Al-Baqarah: (253) "Those messengers, We have favored..."
"Those messengers,"—a resumption indicating elevation, as if it were said: You are indeed among the messengers, and the best of them in excellence. The distal demonstrative indicates the group of messengers, among whom is the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). Its inclusion of the meaning of distance, as has been said, is to signal their high rank and remote status. The [prefix] lam denotes generalization; it is also possible that it refers to the group known to him (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), or those whose stories have been mentioned in this Surah, in which case the lam denotes a specific reference (‘ahd). The choice of the broken plural (rusul) instead of the sound plural (mursalun) is due to the proximity of the sound plural [to the singular in form].
"We have favored some of them over others,"—by singling out some with a merit that the others do not possess. It is said: This refers to favoring them through [different] religious laws (shara'i’), for among them were those who brought a law and those who did not. It is also said: This is a favoring in terms of the degrees of the Hereafter. The implication of each is evident. The first interpretation is supported by the words of the Almighty: "among them are those to whom Allah spoke," for it is a detailing of the favor mentioned in summary. This sentence has no place in grammatical inflection (i‘rab); it is said to be an appositive to "We have favored." The relative pronoun (man) refers to those whom Allah spoke to without an intermediary: Adam, as established in the authentic traditions; Musa, who is famous for this; and our Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), who is the one specified with the station of Qaba Qawsayn (the distance of two bows) and the one who attained the secrets of the address that no other address can approach. It has been read as "Kallama Allaha" (in the accusative). The Yamani read it as kalam-Allah (from mukalama—speaking). It is said: In mentioning the Majestic Name [Allah] through the method of iltifat (shift in mode of address), there is a cultivation of awe and a symbolic reference to the disparity between the speaking and the raising [of status], and between what preceded of absolute favoring and what followed of bringing the clear signs and strengthening with the Holy Spirit.
"And raised some of them in degrees,"—meaning, and among them are those whom Allah the Exalted raised above others of the messengers by widely separated ranks and in various aspects. The change in style is to cultivate the difference of their circumstances in the levels of honor. The one referred to as "some of them" here is the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), as is implied by the report of his being among them; for he was singled out with merits that leave the deepest longings behind, and he was distinguished by intellectual and practical characteristics that the tongue of time cannot enumerate. He climbed the banners of excellence, for which the banners were raised upon his shoulders, and the summits of nobility bowed their heads to him, so they kissed his feet. He is the one sent as a mercy to the worlds, described as having the "Great Character" among the messengers, and the one upon whom a Glorious Quran was sent down: "Falsehood cannot approach it from before it or from behind it; [it is] a revelation from a [Lord who is] Wise and Praiseworthy." He is the one whose eternal religion is supported by continuous, dazzling miracles, and the one who attained the Maqam Mahmud (Praised Station) and the Great Intercession in the Hereafter. The ambiguity is to aggrandize his status and to signal that he is the singular standard, independent of specification. It is said: It refers to Ibrahim, as Allah singled him out with the station of Khullah (intimate friendship), which is the highest rank—the deficiency of which is evident. It is also said: Idris, because of the verse: "And We raised him to a high place." It is also said: The messengers of determination (ulu al-‘azm). In this, as stated in al-Kashf, is that it does not suit the atmosphere of the context at all. The same applies, in my view, to the former, for the "raising" there is literal, whereas the context requires a metaphorical interpretation, as is clear.
"Degrees"—it is said to be a circumstantial qualifier (hal) for "some of them" in the sense of "possessing degrees." It is also said to be in the accusative as an absolute object (mafdar), because "degree" implies "rising," as if it were said: "We raised some of them with elevations." It is also said: The underlying meaning is "upon" or "in" degrees, so when the preposition was dropped, the verb reached the noun directly. It is also said to be a second direct object for "raised," assuming it implies the meaning of "caused to reach." It is also said to be an appositive of inclusion (badal al-ishtimal), but this is baseless.
