(36) “Those to whom We have given the Scripture rejoice in what has been sent down to you, while among the factions are those who deny part of it. Say, ‘I have only been commanded to worship Allah and not associate anything with Him. To Him I call, and to Him is my return.’”

Allah Most High says: “Those to whom We have given the Scripture”—that is, We favored them with it and with knowledge of it—“rejoice in what has been sent down to you.” They believe in it, affirm its truth, and rejoice that the Scriptures agree with and attest to one another. This is the state of those who believe among the followers of the two Scriptures. “While among the factions are those who deny part of it”—that is, among the groups of disbelievers who have deviated from the truth are some who deny part of this Quran and do not believe it.

“Whoever is guided, it is to his own benefit; and whoever goes astray, only goes astray to his own detriment.” You, O Muhammad, are only a warner who calls to Allah. “Say, ‘I have only been commanded to worship Allah and not associate anything with Him’”—that is, to devote religion sincerely to Allah alone. “To Him I call, and to Him is my return”—that is, He is my destination, to whom I shall return; then He will recompense me for calling to His religion and carrying out what I was commanded to do.