His saying, exalted is He: ﴿So because of their breaking of their covenant, We cursed them and made their hearts hard. They distort the words from their places and have forgotten a portion of what they were reminded of. And you will continue to observe deceit from them, except for a few of them. So pardon them and overlook. Indeed, Allah loves the doers of good.﴾ It is possible that "ما" is extra; the meaning is: "So by their breaking of their covenant"; and it is possible that it is an indefinite noun that has been replaced by the breaking; as a substitute for the definite from the indefinite; the meaning is: "So by an action which is their breaking of the covenant; and this is the meaning in this interpretation; and it has been mentioned previously in "An-Nisa"; a similar case; and "We cursed them"; its meaning is: We distanced them from all good. Ibn Kathir, Nafi, Asim, Abu Amr, and Ibn Amer read: "قاسِيَةً" with an alif; and Hamzah and Al-Kisai read: "قَسِيَّةً" without an alif; its form is "فَعِيلَةً"; and the evidence for the first is His saying, exalted is He: ﴿So woe to those whose hearts are hard﴾ [Az-Zumar: 22]; and His saying: ﴿Then your hearts became hard after that﴾ [Al-Baqarah: 74]; and hardness of heart is the thickening of the heart; and its turning away from softness and admonition; and its rigidity; until it does not respond to good. And whoever read "قَسِيَّةً"; then he is from this meaning: "فَعِيلَةً"; meaning "فاعلَةً"; like "شاهدٌ" and "شهيدٌ"; and other examples; and Al-Tabari reported from a group that they said: "قَسِيَّةً" is not from the meaning of hardness; rather it is like "قَسِيّ" from the dirhams; and it is that which has been mixed with dishonesty and deceit; so likewise the hearts; they have not been pure for faith; but rather they have been mixed with disbelief and corruption; and from that is the saying of Abu Zubayd:

Her edges are in the silence of peace like ∗∗∗ the cries of the hard ones in the hands of the money changers.

And from him is the saying of another:

So they did not provide me with anything but the crushing of a turban ∗∗∗ and five hundred of it is hard and counterfeit.

Abu Ali said: This word is borrowed; and it is not originally in the speech of the Arabs.

And the scholars differed in the meaning of His saying: ﴿They distort the words﴾; a group said - among them Ibn Abbas -: Their distortion is by interpretation; and they have no ability to change the words in the Torah; nor can they do that; and the evidence for that is the remaining verse of stoning; and their need for the reader to place his hand upon it. And a group said: Rather, they distorted the words and changed them as well; and they did both actions as much as they could.

The judge Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: And the words of the Qur'an can carry both meanings; so His saying, exalted is He: ﴿So woe to those who write the scripture with their own hands﴾ [Al-Baqarah: 79]; implies alteration; and there is no doubt that they did both actions.

And the majority of the people read: "اَلْكَلِمَ" with the opening of the kaf and the kasrah of the lam; and Abu Abd al-Rahman and Ibrahim al-Nakha'i read: "اَلْكَلامَ" with an alif; and Abu Rajaa read: "اَلْكِلْمَ" with the kasrah of the kaf and the sukoon of the lam.

And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿And they forgot a portion of what they were reminded of﴾; is a clear indication of their wrongdoing against themselves. That is, they had a great portion in what they were reminded of; so they forgot it; and they abandoned it. Then He informed - glorified and exalted is He - His Prophet - blessings and peace be upon him - that there will always be among them a betrayal; and treachery; and corrupt matters. And the people differed in the meaning of: "betrayal"; in this context. A group said: "betrayal": is a source; like "the end"; and like His saying, exalted is He: ﴿So they were destroyed by the tyrant﴾ [Al-Haaqqa: 5]; so the meaning is: due to betrayal. Others said: its meaning is: due to a treacherous group; so it is a noun of the doer; a feminine adjective. And others said: the meaning is: "due to a betrayer"; and the 'h' was added for emphasis; like "a sign"; and "a genealogist"; and from this is the saying of the poet:

You spoke to yourself of loyalty and you were not

For betrayal a treacherous one, with a finger concealed.

And Al-Amash read: "due to a betrayal from them"; then He - glorified and exalted is He - excluded a few of them; it is possible that the exclusion is regarding persons; and it is possible that it is regarding actions.

And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿So pardon them and overlook﴾; is abrogated by what is in "Al-Bara'a"; of the command to fight them until they pay the jizyah; and the rest of the verse is a promise for the good.