The pronoun in "And they said to the People of the Book from the Jews and Christians." The meaning is: The Jews said: No one will enter Paradise except one who is a Jew, and the Christians said: No one will enter Paradise except one who is a Christian. Thus, the two sayings are intertwined, trusting that the listener will refer each statement back to its respective group. We are safe from confusion due to the known enmity between the two groups and each one's misleading of the other. Similar to this is (And they said: Be Jews or Christians, and you will be guided). And the term 'Jews' is the plural of 'Jew,' like 'refugee' and 'refugees,' and 'basil' and 'basilisk.' If you say: How was it said 'was a Jew' while the name is singular and the news is plural? I say: The name is carried on the word 'from' and the news on its meaning, like the reading of Al-Hasan: 'except one who is a righteous person in Hell.' And His saying: (Indeed, for him is the Fire of Hell, abiding therein). And Ubayy ibn Ka'b read: except one who was a Jew or a Christian. If you say: Why was it said: Those are their wishes, and their saying (No one will enter Paradise) is one wish? [Mahamud, may Allah have mercy on him, said: 'If you say: Why was it said those are their wishes and their saying no one will enter Paradise is one wish...']? Ahmad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: The response to this is distant from the saying of Allah following that: (Say: Bring forth your proof if you are truthful. Yes, whoever submits his face to Allah while being good-doer, for him is a reward with his Lord, and there is no fear upon them, nor will they grieve). For the proof required from them here is only about the validity of their claim that no one will enter Paradise except them. This is confirmed by His saying: (Yes, whoever submits his face to Allah while being good-doer, for him is a reward with his Lord). For it means Paradise and its bliss, refuting their denial of others entering it. In this is clear evidence that the wishes referred to are nothing but what they were asked to provide proof for its validity, which is one wish, and Allah knows best. The close answer is that due to their intense longing for this wish and their repeated mention of it, it became firmly established in their hearts, and its gathering indicates that it is firmly rooted in their hearts, reaching its utmost. The plural indicates this even if its meaning is one. An example of this is their saying: together they are hungry, so they gathered the description and its meaning is one, because its describer is one, affirming its establishment and entrenchment. This meaning is one of what was narrated in the saying of Allah: (Indeed, these are but a small band). For it is plural, and the original was singular, as it is said: a small band, like the saying of Allah: (How many a small group). Except for what is intended by confirming the meaning of smallness by its gathering. The reason the plural indicates confirmation in such a case is that the plural, by its nature, implies an increase in the individuals, so it was transferred to confirm the singular, and its refusal to increase over its peers is a marvelous figurative transfer. Contemplate this section, for it is one of the precious aspects of the art of eloquence, and Allah is the Grantor of success. I say: It refers to the mentioned wishes, which is their wish that no good be sent down to the believers from their Lord, and their wish that they be returned as disbelievers, and their wish that no one enters Paradise except them: that is, those false wishes are their wishes. And His saying (Say: Bring forth your proof) is connected to their saying: No one will enter Paradise except one who is a Jew or a Christian. And those are their wishes: an objection, or it is intended that such wishes are their wishes, with the omission of the added and the establishment of the added to it in its place. It means that all their wishes in falsehood are like this wish of theirs. And the wish is a form of longing, like 'the joke' and 'the wonder.' Bring forth your proof, come forth with your argument for your exclusivity in entering Paradise if you are truthful in your claims. This is the most destructive thing to the doctrine of the imitators. And every saying without proof is false and unestablished.

'And 'bring' is a sound similar to 'ha', meaning 'bring forth'. Indeed, it confirms what they denied regarding the entry of others into Paradise. Whoever submits his face to Allah, being sincere to Him and not associating anything with Him, while being righteous in his deeds, for him is the reward that he deserves. If you say: How is the position of 'whoever submits his face'? I say: It is possible that 'indeed' is a response to their statement, then 'whoever submits' becomes an independent statement, and 'whoever' implies a conditional meaning, and its response is 'for him is the reward'. It can also be that 'whoever submits' is the subject of an omitted verb, meaning 'indeed, he enters it who submits', and the saying 'for him is the reward' is a statement that is connected to 'he enters it who submits'.