His saying - glorified and exalted is He -: "You will certainly find the most hostile of people to those who believe the Jews and those who associate others with Allah. And you will certainly find the closest of them in affection to those who believe are those who say, 'We are Christians.' That is because among them are priests and monks, and they are not arrogant." "And when they hear what has been revealed to the Messenger, you see their eyes overflowing with tears from what they have recognized of the truth. They say, 'Our Lord, we have believed, so register us among the witnesses.'"

The 'lam' in His saying: "You will certainly find"; is the lam of beginning; and Al-Zajjaj said: it is the lam of an oath; and this heavy noon has entered to separate between the state and the future.

Qadi Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: This is an absolute news that applies to all times; and so it is the case until now; and that is because the Jews have become accustomed to denying the prophets; and killing them; and they have trained themselves in arrogance and sins; and they have become accustomed to feeling the curse; and the state of humiliation and poverty; so their enmity has become established; and their jealousy has increased; thus they are the most hostile of people to the believers; and likewise the polytheists, the idol worshippers from the Arabs; and the fire worshippers from the Magians; because their faith has denounced them; and their foundations have collapsed; and it has been made clear that they are not upon anything from their original state; so nothing remains for them; thus their enmity is intense.

And the Christians, the people of the Book, our law judges that their original state is correct; were it not that they have gone astray; they believe that they have not gone astray; and that this verse has not abrogated their law; and they honor from the people of Islam those who perceive from them the correctness of the religion; and they disdain those who understand from them the corruption; so when they fight, their fighting is out of pride and gain; not that their law takes them for that; and when they make peace, their peace is pure; and what aids this is that they are a nation of noble character; they have loyalty and the four qualities that Amr ibn al-As mentioned in Sahih Muslim; and consider that the Prophet - blessings and peace be upon him - was pleased when the Romans defeated the Persians; and that is because they are the people of the Book; and he did not want - blessings and peace be upon him - the dominance of the Romans to continue; but he was pleased with the victory of the people of the Book over the fire worshippers; and it was added to that that the smaller enemy prevailed and the strength of the greater feared enemy against Islam was broken.

And the Jews - may Allah curse them - are not upon any of this noble character; rather their condition is one of malice; and twisting with their tongues; and in your kindness to the Jew, he will bring you calamities except for the rare few among them; from those who may be specialized in manners and matters other than what they were initially taught.

And Allah, the Exalted, did not describe the Christians as being people of affection; rather He described them as being closer than the Jews and the polytheists; so it is a closeness of affection in relation to those who are more distant.

And in His saying - the Exalted -: "Those who say, 'We are Christians'"; there is an indication that those contemporaneous with Muhammad - blessings and peace be upon him - from the Christians are not upon the true essence of Christianity; rather their being Christians is a claim from them; and a falsehood.

And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿That is because among them are priests and monks﴾; its meaning is: That is because among them are people of fear; and devotion to Allah; and worship; even if they are not upon guidance; they tend towards the people of worship and fear; and there are none among the Jews; nor have there ever been; people of monasteries; and places of worship; and devotion from the world; rather they are those who glorify it; and they are extensive in construction; and worldly matters; until it seems as if they do not believe in the Hereafter; and for this reason, no ascetic is seen among them.

And it is said: "Qass"; with the opening of the qaf; and with its kasra; and "Qisīs"; it is a foreign name that has been Arabized; and "Al-Qass"; in the speech of the Arabs: is gossip; and it is not of this.

As for the monks, it is the plural of "rahb"; and this is an Arabic term; and "rahb" means fear; and among the evidence that the monks are a plural is the saying of the poet:

The monks of Midian, if they saw you, would descend ∗∗∗ and the pure ones from the passion of the minds that are fading.

And it has been said: The monks is a singular name; and the evidence for it is the saying of the poet:

If she had seen the monks of the monastery on the peaks ∗∗∗ the monks would have descended walking and coming down.

Qadi Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: And it is narrated: "And he slips"; with the ya; from "Al-Zalal"; and this narration is more eloquent in meaning of the dominance of this woman over the mind of this monk. And Allah, exalted is He, described the Christians as not being arrogant; and this is evident and still found among them until now; and the Jew, whenever he finds deception, becomes arrogant and proud; and indeed Allah has humiliated them and made them humble; and the burden of the Shari'ah has trampled them; and the religion of Islam is exalted by Allah.

