His saying - glorified and exalted is He -: "They were not forbidding one another from the sin they committed. Evil is what they were doing." "You see many of them turning to those who disbelieved. Evil is what their souls have sent forth for them, that Allah is angry with them, and in the punishment, they will remain forever." "And if they had believed in Allah and the Prophet and what was revealed to him, they would not have taken them as allies. But many of them are disobedient."

Allah, the Exalted, condemned this accursed group by saying: "They were not forbidding one another from the sin they committed"; meaning that they were openly committing sins. And if one of them forbade, it was without seriousness. Rather, the one who refrained from them did not stop associating with the sinner, eating with him, and mixing with him. Ibn Mas'ud narrated that the Messenger of Allah - blessings and peace be upon him - said: "A man from the Children of Israel used to forbid his brother when he saw him committing a sin, as a form of reprimand. But when the next day came, he did not prevent him from being his companion and eating with him. When Allah saw that from them, He struck the hearts of some of them against others, and He cursed them on the tongue of their Prophet David and Jesus - peace be upon them." Ibn Mas'ud said: The Messenger of Allah - blessings and peace be upon him - was reclining, then he sat up and said: "No, by Allah, until you take hold of the hand of the oppressor and force him to the truth."

Qadi Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: There is a consensus that forbidding the wrong is obligatory for whoever is able to do so; and he should forbid with kindness; and he should be safe from harm to himself and to the Muslims. If it becomes difficult for someone to forbid for any of these reasons, it is obligatory for him to reject it in his heart and not to associate with the wrongdoer.

The knowledgeable experts said: It is not a condition for the forbidding one to be free from sin; rather, sinners may forbid one another. Some of the scholars of principles said: It is obligatory for those who engage in drinking to forbid one another. The one who said this supported his statement with this verse; because His saying: "They were forbidding one another"; and "they committed it" implies their sharing in the action, and He condemned them for not forbidding.

And His saying - glorified and exalted is He -: "Evil is what they were doing"; the 'lam' is a lam of oath; and Al-Zajjaj made "what" a source; and he said: The meaning is: "Evil is the thing they did."

Qadi Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: There is a consideration in this; and others said: "What" is an indefinite noun described; the meaning is: "Evil is the thing they were doing as an action."

And His saying - glorified and exalted is He - to Muhammad - blessings and peace be upon him -: "You see many"; it is possible that it is the vision of the heart; and on this, it is possible that He means: from the mentioned ancestors; meaning: "You see now if we inform you"; and it is possible that He means: from the contemporaries of Muhammad - blessings and peace be upon him -; because he saw that from their affairs; and the signs of their condition; and it is possible that it is the vision of the eye; and He does not mean except the contemporaries of Muhammad - blessings and peace be upon him.

And His saying, exalted is He: "Indeed, evil is what their souls have sent forth for them"; that is: they have sent it forth for the Hereafter and have committed it. Then He explained that by His saying, exalted is He: "that Allah is angry with them"; for "angry" is in the place of a substitute for "what"; and it is possible that the meaning is: "it is that Allah is angry with them". Al-Zajjaj said: "that" is in the place of an accusative based on the meaning of: "by being angry with them".

And His saying, exalted is He: "and the Prophet" - if the intended meaning is the ancestors - then the Prophet is David; and Jesus - peace be upon them -; and if the intended meaning is the contemporaries of Muhammad, then the Prophet is Muhammad - blessings and peace be upon him -; and "those who disbelieved"; they are the idol worshippers; and many of them are specifically mentioned for their wickedness; for among them, there are few who have believed.

And some of the commentators have gone to the view that His saying, exalted is He: "you will see many of them"; is a statement that is disconnected from the mention of the Children of Israel; and that it refers to the hypocrites. Mujahid - may Allah have mercy on him - said: "And if they had believed"; the verse refers to the hypocrites.