“O People of the Scripture, why do you mix truth with falsehood and conceal the truth while you know? A group among the People of the Scripture said, ‘Believe at the beginning of the day in what was revealed to those who believe, and reject it at the end of the day, so that they might turn back. Do not trust anyone except those who follow your religion’—say, ‘Indeed, guidance is Allah’s guidance’—‘lest anyone be given the like of what you were given or dispute with you before your Lord.’ Say, ‘Indeed, bounty is in Allah’s hand; He grants it to whomever He wills. Allah is Boundless, All-Knowing. He singles out for His mercy whomever He wills, and Allah is the Possessor of immense bounty.’”
“O People of the Scripture, why do you disbelieve in Allah’s signs while you yourselves bear witness?” That is: What prompted you to disbelieve in Allah’s signs when you know that what you follow is false and that what Muhammad—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—has brought you is the truth about which you have no doubt? Indeed, you yourselves attest to it and sometimes confide it privately to one another. This was a prohibition against their own misguidance.
He then rebuked them for leading others astray, saying, “O People of the Scripture, why do you mix truth with falsehood and conceal the truth while you know?” He rebuked them both for mixing truth with falsehood and for concealing the truth, because by these two practices they lead astray those affiliated with them. When scholars mix truth with falsehood and fail to distinguish between them, leaving matters obscure, and conceal the truth that they are required to make known, the inevitable result is that truth becomes hidden and falsehood prevails. The ordinary people who seek the truth are then unable to recognize it and give it precedence. The purpose of the people of knowledge is to make the truth clear to people and proclaim it openly, to distinguish truth from falsehood, to differentiate the evil from the good, the lawful from the unlawful, and sound beliefs from corrupt beliefs, so that those who seek guidance may be guided ⦗135⦘, those who have gone astray may return, and the proof may be established against the obstinate. The Most High says, “And when Allah took a covenant from those who were given the Scripture: ‘You must make it clear to people and not conceal it,’ they cast it behind their backs.”
The Most High then informed us of this wicked group’s plan and its desire to scheme against the believers, saying, “A group among the People of the Scripture said, ‘Believe at the beginning of the day in what was revealed to those who believe, and reject it at the end of the day.’” That is, enter their religion at the beginning of the day as a ruse and a scheme, then leave it at the end of the day, “so that they might turn back” from their religion. They would say, “Had it been true, the learned People of the Scripture would not have abandoned it.” They intended this out of self-admiration and because they assumed that people would think well of them and follow what they said and did. Yet Allah will perfect His light, though the disbelievers hate it.
“And”—some of them said to others—“do not trust anyone except those who follow your religion.” That is, do not trust, feel secure with, or believe anyone except those who follow your religion, and conceal (1) your affair. If you inform anyone outside your own people and the followers of your religion, they will acquire the same knowledge that you possess and become like you, or they will dispute with you before your Lord and testify against you that the proof had been established against you and the guidance made clear to you, yet you did not follow it.
In short, they imagined that withholding their knowledge from the believers would prevent the believers from acquiring knowledge, because they claimed that knowledge existed only among themselves, and that disclosing it would establish the proof against them. Allah refuted them by declaring that “guidance is Allah’s guidance.” The source of guidance for everyone who is guided is Allah Most High. Guidance consists either in knowing the truth or in preferring it. There is no knowledge except that which Allah’s messengers brought, and no one is enabled to follow it except those whom Allah enables. The People of the Scripture were given only a little knowledge, while their share of divine enablement had been cut off because of their wicked intentions and evil aims. As for this nation, praise be to Allah, they received such knowledge and understanding through Allah’s guidance, together with the ability to act upon it, that they surpassed and excelled over all others. They thus became the guides who guide by Allah’s command. This is part of Allah’s bounty toward this nation and His immense kindness to it. The Most High therefore says, “Say, ‘Indeed, bounty is in Allah’s hand.’” That is, Allah bestows every kind of kindness upon His servants. “He grants it to whomever He wills”—among those who pursue the means leading to it. “Allah is Boundless” in bounty and abundant in kindness, and “All-Knowing” of those fit to receive His kindness, whom He grants it, and those who do not deserve it, from whom He withholds it.
“He singles out for His mercy whomever He wills.” This means His unrestricted mercy, which begins in this world and continues into the Hereafter: the blessing of religion and everything that completes it. “And Allah is the Possessor of immense bounty,” which no describer can adequately describe and which no human heart can conceive. Rather, His bounty and kindness extend to everything encompassed by His knowledge: “Our Lord, You encompass all things in mercy and knowledge.”