'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' His saying, the Exalted: "Have you not seen those who claim that they have believed in what has been revealed to you and what was revealed before you? They wish to refer to [UNTRANSLATED-LATIN: al-taghut] while they were commanded to disbelieve in it. And Satan wishes to lead them astray into a far error." "And when it is said to them, 'Come to what Allah has revealed and to the Messenger,' you see the hypocrites turning away from you in aversion." The Arabs say: 'So-and-so claimed such-and-such' in matters where verification is weak, and the doubts of invalidation are strong. The utmost degree of a claim, when it is strong, can only be presumed. It is said: 'Claim' with the opening of the zay, which is the source, and 'Claim' with the damm of it, which is the noun. Likewise, the claim of the hypocrites that they are believers is among what has had the doubts of invalidation strengthened by their evil actions, until it was confirmed by the report from Allah, the Exalted, about them. From this is the saying of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him: "What a bad mount is that of the man who claims!" And the poet said: 'And I was informed of Qays, and I did not find him as they claimed, the best of the people of Yemen.' So the praised one said: 'And it is nothing but a claim and its prohibition.' When Sibawayh said: 'The friend claimed,' he is only using it in what the friend has uniquely claimed. The strongest rank of 'claim' is that it remains with the report's authority upon the reporter. And 'that' is an object for 'they claim.' And 'Amir al-Sha'bi and others said: 'The verse was revealed about a hypocrite named Bishr, who argued with a man from the Jews. The Jew called him to the Muslims because he knew that they do not accept bribes, while he called the Jew to the Jews because he knew that they do accept bribes. They then agreed to go to a soothsayer who was in Medina and they preferred him. Then this verse was revealed about them and their actions. So those who claim that they have believed in what has been revealed to Muhammad are the hypocrites, and those who claim that they have believed in what was revealed before him are the Jews. Each has been commanded in their scripture to disbelieve in [UNTRANSLATED-LATIN: al-taghut]. And 'the [UNTRANSLATED-LATIN: al-taghut]' here refers to the mentioned soothsayer. This is a reprimand for both groups. Ibn Abbas said: 'The [UNTRANSLATED-LATIN: al-taghut] here is Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf, and he is the one they agreed upon.' Thus, this is a reprimand specifically for the hypocrites, who are those who believed in what was revealed to Muhammad and in what was revealed before him by their claim, because the Jews were not commanded in their law to disbelieve in the scholars, and Ka'b is one of them. Al-Naqqash mentioned that this Ka'b is originally from Tayy and he became a Jew. Mujahid said: 'It was revealed about a believer and a Jew.' And a group said: 'It was revealed about two Jews.' The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

These two sayings are far from being consistent with the words of the verse. Al-Suddi said: It was revealed concerning the hypocrites from Qurayzah and al-Nadir. This is because they boasted about the equality of their blood, as al-Nadir in the days of ignorance would avenge anyone they killed and would seek retribution if Qurayzah killed one of them. However, Qurayzah refused when Islam came and sought to dispute. The believers among them called upon the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, while the hypocrites called upon Abu Burdah the soothsayer. Thus, the verse was revealed concerning them. Al-Zajjaj narrated that the aforementioned hypocrite or someone else disputed before the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, and he judged in the matter. He was displeased and said to his opponent: I do not accept his judgment. They went to Abu Bakr, who judged between them. The hypocrite said: I do not accept. They then went to Umar, and they described to him all that they had done. He said to them: Be patient until I fulfill a need in my home, then I will come out and judge between you. He entered, took his sword, and came out. He struck the hypocrite until he was cold, saying: This is my judgment concerning one who does not accept the judgment of the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him. Thus, the verse was revealed. Al-Hasan said: The hypocrites judged by the lots that are used at the idols, and the verse was revealed.

And "He misleads them" means: He destroys them. And "misguidance" came in a form other than the source, its estimation being: they will be misled in misguidance. And "far away" is an expression of the greatness of misguidance and its entrenchment until the return from it and guidance with it is far.

The majority read: "Come" with the opening of the lam. Al-Hasan, as narrated by Qatadah, read: "Come" with a dammah. Its meaning is that the lam of the verb from "ta'alayta" was omitted for ease, and the lam which is the root of the verb was pronounced with a dammah because the waw of the plural follows it, like your saying: "Advance" and "Delay." It is a term derived from elevation. When it was used in calling a person and bringing him and his people, it was expressed from elevation to enhance the etiquette, as you say: "Rise to the truth," and similar expressions.

And "You see" is the vision of the eye for whoever turns away from the hypocrites openly and explicitly. It is the vision of the heart for whoever among them turns away with cunning, deceit, and stealth until that is not known from him except by interpretation of it and the signs that emanate from him. If it is the vision of the eye, then "they turn away" is in the accusative case as a state. If it is the vision of the heart, then "they turn away" is in the accusative case as the second object.

And "turning away" is a source according to some grammarians from "turn away," and it is not a source according to Al-Khalil. Its source according to him is: "turning away." This is because "fa'ool" is only a source for intransitive verbs, like "sat" (jalasa) with "sitting" (juloos) and "sat" (qa'ada) with "sitting" (qoo'ood). And "turn away" is a transitive action by itself once, as He said: "So he turned them away from the path" [An-Naml: 24], and once with a preposition, as in His saying: "They turn away from you with turning away" and others. Thus, its source is: "turned away," and "turning away" is a noun.