Tafsir al-Baghawi - Al-Baghawi - (2/305)

Tafsir al-BaghawiAl-Baghawi

“Indeed, those who disbelieve in Allah and His messengers, and wish to make a distinction between Allah and His messengers, saying, ‘We believe in some and disbelieve in others,’ and wish to adopt a way in between—those are truly the disbelievers; and We have prepared for the disbelievers a humiliating punishment. But those who believe in Allah and His messengers and make no distinction between any of them—those He will give their rewards. And Allah is Ever-Forgiving, Most Merciful. The People of the Book ask you to bring down for them a Book from heaven. Yet they asked Moses for something greater than that, saying, ‘Show us Allah openly.’ So the thunderbolt seized them for their wrongdoing. Then they took the calf for worship after clear proofs had come to them; yet We pardoned them for that, and We gave Moses clear authority.”

His saying, exalted is He, “Indeed, those who disbelieve in Allah and His messengers,” to the end of the verse, was revealed concerning the Jews. They believed in Moses, the Torah, and Ezra, but disbelieved in Jesus, the Gospel, Muhammad, and the Quran. “And wish to make a distinction between Allah and His messengers, saying, ‘We believe in some and disbelieve in others,’ and wish to adopt a way in between”—that is, a religion between Judaism and Islam, and a doctrine which they would follow.

“Those are truly the disbelievers”: He confirms their disbelief, in order to make known that disbelieving in some of the messengers is like disbelieving in all of them. “And We have prepared for the disbelievers a humiliating punishment.”

“But those who believe in Allah and His messengers”—all of them—“and make no distinction between any of them,” meaning, between the messengers: they are the believers, who say, “We make no distinction between any of His messengers.” “Those He will give their rewards,” for their faith in Allah, His Books, and His messengers. Hafs, transmitting from Asim, recited “He will give them” with the third-person prefix, meaning, “Allah will give them”; (1) the remaining reciters read it with the first-person plural prefix. 99/A “And Allah is Ever-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”

His saying, Most High, “The People of the Book ask you,” to the end of the verse, was revealed because Kaʿb ibn al-Ashraf and Finhas ibn ʿAzura, two Jews, said to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, “If you are a prophet, then bring us a Book all at once from heaven, as Moses brought one.” So Allah revealed to him: “The People of the Book ask you to bring down for them a Book from heaven.” (2)

(1) Omitted from manuscript (A). (2) Cited by al-Suyuti in al-Durr al-Manthur, 2:726; see al-Wahidi, Asbab al-Nuzul, p. 197.

