Tafsir of Al-Baqarah 2:105

“Those who disbelieve among the People of the Scripture, nor the polytheists, do not wish...”

Wudd (wish/love) is the affection for a thing and the desire for its existence. One or the other is intended primarily, and the other secondarily. The distinction is that its object is a sentence (jumla) when used for wishing (tamanni), and a noun (mufrad) when used for affection (mahabba). Thus, in the first case, you say: "I wished that you would do such and such," and in the second: "I loved the man." Its negation is a metonymy for hatred. The particle ma (what) is used to indicate that those [people] are deeply immersed in [this hatred]. The particle min (among) is for clarification, though some say it is for partition (tab’id). Using the disbelief of those people as the relative clause (sila) for the relative pronoun—clarified by what follows—and substituting the explicit noun in place of the pronoun serves to intimate that their scripture summons them to follow the truth, yet their disbelief prevents them. It also indicates that disbelief is entirely evil, as it is what breeds envy and compels its possessor to hate goodness and not love it, just as faith is entirely good because it compels its possessor to entrust all matters to Allah, the Exalted.

The la (nor/not) is a connective to emphasize the negation. La was added here—unlike in the verse, "Those who disbelieve among the People of the Scripture and the polytheists were not..."—because the foundation of this negation is envy, and the Jews are most notorious for this ailment, especially since what was previously mentioned indicates their affliction with it. Thus, the negation of their wishing [for evil] here does not necessitate the negation of the polytheists' wishing for it, whereas that was not the case in the other verse.

The cause of the revelation of the verse is that the Muslims said to their Jewish allies: "Believe in Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace." They replied: "We wish that it were better than what we are upon, so that we might follow it." Allah, the Exalted, belied them in that. It is also said it was revealed to belie a group of Jews who manifest affection for the believers and claim to wish them well. It is separated from the preceding passage, even if both share in stating the ugliness of the Jews regarding the Messenger (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and the believers, due to a difference in purpose: the first was for the admonishment of the believers, while this is to belie those disbelievers. Because of this difference, the preceding [passage] was separated from its successor.

From what we have mentioned, one learns how the verse relates to what precedes it. The argument that this is because the prohibited speech often occurred at the time of the revelation of the [Divine] Inspiration (referred to as "good" in it) suggests that the reason for their distortion of it—to the extent reported about them—was its occurrence during the descent of what they detest, namely the revelation of good.

“...that any good should be sent down upon you...”

[The phrase is] set in the form of a desire, though I believe it is closer to wishing (tamanni). It is recited wa la al-mushrikuna (in the nominative case) as a conjunction to alladhina kaffaru (those who disbelieve), and an yunazzala (that it be sent down) is in the position of the accusative as the object of yawaddu (they wish). The verb is constructed for the passive voice (mabni lil-maf’ul) due to the confidence in determining the actor, and for his explicit mention thereafter. The mention of tanzil (sending down) rather than inzal (sending down) observes the appropriateness to the reality of the good things being sent down successively and repeatedly, especially if by min khairin (of any good) in the words of the Almighty is meant the [Divine] Inspiration. It stands in the place of the subject, and min is a connective. The addition of khair (good) and the initial negation extends over it, which is why its addition is permissible according to the majority. There is no need for the claim that the implied meaning is "He wishes that no good be sent down."

A group went on to say that it is for partition, and upon this, ‘alaikum (upon you) holds that position. The "good" is intended to be either the Revelation, the Quran, victory, or the merits specifically bestowed upon the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), or it is general, covering all types of good, for those mentioned do not wish for the descent of any of that upon the believers out of hostility, envy, and fear of losing their studies and the removal of their leadership. The most manifest of the views—as is stated in al-Bahr—is the latter, and what will come [later] does not contradict it.

“...from your Lord...”

[This is] in the position of an adjective for "good," and min denotes the point of origin. The exposure to the title of Lordship (Rububiyya) is to intimate that the Lordship is the cause of the descent, and the annexation to the pronoun of the addressees is to honor them.

“...But Allah selects for His mercy whom He wills.”

[This is] an initial sentence brought forth to confirm the aforementioned descent of good, to alert to His wisdom, and to suppress those who hate it. The "mercy" intended is that "good," except that He expressed it as such out of care for it and to magnify its status. The meaning of this "selection" according to the first view is apparent, which is why those who chose it did so. According to the latter [view], it means the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and the believers are uniquely distinguished by the whole of it, and those who hate it have no share in it, and are devoid of its resulting effects.

It is said the purpose of the verse is to repel the objection indicated by envy: that the One who has the authority to select cannot be objected to when He bestows generally. Placing the Name of Allah in the place of the pronoun "your Lord" is an alert that selecting some people for good over others befits Divinity (Uluhiyya), just as sending down good generally befits Lordship (Rububiyya). The ba (in bi-rahmatihi) is attached to the limited [concept]; i.e., He gives His mercy. Man (whom) is the object. It is also said the verb is intransitive and man is the subject. In both cases, the returning pronoun is implied.

“...And Allah is the possessor of great bounty.”

[This is] a tailpiece (tadhyil) to what has passed, containing a reminder to the envious haters of what should serve as a deterrent to them. For the meaning is that He, Glory be to Him, is the One who bestows all types of favors upon all His servants, so no one should envy another and wish that they receive no good, as all are drowning in the seas of His vast, overflowing bounty. Thus it is said, and if bounty is made general, and if it is said that Prophethood is included therein primarily—since the discourse is about it according to one view—then there is an indication that Prophethood is of His bounty, not as the philosophers say: that it is through the purification of the inner self. And that the deprivation of some of His servants is not due to the narrowness of His bounty, but due to His will and the wisdom He has known therein. The beginning of this sentence with the Noble Name is for the appropriateness of "The Great."