The pronoun in 'they are not' refers to the People of the Book, meaning the People of the Book are not equal. And His saying 'from the People of the Book is a community standing' is a new statement to clarify His saying: 'they are not equal,' just as His saying: 'you enjoin what is right' clarifies His saying: 'you are the best community.' A standing community is one that is upright and just, from the saying: 'I set the stick, so it stood,' meaning it became upright, and they are those who have embraced Islam among them. He expressed their night vigil by reciting the Qur'an during the hours of the night with prostration, because it is the clearest indication of what they do and the best evidence of the goodness of their state. It was said that it refers to the 'Isha prayer, because the People of the Book do not pray it.

And from Ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him: The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, delayed the 'Isha prayer, then went out to the mosque and found the people waiting for the prayer. He said: 'Indeed, there is no one from the religions who remembers Allah at this hour except you.' [Narrated by Al-Nasa'i, Ibn Hibban, Ahmad, Ibn Abi Shaiba, Abu Ya'la, and Al-Bazzar, all from the narration of Asim from Zar'a.] And He said: 'they recite and they believe' is in the nominative case as two attributes for 'community,' meaning a standing community that recites and believes. He described them with characteristics that were not found in the Jews, such as reciting the verses of Allah at night while prostrating, and believing in Allah, because their belief in Him is not complete due to their associating partners with Him, namely 'Uzair, and their disbelief in some of the books and messengers while believing in others. And in believing in the Last Day, because they describe it contrary to its true description. And in enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong, because they were hypocritical. And in hastening towards good deeds, because they were slow in doing so and not eager for it. Hastening towards good is an intense desire for it, because whoever desires a matter hastens to take it on and prefers immediacy over delay. And those are the ones described with what they have been described with from among the righteous whose states are good with Allah, and He is pleased with them and they deserve His praise upon them. It is possible that by 'the righteous' He means the Muslims, for they will not be denied what Allah, the Exalted and Glorified, has described with gratitude in His saying: 'And Allah is Appreciative and Forbearing' in the sense of fulfilling the reward, negating the opposite of that. If you say: Why is it transitive to two objects? And 'to be grateful' and 'to be ungrateful' do not take more than one object, you say: 'He was grateful for the blessing and ungrateful for it?' I say: It implies the meaning of deprivation, as if it were said: 'You will not be deprived of it,' meaning you will not be deprived of its reward. And it was read 'they do' and 'they are ungrateful' with the pronoun 'he' and 'you.' And Allah is All-Knowing of the God-fearing, a glad tidings for the God-fearing of abundant reward, and an indication that only the people of piety will succeed with Him.