﴿إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَكْفُرُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَرُسُلِهِ وَيُرِيدُونَ أَنْ يُفَرِّقُوا بَيْنَ اللَّهِ وَرُسُلِهِ وَيَقُولُونَ نُؤْمِنُ بِبَعْضٍ وَنَكْفُرُ بِبَعْضٍ وَيُرِيدُونَ أَنْ يَتَّخِذُوا بَيْنَ ذَلِكَ سَبِيلًا (١٥٠) أُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْكَافِرُونَ حَقًّا وَأَعْتَدْنَا لِلْكَافِرِينَ عَذَابًا مُهِينًا (١٥١) وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِاللَّهِ وَرُسُلِهِ وَلَمْ يُفَرِّقُوا بَيْنَ أَحَدٍ مِنْهُمْ أُولَئِكَ سَوْفَ يُؤْتِيهِمْ أُجُورَهُمْ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ غَفُورًا رَحِيمًا (١٥٢) يَسْأَلُكَ أَهْلُ الْكِتَابِ أَنْ تُنَزِّلَ عَلَيْهِمْ كِتَابًا مِنَ السَّمَاءِ فَقَدْ سَأَلُوا مُوسَى أَكْبَرَ مِنْ ذَلِكَ فَقَالُوا أَرِنَا اللَّهَ جَهْرَةً فَأَخَذَتْهُمُ الصَّاعِقَةُ بِظُلْمِهِمْ ثُمَّ اتَّخَذُوا الْعِجْلَ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَتْهُمُ الْبَيِّنَاتُ فَعَفَوْنَا عَنْ ذَلِكَ وَآتَيْنَا مُوسَى سُلْطَانًا مُبِينًا (١٥٣) ﴾ قَوْلُهُ ﷿: ﴿إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَكْفُرُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَرُسُلِهِ﴾ الْآيَةَ، نَزَلَتْ فِي الْيَهُودِ، وَذَلِكَ أَنَّهُمْ آمَنُوا بِمُوسَى ﵇ وَالتَّوْرَاةِ وَعُزَيْرٍ، وَكَفَرُوا بِعِيسَى وَالْإِنْجِيلِ وَبِمُحَمَّدٍ وَالْقُرْآنِ، ﴿وَيُرِيدُونَ أَنْ يُفَرِّقُوا بَيْنَ اللَّهِ وَرُسُلِهِ وَيَقُولُونَ نُؤْمِنُ بِبَعْضٍ وَنَكْفُرُ بِبَعْضٍ وَيُرِيدُونَ أَنْ يَتَّخِذُوا بَيْنَ ذَلِكَ سَبِيلًا﴾ أَيْ: دِينًا بَيْنَ الْيَهُودِيَّةِ وَالْإِسْلَامِ وَمَذْهَبًا يَذْهَبُونَ إِلَيْهِ. ﴿أُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْكَافِرُونَ حَقًّا﴾ حَقَّقَ كُفْرَهُمْ لِيُعْلِمَ أَنَّ الْكُفْرَ بِبَعْضِهِمْ كَالْكُفْرِ بِجَمِيعِهِمْ ﴿وَأَعْتَدْنَا لِلْكَافِرِينَ عَذَابًا مُهِينًا﴾ ﴿وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِاللَّهِ وَرُسُلِهِ﴾ كُلِّهِمْ ﴿وَلَمْ يُفَرِّقُوا بَيْنَ أَحَدٍ مِنْهُمْ﴾ يَعْنِي: بَيْنَ الرُّسُلِ وَهُمُ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ، يَقُولُونَ: لَا نُفَرِّقُ بَيْنَ أَحَدٍ مِنْ رُسُلِهِ، ﴿أُولَئِكَ سَوْفَ يُؤْتِيهِمْ أُجُورَهُمْ﴾ بِإِيمَانِهِمْ بِاللَّهِ وَكُتُبِهِ وَرُسُلِهِ، قَرَأَ حَفْصٌ عَنْ عَاصِمٍ ﴿يُؤْتِيهِمْ﴾ بِالْيَاءِ، أَيْ: ﴿يُؤْتِيهِمُ اللَّهُ﴾ (١) ، والباقون بالنون ٩٩/أ ﴿وَكَانَ اللَّهُ غَفُورًا رَحِيمًا﴾ قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى: ﴿يَسْأَلُكَ أَهْلُ الْكِتَابِ﴾ الْآيَةَ، وَذَلِكَ أَنَّ كَعْبَ بْنَ الْأَشْرَفِ وَفَنْحَاصَ بْنَ عَازُورَاءَ مِنَ الْيَهُودِ قَالَا لِرَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ: إِنْ كُنْتَ نَبِيًّا فَأْتِنَا بِكِتَابٍ جُمْلَةً مِنَ السَّمَاءِ، كَمَا أَتَى بِهِ مُوسَى ﵇، فَأَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ: ﴿يَسْأَلُكَ أَهْلُ الْكِتَابِ أَنْ تُنَزِّلَ عَلَيْهِمْ كِتَابًا مِنَ السَّمَاءِ﴾ (٢) .

(١) ساقط من: (أ) . (٢) ذكره السيوطي في الدر المنثور: ٢ / ٧٢٦، وانظر: أسباب النزول للواحدي ص (١٩٧) .