he is correct, he will earn two rewards; and if he is mistaken, he still earns one, and his mistake is waived. As for anyone who deliberately corrupts the Scripture—whether its wording or its meaning—while knowing what the Messenger brought and yet obstinately rejects it, such a person deserves punishment. The same applies to someone who is lax in seeking and following the truth, led by his passions and preoccupied with worldly concerns.

On that basis, if some of the People of the Scripture have altered parts of the Book while others among them are unaware of this, the latter—who are striving to follow what the Messenger brought—should not be included among those who merit the threatened punishment. Likewise, if within the People of the Scripture there are those who did not know everything Jesus brought—some of it, or some of its meanings, remained hidden from them—yet they strove to understand, they will not be punished for what never reached them.

In the same light, the reports about the Jews who accompanied Tubbaʿ, and about those in Medina who were awaiting faith in Muhammad—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—such as Ibn al-Tayhan and others, may be taken to concern people of this sort: they were not rejecters of Jesus in the way other Jews were.