The opening portion of the surah—through eighty-odd verses—was revealed concerning the disputation with the Christians, the refutation of their doctrine, and the call for them to enter the true religion, Islam, just as the opening portion of al-Baqara was revealed concerning the disputation with the Jews, as explained above.
(1 - 6) “In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful. Alif-Lām-Mīm. * Allah—there is no god but Him—the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of all. * He has sent down to you the Book in truth, confirming what came before it, and He sent down the Torah and the Gospel * previously, as guidance for mankind, and He sent down the Criterion. Indeed, those who disbelieve in Allah’s signs will suffer a severe punishment. Allah is Almighty, the Possessor of Retribution. * Surely nothing on earth or in heaven is hidden from Allah. * He is the One who shapes you in the wombs as He wills. There is no god but Him, the Almighty, the All-Wise.”
He—Blessed and Exalted is He—opens the surah by declaring His divinity: He is God, there is no god but Him, and He alone deserves all devotion and worship. Every object of worship besides Him is therefore false. Allah alone is the true God, possessed of the attributes of divinity, all of which derive from His life and His self-subsistence and sustaining power. The Ever-Living is He who possesses magnificent and perfect life, which necessarily entails every attribute without which life cannot be complete or perfect, such as hearing, sight, power, strength, greatness, enduring existence, permanence, and unassailable might. “The Sustainer of all” is the One who subsists by Himself and has no need of any of His creatures, while sustaining all others, so that every creature depends upon Him to be brought into existence, prepared, and continually sustained. He alone administers creation and directs its affairs, governing bodies as well as hearts and souls.
One aspect of His sustaining care for His servants and His mercy toward them is that He sent down to His Messenger Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) the Book, the noblest and greatest of books. It contains the truth in all that it reports, commands, and prohibits. Everything it reports is true, and every judgement it gives is just. He sent it down in truth so that people might worship their Lord and study His Book, “confirming what came before it” of the earlier scriptures. It validates them: whatever it attests to is accepted, and whatever it rejects is rejected. It agrees with them concerning all the truths upon which the messengers concurred, and they, in turn, attest to its truth. The People of the Book cannot truly affirm their own scriptures unless they believe in it, for denying it invalidates their professed belief in their scriptures. He then said, “And He sent down the Torah”—that is, to Moses—“and the Gospel” to Jesus.
“Previously”—that is, before the Quran was sent down—“as guidance for mankind.” Apparently, this refers to everything just mentioned. In other words, Allah sent down the Quran, the Torah, and the Gospel to guide mankind out of error. Whoever accepts Allah’s guidance is rightly guided, while whoever does not remains astray. “And He sent down the Criterion”—that is, the decisive arguments, clear proofs, and conclusive evidence establishing every intended truth and objective. He also clearly set forth and explained everything that creation needs, so that the rulings became lucid and manifest. Thus, no excuse remains for anyone, nor any argument for one who fails to believe in Allah and His signs. Hence He said, “Indeed, those who disbelieve in Allah’s signs”—after He had elucidated and clarified them and removed every pretext—“will suffer a severe punishment,” whose magnitude cannot be measured and whose nature cannot be adequately described. “Allah is Almighty”—that is, strong, and nothing can frustrate Him—“the Possessor of Retribution” against those who disobey Him.
“Surely nothing on earth or in heaven is hidden from Allah.” This affirms that His knowledge encompasses all things known, whether evident or hidden, outward or inward. Among these are the unborn children in the wombs, whom no created sight can perceive and no created knowledge can reach. He governs them with the subtlest care and ordains every detail concerning them. Thus He says: ⦗122⦘ “He is the One who shapes you in the wombs as He wills.”
“He is the One who shapes you in the wombs as He wills”—perfectly or imperfectly formed, beautiful or ugly, male or female. “There is no god but Him, the Almighty, the All-Wise.” These verses affirm that divinity belongs exclusively to Allah and invalidate the divinity of all besides Him. Implicit in this is a refutation of the Christians who claim that Jesus son of Mary (peace be upon him) is divine. They also affirm His perfect life and His complete self-subsistence and sustaining power, which together encompass all sacred attributes, as stated above. They affirm the great revealed laws and that these are a mercy and guidance for mankind; divide people into those rightly guided and those who are not; declare the punishment of those who do not follow that guidance; and affirm the vastness of the Creator’s knowledge, the unfailing execution of His will, and His wisdom.