meaning: Do not quarrel with him. This is permissible in matters involving two people, but it is not permissible to say, “So-and-so must not strike you,” when what you mean is, “Do not strike him.” That is because disputation and quarrelling cannot take place except between two parties; if one of them refrains, then there is no quarrel.
“And call to your Lord,” that is, to faith in your Lord. “Indeed, you are upon straight guidance.”
“And if they dispute with you, say, ‘Allah knows best what you do. (68) Allah will judge between you on the Day of Resurrection concerning that over which you used to differ. (69) Do you not know that Allah knows whatever is in heaven and on earth? Indeed, that is in a Record. Indeed, that is easy for Allah. (70) Yet they worship besides Allah that for which He has sent down no authority and of which they have no knowledge. And the wrongdoers will have no helper. (71) When Our clear verses are recited to them, you can recognize disapproval on the faces of those who disbelieve. They are on the verge of assaulting those who recite Our verses to them. Say, ‘Shall I inform you of something worse than that? The Fire—Allah has promised it to those who disbelieve, and wretched is the destination.’ (72)”
“And if they dispute with you, say, ‘Allah knows best what you do.’” “Allah will judge between you on the Day of Resurrection concerning that over which you used to differ,” and then you will know truth from falsehood. Differing is when each of the two disputants adopts a position contrary to that of the other.
“Do you not know that Allah knows whatever is in heaven and on earth? Indeed, all of that is in a Record,” meaning the Preserved Tablet. “Indeed, that,” meaning His knowledge of all of it, “is easy for Allah.”
“Yet they worship besides Allah that for which He has sent down no authority,” that is, no proof, “and of which they have no knowledge.” This means that what they do is done out of ignorance, not knowledge. “And the wrongdoers,” meaning the polytheists, “will have no helper”—no one to protect them from Allah’s punishment.
“When Our clear verses are recited to them,” meaning the Quran, “you can recognize disapproval on the faces of those who disbelieve,” meaning their rejection is apparent on their faces in the form of hatred and scowling. “They are on the verge of assaulting,” that is, attacking and stretching forth their hands against you with evil intent. It was also said: they are on the verge of striking. “Those who recite Our verses to them,” that is, Muhammad and his Companions, because of the intensity of their rage. One says that someone assailed another, or assailed him, when he seized him with violence and harshness. The root meaning of assault is overpowering.
“Say,” O Muhammad, “Shall I inform you of something worse than that?” That is, something worse for you and more hateful to you than this Quran