Tafsir of An-Nahl 16:124

(The Sabbath was only appointed) — meaning, the obligation of its veneration, setting aside time for worship, and refraining from hunting within it was only imposed to confirm that total negation [of earlier claims] and to clarify it by invalidating what might be imagined as a deficiency in that totality. For the Jews used to claim that the Sabbath was among the rituals of Islam and that Abraham (peace be upon him) upheld it. That is, the Sabbath is not among the laws of Abraham or the rituals of his creed (peace be upon him) which [the Prophet] was commanded to follow, such that there would be a connection between him and some of the polytheists in any general sense. Rather, this was legislated for the Children of Israel after a long period. The expression of the verb in the passive voice follows the style of majesty, signaling that there is no need to specify the Agent, as attribution to other than Him is impossible. Abu Haywah read ju‘ila (appointed) in the active voice. From Ibn Mas‘ud and al-A‘mash, it is reported that they read, "We have only sent down the Sabbath," but according to Abu Hayyan, this is an explanation of the meaning, not a recitation, because it contradicts the text of the Mushaf. The widely transmitted report from them is that they recited it like the collective: Innama ju‘ila as-sabtu ‘ala alladhina ikhtalafu fihi (The Sabbath was only appointed for those who differed concerning it)—meaning concerning their Prophet, when he commanded them to [observe] Friday, but they chose the Sabbath. These are the Jews.

Al-Shafi‘i extracted in al-Umm, and the two Sheikhs [al-Bukhari and Muslim] in their Sahihs, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: 'We are the last, yet the first on the Day of Resurrection, except that they were given the Scripture before us, and we were given it after them. Then, this day of theirs which was obligated upon them—meaning Friday—they differed concerning it, so Allah guided us to it. Thus, people follow us in this: the Jews tomorrow, and the Christians the day after.'"

It is reported from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that he said: "Moses (peace be upon him) commanded the Jews to observe Friday and said: 'Devote yourselves to Allah the Exalted every seven days for one day, which is Friday, and do not perform any of your work in it.' They refused to accept that and said: 'We do not want anything except the day in which Allah the Exalted finished the creation, which is Saturday.' So it was imposed upon them, and the matter was enforced therein."

Then Jesus (peace be upon him) came with Friday, and the Christians said: "We do not want our festival to be after our festival [of the Jews]," so they adopted Sunday. It seems they chose it because it is the beginning of creation. This Imam [al-Alusi] prefers this, interpreting the fi (in/concerning) as causal—that they differed concerning their Prophet because of that day. Al-Khafaji said the meaning of "they differed concerning it" is that they all opposed their Prophet; thus, it is a disagreement between them and their Prophet. The apparent [meaning of the] reports requires that he [the Prophet] originally designated Friday for them.

Al-Qadi ‘Iyad said: The apparent [meaning] is that the veneration of Friday was imposed upon them without specific designation, and it was left to their ijtihad (diligent effort). Their scholars differed in its determination, and Allah did not guide them to it, whereas it was imposed upon this nation clearly, so they attained its virtue. Had it been textually specified, it would not be correct to say "they differed," but rather "they disobeyed."

Imam al-Nawawi said: It is possible that they were commanded explicitly, and it was textually stated, so they disagreed as to whether its designation was binding or if they were allowed to substitute it; so they substituted it and erred in that substitution.

Al-Wahidi said: The matter of this disagreement has confounded many commentators, to the point that some said: The meaning of their disagreement regarding the Sabbath is that some of them said it is the most sacred day because Allah the Exalted finished the creation of all things on it, while others said: The most sacred is Sunday because Allah, Glory be to Him, began the creation on it. This is a mistake, because the Jews were not divided into two factions regarding the Sabbath; rather, it was the Christians who chose Sunday long after them.

It is also said: The meaning is that they differed among themselves regarding its status, so one faction among them preferred it over Friday and was not satisfied with [Friday], while another faction preferred Friday over it and inclined toward it, based on the account that Moses (peace be upon him) brought them Friday, but the majority refused anything except the Sabbath, while a small group among them was satisfied with [Friday]. So Allah permitted the Sabbath for them and tested them with the prohibition of hunting on it. The group satisfied with Friday obeyed the command of Allah and did not hunt, while the others did not refrain from hunting, so Allah transformed them into apes, unlike those obedient ones. This first interpretation is the interpretation of the Chief of Commentators, the Interpreter of the Quran, and the Scholar of the Nation, reported through a sound chain from the best of Prophets and the most knowledgeable of creation regarding the intent of the Lord of the worlds (may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him).

(And your Lord will judge between them)—that is, the ones who differed—(on the Day of Resurrection concerning that over which they used to differ)—meaning, He will judge between them by recompensing them for their disagreement with their Prophet and their opposition to him in that. Or, He will resolve the dispute and disagreement between the two factions among them, recompensing each faction with what it deserves of reward and punishment. In this, there is an indication that what occurred in this world—the transformation of one faction and the salvation of the other—is negligible compared to what will occur in the Hereafter.

He expressed the obligation as ja‘l (appointment) connected with the particle ‘ala (upon) to signal that it includes a severity and a trial leading to punishment. Referring to the Jews with the relative pronoun [in the phrase] "who differed" is an indication of the cause of that [punishment]. It is also said: The meaning is that the appointment—and the ruin of neglecting the veneration of the Sabbath, which is the transformation—is [destined] or occurring for those who differed concerning it, meaning they declared hunting permissible in it at times and prohibited it at others, while it was binding upon them to agree on its prohibition according to what Allah commanded. This is reported from Qatadah, and he interpreted the judgment between them as recompense for the variation of their actions: permitting at times and prohibiting at others.

The reason for introducing this here is that the intention is to warn the polytheists and threaten them with the ruin that lies in opposing the Prophets (peace be upon them), just as the town that denied the blessings of Allah was mentioned as an illustration of that. It was objected that placing this between the narrative of the command to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) to follow the creed of Abraham (peace be upon him) and the command to him (peace be upon him) to call people to it is like separating the wood from its bark. It was answered that it contains an exhortation to accept the call which the preceding speech included and the subsequent speech commands; thus, the intervening [passage] has a relation to both sides, which saves it from being like the separation of wood from bark, as you can see.

It was also objected that the word "between them" dictates that what is meant by "judgment" is the resolution of the disagreement between the two factions, not the recompense for the variation of their actions—permitting at one time and prohibiting at another. This [objection] also applies to the interpretation of "judgment" as "recompensing them for their collective disagreement with their Prophet and their opposition to him in what he brought them." It was interpreted as such based on the tradition from the Interpreter of the Quran. Some of them interpreted it according to the interpretation reported from Qatadah, so the same objection applies to it, along with the implication of differing meanings, while the apparent [meaning] is that they are one. Some answered the objection by denying that the word "between them" dictates what was proposed—so contemplate this. The interpretation of the Sabbath as the specific day is the apparent [meaning] which many adopted. It is permissible that it is the verbal noun sabt of the Jews when they venerate their sabt (Sabbath). It is said: On this basis, it is permissible that there is a istikhdam (usage) in the verse.