Tafsir of Al-Baqarah 2:145

"And if you were to bring to those who were given the Scripture..."

This is linked to "And those who..." [referring to the verse preceding this one], based on the fact that both serve to confirm the matter of the Qibla and demonstrate its truth. The intent behind the "those who" (al-mawṣūl) is the disbelievers from "those" (mentioned previously), as evidenced by the response [to the conditional clause]. For this reason, the explicit noun was used in place of the pronoun. Whoever restricts what preceded to the disbelievers considers this substitution a means to signal the perfection of their wretched state of obstinacy, despite the realization of what contradicts it from the Scripture, which proclaims the truth of that which they were arrogant in accepting.

"Every sign" — and a definitive proof indicating that your orientation toward the Kaaba is the truth. The lām is a preparative particle for an implied oath.

"They would not follow your Qibla" — the response to the oath stands in the place of the response to the conditional clause, not as the response to the condition itself, because it is established that when the oath precedes the condition, the response is for the oath, not the condition, provided there is no preventive factor. How much more so when the fā' is omitted here, for it is necessary in the past tense when negated if it occurs as the consequent of a condition. This is a consolation to the Prophet (may the blessings of Allah be upon him) regarding their refusal to accept the truth. The meaning is: they did not abandon "your Qibla" because of a doubt you could dispel with an argument; rather, they opposed you out of sheer obstinacy and pure arrogance. The intent behind this conditional suspension is not to inform of their lack of following in the most emphatic and assured way—such that the meaning would be that they will not follow you at all, even if you brought every argument. Thus, the objection is repelled: "How can it be judged that they will not follow, when a group among them has already believed?" One is dispensed from having to say that this refers to specific people, or that it is a judgment on the whole without the parts, for that is an unnecessary affectation. The attribution of the Qibla to his pronoun (may the blessings of Allah be upon him) is because Allah the Almighty obligated him to face it.

"And you are not a follower of their Qibla" — meaning, this will not be from you, and it is impossible for it to be. The sentence is declarative in wording and meaning, brought forth to confirm the truth of the matter of the Qibla with all possible emphasis and to cut off the hope of the People of the Scripture; for they said, "O Muhammad, return to our Qibla, and we will believe in you and follow you," as a deception on their part (may Allah the Almighty curse them). In this, there is an indication that this Qibla will never be abrogated. It has been said: it is declarative in wording, initiatory in meaning, and its meaning is a prohibition—i.e., do not follow their Qibla; that is, persist in not following it. He singularized the "Qibla" even though it is dual (for the Jews have a Qibla and the Christians have a Qibla) because they are both unified in being invalid; thus, the two became one in terms of invalidity. This is made fitting by the parallelism with the preceding "they followed your Qibla." It is sometimes said that the singularization is based on the fact that the original true Qibla for both groups was the Sacred House (Jerusalem), and Jesus (peace be upon him) did not pray toward the East until he was raised up; rather, his Qibla was the Qibla of the Children of Israel at that time. Only after he was raised did the elders of the Christians legislate for them to face the East, excusing themselves by claiming that the Messiah (peace be upon him) delegated to them the authority to make lawful and unlawful and to legislate laws, and that what they made lawful or unlawful, he had already made lawful or unlawful in heaven. They mentioned to them that there are secrets in the East that are not elsewhere; hence, the birth of the Messiah was in the East, as indicated by the saying of the Almighty: "When she withdrew from her family to an eastern place." The Messiah, according to their claim, faced the East when he was crucified. It is also said that one of their monks told them: "I met Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him) and he said to me: 'The sun has a star I love, it carries my greeting every day, so command my people to turn toward it in their prayer.'" They believed him and did so. This is supported by the fact that there is no command to face the East in the Gospel. Ibn al-Qayyim held that the Qibla of both groups now was not a Qibla by revelation and designation from Allah the Almighty, but by consultation and their own reasoning. As for the Christians, they used their reasoning and made the East a Qibla, while Jesus used to pray toward the Rock before he was raised. As for the Jews, they used to pray toward the Ark that was with them when they traveled, and when they reached the Sacred House, they placed it toward the Rock and prayed toward it. When he was raised, they used their reasoning, and their reasoning led them to pray toward his location, which is the Rock, and there is no command for that in the Torah. The Samaritans among them pray toward their mountain in the Levant, near the town of Nablus. If these two claims are correct, the argument that it is Allah's custom to designate a Qibla for every law would be problematic—so reflect upon this.

Furthermore, this sentence is more emphatic in negation than the first sentence from several perspectives: its nominal structure, the repetition of the noun twice, and the emphasis of its negation with the bā'. Doing so indicates concern for what preceded.

"And neither are they followers of the Qibla of the other" — meaning, the Jews do not follow the Qibla of the Christians, nor do the Christians follow the Qibla of the Jews as long as they remain in Judaism and Christianity. In this is a clarification of their rigidity in desire and obstinacy, as this opposition and obstinacy is not exclusive to you, but is their state among themselves as well. The sentence is an extension of what preceded, confirming the matter of the Qibla by showing that their denial arises from extreme obstinacy and as a consolation to the Messenger (may the blessings of Allah be upon him).

"And if you were to follow their desires" — meaning, by way of hypothesis; otherwise, there is no meaning in using "if" (which is placed for potential meanings) after the negation has already been established previously. The intent behind this hypothesis is to mention an example of following desire and to mention its ugliness, without regard to the specifics of the follower or the followed.

"After what has come to you of knowledge" — meaning, the knowledge that has been revealed to you, by the implication of attributing the "coming" to it. The intent is "after the truth has become clear to you."

"Then you would indeed be among the wrongdoers" — meaning, those who commit grave injustice. This sentence is also a confirmation of the matter of the "Qibla," and it contains several aspects of emphasis and hyperbole: the oath, the lām preparative for it, the conditional "if," the definitive "after," the lām in its domain, the defining of "the wrongdoers," the nominal sentence, the conditional "then," and the preference of "among the wrongdoers" over "a wrongdoer" or "wronging"—to indicate that it is confirmed and realized, and that he would be numbered among their ranks and deeply rooted in them. The attribution of the action to what he called "desire"—meaning that no proof supports it nor did any explanation descend regarding it—and the generalization and specification, and making the thing that came "the knowledge" itself, and also the counting of himself as one "among the wrongdoers," submerged in them and not singled out as they are singled out among the Muslims; for therein lies a great hyperbole to signal the transition from the rank of justice to injustice, and from the rank of distinction and absolute leadership to baseness and anonymity. If "you were" in "you were upon it" were made to mean "you have become," it would be even higher in status in conveying the meaning. You know that the construction requires hyperbole in usage, not anonymity, and if it required that, the counting would be numbered among the accepted. In these hyperboles is the exaltation of the matter of the truth, an incitement to follow it, a warning against following desire, and a magnifying of the commission of sin by the prophets. He who possesses a lofty rank is more in need of renewed warning, in order to preserve his rank and safeguard his status. Thus, there is no need to say that the address is to the Prophet while the meaning is intended for someone else.