“Allah knows your enemies best. Allah is sufficient as a Guardian, and Allah is sufficient as a Helper. * Among the Jews are those who distort words from their proper places and say, ‘We hear and disobey,’ ‘Listen—may you hear nothing pleasing!’ and ‘Attend to us,’ twisting their tongues and maligning the religion. Had they said, ‘We hear and obey,’ ‘Listen,’ and ‘Regard us,’ it would have been better and more proper for them. But Allah has cursed them for their disbelief, so only a few of them believe.”
Thus, they are utterly intent on leading you astray and exert every effort to do so. But because Allah is the Guardian and Helper of His believing servants, He has made clear to them the misguidance and efforts to mislead harbored by these people. He therefore says, “Allah is sufficient as a Guardian”; that is, He watches over the affairs of His servants, treats them graciously in all their affairs, ⦗181⦘ and facilitates for them the means to their happiness and success. “And Allah is sufficient as a Helper”: He grants them victory over their enemies, makes clear what they must beware of concerning them, and assists them against them. His guardianship secures good, while His aid removes evil.
He then explains the nature of their misguidance and obstinacy and their preference for falsehood over the truth, saying, “Among the Jews”; that is, the Jews—specifically, their scholars who lead others astray.
“They distort words from their proper places,” either by altering their wording or their meaning, or both. One form of their distortion is their interpretation of the descriptions recorded in their scriptures—which truthfully apply to none but Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)—on the claim that he is neither meant nor intended by them, but that someone else is, together with their concealment of that fact.
Such is their state regarding knowledge—the worst possible state. They inverted realities, applied the truth to falsehood, and consequently denied that truth. As for their conduct and submission, “they say, ‘We hear and disobey’”; that is, we have heard what you say, but we disobey your command. This is the utmost degree of disbelief, obstinacy, and aversion to submission. They likewise address the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) in the vilest and most disrespectful manner, saying, “Listen—may you hear nothing pleasing!” Their intent is: Listen to us, but may you hear nothing you like; rather, may you hear what you dislike. They also say, “Attend to us,” intending thereby to accuse him of foolishness as a vile insult. Because the expression could bear a meaning other than the one they intended, they imagined that it would escape the notice of Allah and His Messenger. Through this expression, which they utter while twisting their tongues, they sought a means to malign the religion and insult the Messenger, while stating their intended meaning plainly among themselves. Hence He says, “twisting their tongues and maligning the religion.”
He then directed them to what would be better for them, saying, “Had they said, ‘We hear and obey,’ ‘Listen,’ and ‘Regard us,’ it would have been better and more proper for them.” This is because these words contain gracious speech and the proper etiquette for addressing the Messenger, as well as entering into obedience to Allah and submitting to His command. They also embody a courteous manner of seeking knowledge by asking him to hear their question and attend to their concern. This is the course they ought to follow. But because their natures were impure, they turned away from it, and Allah cast them away because of their disbelief and obstinacy. Hence He says, “But Allah has cursed them for their disbelief, so only a few of them believe.”