Allah had ever sent down to any human being any revelation (1). Yet such a claim is not part of what the Jews believe; on the contrary, what is known of their religion is their admission of the Scriptures of Abraham, the Torah of Moses, and the Psalms of David. From the start of the surah up to this point the narrative concerns the idol-worshipping polytheists, and His words, “They did not esteem Allah as He ought to be esteemed,” are connected to that narrative and not detached from it.

I say: What lends further weight to his view is that the surah is Meccan, and therefore relates to the irreligious Arabs who denied the very foundation of prophethood.

Nevertheless, one may still ask: How can they be refuted with something they themselves do not acknowledge—the sending down of the Book that Moses brought? How can it be said to them, “You turn it into parchments, showing them and hiding much,” especially according to the recitation that addresses them directly (2)? Does that apply to anyone besides the Jews? They were the ones who used to conceal from the Book whatever clashed with their whims and aims while disclosing the rest. Thus Allah argued against them with what they themselves concede concerning the Book of Moses, and then rebuked them for betraying Allah and His Messenger with regard to it, by hiding part of it and revealing part. This is a digression that moves from their wholesale denial of prophethood—which itself amounts to concealment and suppression—to accusing them of denying some of what they have already acknowledged in their own Book by hiding and concealing it. Such behavior is a well-known trait of theirs, one that cannot be denied, for whoever conceals part of his scripture that