'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' His saying, the Exalted: "So, by your Lord, they will not believe until they make you the judge in that which has arisen between them. Then they will not find in themselves any discomfort from what you have judged, and they will submit in [full] submission." "And if We had decreed upon them, 'Kill yourselves' or 'Leave your homes,' they would not have done it, except for a few of them. But if they had done what they were instructed, it would have been better for them and a firmer [faith]." "And then We would have given them from Us a great reward." "And We would have guided them to a straight path." Al-Tabari said: His saying, "So" is a response to what has preceded. Its meaning is: The matter is not as they claim that they have believed in what has been revealed to you. Then he began the oath with his saying: "By your Lord, they will not believe." Al-Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: Others said: He placed "not" before the oath to emphasize the negation and to show its strength. Then he repeated it afterward for the sake of confirming the concern for the negation. It would have been correct to omit the second "not" and still maintain a greater concern by placing the first one. It would also have been correct to omit the first one and retain the meaning of negation, while losing the meaning of concern. (p-595) "What has arisen" means: mixed and entangled from their affairs. It is from "shajar," similar to the intertwining of branches. Likewise, the "shajir" whose affection has mingled with the affection of his companion. Abu al-Sammal read: "shajr" with the jīm being silent. Al-Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: I think he fled from the consecutive movements, and it is not strong due to the lightness of the fatha. And "make you the judge" is in the accusative due to "until" because it is here a mere goal. And "they will find" is connected to it. And discomfort is: tightness, difficulty, and hardship. Mujahid said: Discomfort means: doubt. And his saying: "submission" is a confirming source indicating certainty in the submission. This is because the Arabs only add the action with the source when they intend that the action has truly occurred, as Allah, the Exalted, said: "And Allah spoke to Moses with [direct] speech" [An-Nisa: 164]. And it may come with exaggeration even if it did not occur, and from it: '... and it roared with a roar from the tribes of the camels.' Mujahid and others said: What is meant by this verse is those mentioned previously who intended to refer to the tyrant for judgment, and it was revealed concerning them. Al-Tabari favored this because it is more similar to the context of the verse. A group said: It was revealed regarding "a man who disputed with al-Zubair ibn al-Awwam concerning watering with the water of al-Harra. The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, said to them: 'Water, O Zubair, then send the water to your neighbor.' That man became angry and said: 'Is he not the son of your aunt?' The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, became angry and insisted on al-Zubair's right. He said: 'Hold the water until it reaches the walls, then send the water.' Then the verse was revealed." And the people of this saying disagreed about the man. Some said: He is a man from the Ansar from the people of Badr. And Makki and others said: He is Hatib ibn Abi Balta'ah. Al-Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

And the authentic narration that occurred in Al-Bukhari is that it is a man from the Ansar. And Al-Zubair said: "I do not think that this verse was revealed except regarding that." And a group said: When Umar killed the hypocritical man who was not pleased with the judgment of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, this reached the Prophet and it was great upon him. He said: "I did not think that Umar would dare to kill a believing man." So the verse was revealed negating the faith of that man who rejected the judgment of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, establishing an excuse for Umar ibn Al-Khattab in his killing of him.

And "We wrote" means: We prescribed. And "kill yourselves" means: Let some of you kill one another. And a similar instance has preceded in Al-Baqarah. The joining of the noon in "an" and its breaking is permissible. Likewise, the waw in "or go out"; Ibn 'Amir, Nafi', and Ibn Kathir read it with a dhamma, while Hamzah and Asim read it with a kasra. Abu 'Amr broke the noon and joined the waw. And "few" was raised as a substitute for the pronoun in "they did it." Ibn 'Amir alone read it in the accusative as "except a few," and that is permissible, making the negation equivalent to affirmation.

And the reason for the verse, as it has been narrated, is that the Jews said, - when the hypocrite was not pleased with the judgment of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him - "We have not seen anything more foolish than these. They believe in Muhammad and follow him, and they tread behind him, yet they are not pleased with his judgment. And we have been commanded to kill ourselves, and we did so, and the killing among us reached seventy thousand." Then Thabit ibn Qays said: "If that had been prescribed upon us, we would have done it." So the verse was revealed informing about the state of those hypocrites, and that if that had been prescribed upon the nation, they would not have done it, and only a few true believers would have done it, like Thabit and others. It has also been narrated that the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, said: "Thabit ibn Qays, Ammar, and Ibn Mas'ud are among the few." And they shared in the pronoun "from them" since the hypocrites and the believers were united in the call of Islam and the outward aspects of the Shari'ah. Abu Ishaq Al-Suba'i said: "When the verse was revealed: 'And if We had prescribed upon them...,' a man said: 'If we were commanded, we would have done it, and praise be to Allah who has spared us.' This reached the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, and he said: 'Indeed, among my nation are men whose faith is more firmly established in their hearts than the mountains.'" And Makki mentioned that the man was Abu Bakr As-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him. And Al-Naqqash mentioned that it was Umar ibn Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, and he mentioned from Abu Bakr that he said: "If it had been prescribed upon us, I would have begun with myself and my family.

And His saying, the Exalted, "And if they had done..." means: If these hypocrites had taken heed and repented, it would have been better for them. "Establishing" means: with certainty and affirmation, and so on, meaning: Allah would establish them.

Then He, the Exalted, mentioned what He bestows upon them from His grace with the reward. His description of it as great implies something that no human can attain from the everlasting bliss. The straight path is the faith that leads to Paradise. The arrangement of this verse is thus, and it is known that guidance comes before granting the reward, for the purpose is to enumerate what Allah has been bestowing upon them without arrangement. The meaning is: And We had guided them before so that they would be among those who receive the reward.