and commanded him to pardon him. (1)
Al-Qurazi and al-Suddi said: It was revealed concerning some of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, in Mecca, who suffered severe harm from the idolaters before they had been commanded to fight. They complained of this to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, so Allah revealed this verse. (2) It was then abrogated by the verse commanding fighting. (3)
“So that He may recompense a people”: Ibn Amir, Hamzah, and al-Kisa’i recited it, “So that We may recompense,” with the first-person plural prefix, whereas the others recited it with the third-person prefix, meaning: so that Allah may recompense. Abu Ja‘far recited it, “so that a people may be recompensed,” with the first letter bearing dammah, the second letter quiescent, and the zāy bearing fathah. Abu Amr said: “This is a grammatical error.” Al-Kisa’i said: Its meaning is: so that He may recompense a people with recompense, “for what they used to earn.”
“Whoever does what is righteous, it is for his own soul; and whoever does evil, it is against it. Then to your Lord you will be returned. And We certainly gave the Children of Israel the Scripture, judgment, and prophethood; We provided them with good things and favoured them above all peoples. And We gave them clear proofs concerning the matter. Yet they differed only after knowledge had come to them, out of mutual resentment. Indeed, your Lord will judge between them on the Day of Resurrection concerning that over which they used to differ. Then We placed you upon a clear way of the religion, so follow it, and do not follow the desires of those who do not know.”
“Whoever does what is righteous, it is for his own soul; and whoever does evil, it is against it. Then to your Lord you will be returned. And We certainly gave the Children of Israel the Scripture”—the Torah—“judgment, prophethood, and We provided them with good things,” that is, lawful provisions: ⦗122/a⦘ manna and quails. “And We favoured them above all peoples,” meaning the peoples of their own time. Ibn Abbas said: “Among all the peoples of their time, none was more honoured before Allah or more beloved to Him than they were.”
“And We gave them clear proofs concerning the matter,” meaning knowledge of the mission of Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, and what He made clear to them concerning him. “Yet they differed only after knowledge had come to them, out of mutual resentment. Indeed, your Lord will judge between them on the Day of Resurrection concerning that over which they used to differ.”
“Then We placed you”—O Muhammad—“upon a clear way,” a sunnah and a path after Moses, “of the matter,” that is, of the religion. “So follow it, and do not follow the desires of those who do not know,” meaning the wishes of the disbelievers. That is because they used to