And it was mentioned by Sa'id ibn Jubayr; and Mujahid; and Ibn Abbas that this verse was revealed because of a delegation sent by the Negus to the Messenger of Allah - blessings and peace be upon him - to see him and know his condition; so the Prophet - blessings and peace be upon him - recited the Qur'an to them and they wept; and they believed; and they returned to the Negus; and he believed; and he remained a believer until he died; and the Prophet - blessings and peace be upon him - prayed for him.

Qadi Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: And it is narrated that the bier of the Negus was revealed to the Prophet - blessings and peace be upon him - and he saw it from his place in Medina; and the news came after a while that the Negus was buried on the day the Prophet - blessings and peace be upon him - prayed for him; and Al-Suddi mentioned that they were twelve; seven priests; and five monks; and Abu Salih said: They were sixty-seven men; and Sa'id ibn Jubayr said: They were seventy; upon them were garments of wool; and all of them were companions of a monastery; the good Negus chose the good; and Al-Suddi mentioned that the Negus went out as a migrant; and he died on the way.

Qadi Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: And this is weak; no one among the scholars of the biography has mentioned it.

And Qatadah said: These verses were revealed about a people who were believers; then they believed in Muhammad - blessings and peace be upon him.

The judge Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: Al-Tabari distinguished between these two sayings; and they are one.

And Salman Al-Farsi narrated from the Prophet - blessings and peace be upon him -: "That is because among them are truthful ones and monks."

And His saying, the Exalted: ﴿And when they hear what has been revealed to the Messenger, you see their eyes﴾; the pronoun in "hear"; its apparent meaning is general; and its meaning is specific to those who believed among those coming from the land of Abyssinia; for they recognized the truth; and they said: "We have believed"; and not all Christians do that; and the beginning of the verse regarding closeness of affection is general among them; and it is not directed that the beginning of the verse is specific to those who believed; for whoever believes is among those who have believed; and it is not said of him: "They said: Indeed, we are Christians"; nor is it said of believers: ﴿That is because among them are (p-235) priests﴾; nor is it said: "Indeed, they are closest in affection"; rather, whoever believes is truly deserving of affection; for the specification occurred from His saying, the Exalted: ﴿And when they hear﴾; and the pronoun came general; for the group may be praised by one of them acting; and in this is an invitation to the Christians; and a kindness from Allah, the Exalted, towards them; and there may often be an abundance of tears among them; even if they do not believe.

And it has been narrated that a delegation from Najran came to Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq regarding some of their affairs; and he ordered someone to recite the Qur'an in their presence; so they wept intensely; and Abu Bakr said: This is how we were; but hearts have become hard.

And it has been narrated that a monk from the monks of the monasteries of Sham looked at the companions of the Prophet - blessings and peace be upon him -; and he saw their worship; and their seriousness in fighting their enemy; so he was amazed by their state; and he wept; and said: "Those who were spread with saws over the religion of Jesus were not more patient than these; nor more serious in their religion."

The judge Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: The people who were described as having recognized the truth are those whom the Negus sent to see the Prophet - blessings and peace be upon him - and to hear what he had; so when they saw him, he recited to them the Qur'an; and this is what is meant by His saying: ﴿What has been revealed to the Messenger﴾; their eyes overflowed with tears; from the fear of hearts.

And the sight is the sight of the eye; and "overflow"; is a state of the eyes; and "they say"; is also a state; and "we have believed"; its meaning is: "We have affirmed that this is Your Messenger; and what is heard is Your Book"; and the witnesses are Muhammad and his nation; this was said by Ibn Abbas; and Ibn Jurayj; and others.

(p-236) And Al-Tabari said: If a speaker were to say: The meaning of that is: "With the witnesses to Your Oneness from all of the worlds; those who preceded; and those who came after"; that would be correct.

The judge Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: This is the meaning of Al-Tabari's words; and it is correct speech; and Ibn Abbas - may Allah be pleased with both of them - specified the nation of Muhammad - blessings and peace be upon him - due to His saying, the Exalted: ﴿And thus We have made you a middle nation﴾ [Al-Baqarah: 143]; the verse.