'Kan' is a term for the existence of something in a past time in an ambiguous manner. It does not provide evidence of a prior absence or an interruption. From this is His saying, 'And Allah was Forgiving and Merciful.' And from this is His saying, 'You were the best nation,' as if it were said: You found the best nation. It is said: You were, in Allah's knowledge, the best nation. It is said: You were mentioned among the nations before you as being the best nation, described as such, brought forth. And His saying, 'You enjoin good' is a statement that clarifies their status as the best nation, just as you say, 'Zaid is generous; he feeds people, clothes them, and does what is right for them.' 'And you believe in Allah' makes belief in everything that must be believed in a belief in Allah. For whoever believes in some of what must be believed in, whether it be a messenger, a book, resurrection, reckoning, punishment, reward, or anything else, his belief is not considered valid. It is as if he is not a believer in Allah. 'And they say,

If it had been decisive, it would have denied victory conditioned upon fighting them, like turning away. When it was raised, it denied victory as an absolute promise, as if he said: then their affair and their story, which I inform you of and give you glad tidings about after turning away, is that they are forsaken, deprived of victory and strength, and they will not rise thereafter with a wing nor will their affair be upright. And it was as he informed regarding the state of Banu Qurayzah, Banu Nadir, Banu Qaynuqa, and the Jews of Khaybar. If you say: what is the connection of this news? I say: the conditional sentence and the consequence, as if it were said: I inform you that if they fight you, they will be defeated, then I inform you that they will not be aided. If you say: what is the meaning of the delay in 'then'? I say: the delay in rank, because the news of their being subjected to humiliation is greater than the news of their turning away. If you say: what is the position of the two sentences, namely (among them are the believers) and (they will not harm you)? I say: they are two statements that come as a digression when mentioning the People of the Book, as someone might say: and speaking of so-and-so, indeed his affair is such and such; and for this reason, they came without a conjunction.