Basra. There I found al-A‘mash standing in prayer at night, performing tahajjud. As he recited this verse:

“Allah bears witness that there is no deity except Him, and so do the angels and those endowed with knowledge—upholding justice. There is no deity except Him, the Mighty, the Wise.”

Al-A‘mash then said, “And I bear witness to that to which Allah has borne witness. I entrust this testimony to Allah, and it is a deposit held for me with Allah: ‘Indeed, the religion in the sight of Allah is Islam.’” He repeated this several times.

I said, “He must have heard something concerning it.” So I prayed with him and bade him farewell. Then I said, “I heard you reciting a verse and repeating it. What has reached you concerning it?” He said to me, “Has what it contains not reached you?” I said, “I have been with you for two years, yet you have not related it to me.” (1)

He said, “By Allah, I shall not relate it to you until a year has passed.” So that day I marked it on his door and remained for a year. When the year had passed, I said, “O Abu Muhammad, the year has passed.” He said: “Abu Wa’il related to me from Abdullah that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: ‘On the Day of Resurrection, the one who made this testimony will be brought forth, and Allah will say: “My servant has a covenant with Me, and I am the most deserving of those who fulfil a covenant. Admit My servant into Paradise.”’” (2)

Regarding His words, “Those who were given the Book did not differ”: al-Kalbi said, “It was revealed concerning the Jews and Christians when they abandoned Islam. That is, those who were given the Book differed concerning the prophethood of Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, only after knowledge had come to them”—meaning, after the description of him in their scriptures had been made clear to them.

Al-Rabi‘ said: “When death came to Moses, peace be upon him, he summoned seventy men from among the rabbis of the Children of Israel, entrusted the Torah to them ⦗55a⦘, and appointed Joshua son of Nun as his successor. Then, after the first, second, and third generations had passed, division arose among them. They were those given the Book, the descendants of those seventy men, until they shed one another’s blood, and evil and disagreement arose among them. This was after knowledge had come to them”—that is, after what was in the Torah had been made clear to them. “Out of mutual envy”: that is, in pursuit of dominion and leadership. So Allah gave the tyrants power over them.

Muhammad ibn Ja‘far ibn al-Zubayr said: “It was revealed concerning the Christians of Najran. Its meaning is: ‘Those who were given the Book’—that is, the Gospel—differed concerning Jesus, peace be upon him, and divided in their statements about him only after knowledge had come to them that Allah is One and that Jesus is His servant and His messenger, ‘out of mutual envy,’ that is, out of hostility and opposition among themselves.”

“Whoever disbelieves in the verses of Allah, then indeed Allah is swift in reckoning.”