen, but may you not be heard,' and 'Ra'ina' twisting their tongues and defaming the religion. If only they had said, 'We have heard and we obeyed,' and 'Listen,' and 'Look at us,' it would have been better for them and more upright. But Allah has cursed them for their disbelief, so they do not believe except for a few." (p-570) The vision in His saying, "Did you not see," is from the vision of the heart, and it is knowledge of a thing. Some say its meaning is: Did you not know? Others say: Were you not informed? All of this is close in meaning. The vision of the heart connects with a preposition and without a preposition. The intended meaning of "those" is the Jews, as stated by Qatadah and others. Then the wording also includes the Christians. Ibn Abbas said: It was revealed regarding Rifa'ah ibn Zayd ibn al-Tabut, the Jew. And "they were given" means they were granted, and "portion" means share, and "the Scripture" refers to the Torah and the Gospel. It is made a portion in the right of each individual because no one can encompass the knowledge of the Scripture in one way. And "they buy" is an expression of their preference for disbelief and their abandonment of faith, as if it is a taking and giving. This is the saying of a group. A faction said: It refers to those who used to give their wealth to the scholars for the establishment of their law; this is a purchase in that sense according to this interpretation. "And they want you to go astray from the way," its meaning is: that you disbelieve. Al-Nakha'i read: "And you want to go astray from the way" with a 'ta' dotted from above in "you want." Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: This verse and what follows necessitate a reprimand for the believers for their reliance on a group of them to the scholars of the Jews, in asking about religion, or in allegiance, or something similar. This is clear in its wording, such as: "And they want you to go astray," meaning: to leave the truth in avoiding them, and to think of them as not enemies, and Allah knows best about them. And His saying: "And Allah knows your enemies" is a report that contains a warning against them. And "by Allah" in His saying: "And sufficient is Allah" is in a position of raising by the estimation of an addition of the preposition. The benefit of its addition is to clarify the meaning of the matter (p-571) in the wording of the report, meaning: be content with Allah. The 'ba' indicates the intended meaning of that. "As a protector" is a verbal noun, and "as a helper" is likewise, from protection and help. And His saying, exalted is He: "Among those who are Jews" some of the interpreters said: "Among" refers back to "those" mentioned earlier, so it is - on this - related to "Did you not see." A group said: It is related to "helper," and the meaning is: He will help you against those who are Jews. So on these two interpretations, there is no stopping in His saying: "as a helper." A faction said: It is for the beginning of the speech, and it implies a hidden meaning estimated as: they distort. This is the view of Abu Ali, and a similar saying is that of the poet:

Al-Farra' and others said: Its meaning is "who," and similar is the saying of Dhī al-Rumma:

So they remained, and among them his tears preceded him, And another one restrains the tear of the eye with his hand.

So based on this interpretation, it is stopped at his saying: "a helper," and the saying of Sibawayh is more correct, because the implicit mention of the relative is heavy, while the implicit mention of the described is easier.

And "Yahūdū" is taken from "hādā" if he repents, or from Yahūd, the son of Ya'qub, and the Arabization has altered it, or from "tahūd," which means: to walk slowly and gently in speech. Al-Khalil mentioned all of these, and their explanation has preceded in [Surah Al-Baqarah].

And the distortion of the word occurs in two ways: either by changing the wording, and they have done this in the least, or by changing the interpretation, and they have done this in the most, and this is what Al-Tabari went to. All of this is in the Torah according to the opinion of the majority. A group said: it is the word of the Qur'an, and Al-Makki said: it is the speech of the Prophet Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, so there can be no distortion in this except in the interpretation. And Al-Nakha'i read: "they distort the words" with the alif.

And whoever made "min" related to "a helper" made "they distort" in the position of the حال, and whoever made it disconnected made "they distort" a صفة.

And His saying, exalted is He, about them: "We have heard and we have disobeyed" is an expression of their arrogance in their disbelief and their tyranny in it.

And "musmi'" does not derive except from "asma'a," and "ghayra musmi'" can have two meanings: one of them is: not commanded and not humbled, as if he said: except that you hear commanded with that, and the other is: in the sense of supplication, meaning: you did not hear, as you say: go, not hitting, and otherwise. So the Jews, when they addressed the Prophet with "ghayra musmi'" intended in their hearts to invoke against him, while they appeared to want to honor him. Ibn Abbas and others said something similar, and likewise "ra'ina" they wanted from him in their souls the meaning of foolishness, and Al-Makki narrated the meaning of caring for livestock, while they showed from it the meaning of consideration. This is the meaning of twisting the tongue. Al-Zajjaj said: they wanted: make your name a pasture for our words.

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

And in this is a rudeness that should not be addressed to a Prophet. And in the Mushaf of Ibn Mas'ud: "ra'ouna" and whoever said: "ghayra musmi'": not accepted from you, for it is not supported by the inflection. Al-Tabari narrated it from Al-Hasan and Mujahid. And "layyan" is originally "lawyan," the waw was changed to a ya and was assimilated, and "wa ta'na fi al-din" means: to undermine it, and to show contempt for it.

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

And this twisting with the tongue is contrary to what is in the heart, and it still exists among the Children of Israel, and examples of it are preserved in our time, except that it is not appropriate to mention them in this book.

"And if only they had believed and listened and obeyed," the meaning is: if they had believed and listened and obeyed. The interpreters differed in His saying, "and look at us." Mujahid, Ikrimah, and others said: its meaning is: wait for us, meaning: make us understand and take your time with us until we understand you and comprehend your words. This is as Al-Hutay'ah said:

And I have looked at you as a source for the five, prolonged by my wiping and my forgetting.

And a group said: Look at its meaning: look at us, as if it is a calling for seizing and taking. From it is the saying of Ibn al-Ruqayyat:

The apparent beauty and grace look at us as the deer look at the thorns.

And 'the most upright' means: the most just and correct. And the curse is: the distancing, so its meaning is: He distanced them from guidance. And 'a little' is a description, either for faith or for a group or people, and the meaning is different. So whoever expressed the little in terms of faith said: It may be an expression of its absence, as Sibawayh narrated from their saying: 'A land rarely produces such and such,' and it does not produce it at all. Or he reduced the faith when the things they believed in became few, which did not benefit them. This is because they used to believe in the Oneness and disbelieve in Muhammad and all the commands and prohibitions of his Shari'ah. And whoever expressed the little in terms of a group said: Only a few among them believe, like Abdullah ibn Salam, and Ka'b the scholars, and others. And if you consider the speech: a little group, it is an accusative in the position of the state.