And they did not estimate Allah with the estimation that is due to Him. They did not recognize Him with the recognition that is due to Him in His mercy towards His servants and His kindness to them when they denied the sending of the messengers and the revelation to them. This is among His greatest mercy and most exalted favor. And We did not send you except as a mercy to the worlds. Or they did not recognize Him with the recognition that is due to Him in His wrath against the disbelievers and the severity of His punishment upon them. They did not fear Him when they dared to make that great statement of denying prophethood. The speakers are the Jews, as evidenced by the reading of those who read: 'You make Him' with the feminine pronoun. Likewise, 'You show it and you hide it.' They said this as an exaggeration in denying the sending down of the Qur'an upon the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him. They imposed upon themselves what they had to acknowledge, which is the sending down of the Torah upon Moses, peace be upon him. Under this imposition, they included a reproach against them and a condemnation of their ignorance of their Book and their distortion of it, showing some and hiding some. It was said: Moses brought it, and it is light and guidance for the people, until they changed it and diminished it, making it torn papers and scattered sheets, so that they could achieve what they sought from showing and hiding. It is narrated that Malik ibn al-Sayf, one of the Jewish scholars and leaders, said to him, the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him: 'I ask you by the One who sent down the Torah upon Moses, do you find in it that Allah hates the fat scholar?' You are the fat scholar; you have grown fat from the wealth that the Jews feed you. The people laughed, so he became angry, then turned to Umar and said: 'Allah did not send down anything upon a human being.' His people said to him: 'Woe to you, what is this that we have heard from you?' He said: 'He angered me,' so they removed him and placed Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf in his place. It was said that the speakers were the Quraysh. They imposed the sending down of the Torah because they used to hear from the Jews in Medina the mention of Moses and the Torah. They used to say: 'If the Book were sent down to us, we would be more guided than they.' And you were taught what you did not know, you nor your forefathers. The address is to the Jews, meaning you were informed on the tongue of Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, of what was revealed to him that you did not know, while you are the bearers of the Torah, and your ancient forefathers, who were more knowledgeable than you, did not know it. Indeed, this Qur'an recounts to the Children of Israel most of that in which they differ. It was said that the address is to those who believed from the Quraysh, as His saying: 'To warn a people whose forefathers were not warned.' Say: 'It is Allah,' meaning Allah sent it down. For they are not able to deny you. Then leave them in their vain discourse, and it is not upon you after establishing the proof.

And it is said to one who is in a work that does not benefit him: 'You are merely playing.' And 'they play' is a state of 'leave them,' or of 'their discourse.' It is permissible that 'in their discourse' is a state of 'they play,' and that it is a connection for them or for 'leave them.'