Allah Most High says:

“Indeed, this is the true account. There is no god worthy of worship except Allah, and indeed Allah is the Almighty, the All-Wise. But if they turn away, then Allah is fully knowing of those who spread corruption. Say, ‘O People of the Book, come to a word that is equitable between us and you: that we worship none but Allah, associate nothing with Him, and do not take one another as lords besides Allah.’ But if they turn away, then say, ‘Bear witness that we are Muslims.’” (62–64)

His saying, “Indeed, this is the true account,” means: the true report. “There is no god worthy of worship except Allah”: the particle min is supplementary, so that its sense is, “There is no god worthy of worship except Allah.” “And indeed Allah is the Almighty, the All-Wise.”

“But if they turn away”—that is, turn away from faith—“then Allah is fully knowing of those who spread corruption”: those who worship other than Allah and call people to worship other than Allah.

His saying, exalted is He, “Say, ‘O People of the Book, come to a word that is equitable between us and you,’” to the end of the verse: The exegetes said that the delegation of Najran came to Medina and met with the Jews. They disputed concerning Abraham, peace be upon him. The Christians claimed that he had been a Christian, that they followed his religion, and that they had the greatest right to him. The Jews said, rather, that he had been a Jew, that they followed his religion, and that they had the greatest right to him.

The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Neither party has any connection to Abraham or to his religion. Rather, Abraham was an upright monotheist, wholly submitted to Allah, and I follow his religion. Therefore, follow his religion: the religion of Islam.”

The Jews said, “O Muhammad, you only want us to take you as a lord, just as the Christians took Jesus as a lord.” The Christians said, “O Muhammad, you only want us to say concerning you what the Jews said concerning Ezra.” Thereupon Allah Most High revealed: “Say, ‘O People of the Book, come to a word …’” (1)

The Arabs call every account that has an explanation a “word”; hence an ode is also called a “word.” “Equitable” means just and equal between us and you—that is, a matter in which both sides stand on equal footing. One says, “So-and-so called to equity,” meaning, to fairness. The middle of anything is its point of equality, as in His saying: “Then he saw him in the midst of Hellfire” (al-Saffat, 55). A half is called equal because the fairest and best of matters are those that lie in the middle.

“Equitable” is an adjective qualifying “word,” except that it is a verbal noun; and verbal nouns are neither made dual nor plural, nor are they made feminine. When its first consonant takes an a-vowel, its final vowel is lengthened; when it takes an i- or u-vowel, it is shortened, as in His saying: “a place equally convenient to us both” (Taha, 58).

He then explained the word, saying: “That we worship none but Allah.” The grammatical position of “that” is nominative, with an implied “it is.” Al-Zajjaj said: