and knowingly conceal the truth? * A group among the People of the Scripture said, ‘Believe in what was sent down to the believers at the beginning of the day and reject it at its end, so that perhaps they will turn back. * Do not trust anyone except those who follow your religion.’ Say, ‘Indeed, true guidance is Allah’s guidance.’ They say, ‘Do not believe that anyone could be given the like of what you were given, or that they could argue against you before your Lord.’ Say, ‘Indeed, bounty is in Allah’s hand; He grants it to whomever He wills. Allah is All-Encompassing, All-Knowing. * He singles out for His mercy whomever He wills, and Allah is the Possessor of immense bounty.’”

This is part of Allah’s favor to this nation: He informed them of the schemes of their enemies among the People of the Scripture and how, in their eagerness to mislead the believers, they devised all manner of wicked plots.

A group of them said, “Believe in what was sent down to the believers at the beginning of the day,” meaning its first part, “and renounce their religion at the end of the day.” If the believers saw them turning back—while regarding them as knowledgeable—they would begin to doubt their own religion and say, “Had they not found in it something objectionable or inconsistent with the earlier scriptures, they would not have turned back.”

This was their scheme, but Allah, exalted is He, guides whomever He wills. Bounty is in His hand, and He singles out for it whomever He wills. He has singled you out, O this nation, for what He granted no other nation.

Those schemers failed to realize that Allah’s religion is the truth: once its reality reaches the heart, the passage of time only increases its adherent in faith and certainty. Doubts and specious arguments only make him cling more firmly to his religion, praise Allah, and extol Him for having graciously bestowed it upon him.

Their statement, “that anyone could be given the like of what you were given, or that they could argue against you before your Lord,” means that what drove them to these reprehensible deeds was envy, malicious transgression, and fear that others would establish proof against them.

As Allah, exalted is He, says, “Many among the People of the Scripture wish they could turn you back to disbelief after you have believed, out of envy from within themselves, after the truth had become clear to them”—to the end of the verse.

(75–76) “Among the People of the Scripture is one who, if you entrust him with a great sum of wealth, will return it to you; and among them is one who, if you entrust him with a single dinar, will not return it unless you constantly stand over him demanding it. That is because they say, ‘We bear no blame concerning the Gentiles.’ They knowingly tell lies about Allah. * No indeed! Whoever fulfills his covenant and fears Allah—surely Allah loves those who fear Him.”

Allah, exalted is He, informs us that among the People of the Scripture is a trustworthy group: even if you entrusted one of them with great sums of money amounting to considerable wealth, he would return it to you. Another group, however, consists of traitors who would betray you over the smallest amount. Despite this appalling treachery, they attempt to justify themselves with false excuses, saying, “We bear no blame concerning the Gentiles.” That is, they claim that they incur no sin by betraying them and deeming their property lawful, because they possess no sanctity.

Allah, exalted is He, says, “They knowingly tell lies about Allah,” for they know that they bear the gravest guilt. They thus combine treachery, contempt for the Arabs, and lies about Allah—and they do so knowingly, unlike one who acts out of ignorance and error.

He then says, “No indeed!” That is, the matter is not as they claim. Rather, “whoever fulfills his covenant and fears Allah”—that is, fulfills the rights due to Allah and the rights due to His creatures—is one who truly fears Allah, and Allah loves him.

Conversely, anyone who does not fulfill the covenants and contracts between himself and other people, and who does not fear Allah, is detested by Allah, and He will requite him with the severest punishment.

(77) “Indeed, those who exchange Allah’s covenant and their oaths for a paltry price shall have no share in the Hereafter. Allah will neither speak to them nor look upon them on the Day of Resurrection, nor will He purify them; and they shall have a painful punishment.”

That is, those who purchase this world at the expense of religion, preferring the paltry scraps of worldly life and seeking to obtain them through false oaths and broken covenants—Allah will neither speak to them nor look upon them on the Day of Resurrection, nor will He purify them; and they shall have a painful punishment. They have deserved Allah’s wrath and incurred His punishment; they have been denied His reward and deprived of purification. Instead, they will arrive on the Day of Resurrection stained with crimes and defiled by grave sins.

(78) “Indeed, among them is a group who twist their tongues while reciting the Scripture so that you may think it is from the Scripture, though it is not from the Scripture. They say, ‘It is from Allah,’ though it is not from Allah. They knowingly tell lies about Allah.”

That is, among the People of the Scripture is a group who distort Allah’s Book. “They twist their tongues while reciting the Scripture so that you may think it is from the Scripture.” This includes both distortion of the wording and distortion of the meaning.

Despite this appalling distortion, they give the impression that it forms part of the Scripture, though they are lying. They openly tell lies about Allah while fully aware of their condition and their evil outcome.

(79–80) “It is not for any human being whom Allah has given the Book, judgment, and prophethood then to say to the people, ‘Worship me instead of Allah.’ Rather, he would say, ‘Be devoted servants of the Lord because you have been teaching the Book and because you have been studying it.’ * Nor would he command you to take the angels and prophets as lords. Would he command you to disbelieve after you have submitted as Muslims?”

That is, it is utterly impossible for any human being whom Allah has favored with revelation, the Book, and prophethood, and whom He has granted authority to judge by the divine law, to command people to worship him or to worship the prophets and angels and take them as lords. That is disbelief. How could he do so when he was sent with Islam, which contradicts disbelief in every respect? How could he command its very opposite?! This is impossible, for his character and calling, together with the virtues and distinctions that Allah bestowed upon him, necessarily entail complete servitude and total submission to Allah, the One, the All-Subduing.

This was the answer given to the delegation of Najrān when their delusion persisted and their pride reached such a point that they said, “O Muhammad, do you command us to worship you?” They said this when he commanded them to worship and obey Allah. The Creator therefore made clear that their claim was false and that this and all similar claims are plainly baseless.

(81–82) “When Allah took the covenant of the prophets, saying, ‘Whatever I give you of the Book and wisdom, and then a Messenger comes to you confirming what is with you, you must believe in him and support him.’ He said, ‘Do you affirm this and accept My solemn covenant upon it?’ They said, ‘We affirm it.’ He said, ‘Then bear witness, and I am with you among the witnesses. * Whoever turns away after that—it is they who are defiantly disobedient.’”

This is a report from Allah, exalted is He, that He took the pledge and covenant of all the prophets on account of the Book and wisdom He had given and graciously bestowed upon them. These gifts required them to uphold Allah’s right fully and discharge it completely: if a Messenger came to them confirming what was with them, sent with the same message with which they had been sent—monotheism, truth, justice, and the fundamental principles upon which the revealed laws agreed—they were to believe in him and support him.

They affirmed this, acknowledged it, and committed themselves to it. He made them witnesses and Himself bore witness over them, and He threatened whoever violated this covenant.

This is a universal principle among the prophets: their path is one, and they all agreed upon and mutually pledged themselves to the call of every one of them. More broadly, He took from them all a covenant requiring belief,