"And We gave ‘Isa, son of Maryam, the clear signs,"—that is, the dazzling verses and evident miracles, such as healing the blind and the leper, bringing the dead to life, and informing them of what they eat and what they store. Or [it refers to] the Gospel, or everything that points to his prophethood. Mentioning this in the context of favoring is a sign that it is the cause of it. This necessitates the superiority of our Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) over all other prophets, for he possessed the highest share and the greatest portion of all that.
"And strengthened him with the Holy Spirit,"—its interpretation has already preceded. His individualization (peace be upon him) with what was mentioned is to refute the excess and deficiency between the People of the Two Books regarding his status. The verse speaks to the fact that the prophets (peace be upon them) have varying statuses, so it is permissible to favor some over others, but [only] with a definitive proof, for conjecture in matters of creed does not avail anything against the truth.
"And if Allah had willed, those who followed them would not have fought"—meaning, those who came after every messenger, as the meaning necessitates, not all the messengers, as the literal wording appears to suggest—from the different nations. That is, if Allah the Exalted had not willed their fighting, they would not have fought, by making them in agreement upon the truth and the following of the messengers who came to them. The object of the will is elided, as it is the content of the consequent (jaza') according to the known rule. Whoever interpreted it as "If Allah had willed that all people be guided, they would not have fought," and deviated from what the rule necessitates, thinking that this "non-occurrence" does not require a will or intention, but that it suffices for it that intention did not attach to the existence [of the fight]—such a person has not brought anything [of value].
"After the clear signs came to them"—from those messengers. It is said: The pronoun returns to those who were before them, who are the messengers. The genitive is linked to "fought." It is said to be a substitute for its equivalent from what preceded: "the clear signs," i.e., the dazzling miracles and manifest verses pointing to the truth of the Truth, which necessitate following and warn against turning away, which leads to fighting.
"But they differed." This is a correction (istidrak) for the conditional sentence, indicated to be a syllogism composed of positing the negation of its antecedent, resulting in the negation of its consequent. However, the location of the negation of the antecedent, upon which the fighting is predicated, has been placed differently therein to signal that the fighting originated from them and their poor choice, not from the side of the Almighty initially. It is as if it were said: But He did not will that they should not fight because they differed a grave difference.
"Some of them believed"—that is, in what those messengers brought, and remained firm in their faith and acted upon its requirement. This is an explanation of the difference, so the sentence has no place in i‘rab.
"And some of them disbelieved"—in that, a disbelief for which there is no return. Thus, Wisdom necessitated that He did not will that they should not fight, so they fought in accordance with what their conditions necessitated.
"And if Allah had willed"—that they not fight, even after this level of difference that habitually leads to fighting, "they would not have fought," and they would not have raised the head of aggression and hostility, for everything is under His irresistible power. The repetition is not for emphasis, as was thought, but to alert [the reader] that their disagreement is not a mandatory reason for Him not willing that they should not fight, as is understood from its placement in the correction. Rather, He, the Glorified, is the Chooser in that; even if He had willed thereafter that they should not fight, they would not have fought, as is articulated by the correction in His saying, the Almighty: "But Allah does what He wills."
[It is] according to what He wills, without any obligator of obligation making it incumbent upon Him, nor any preventer preventing Him. This is how the Master Abu al-Su‘ud—may Allah sanctify his secret—established it, and it is in a place of great beauty. However, the Allamah ‘Abd al-Baqi al-Baghdadi challenged it in his tafsir with a phrasing similar to what was presented earlier regarding this type of syllogism, and mentioned that it is contrary to the usage of "if" (law) among the masters of Arabic and the masters of deductive reasoning. Perhaps the answer to this is the answer to that, with the slightest change, so do not be heedless. What he mentioned regarding the orientation of the repetition is something he was unique in, as far as I know. Most [scholars] hold that it is for emphasis, yet there is a secret behind it that he specified, as mentioned by the author of al-Intisaf: that when the Arabs build the beginning of their speech upon an objective, then another objective interrupts them, and they wish to return to the first, they repeat its mention—either with that very phrasing or something close to it. In their view, this is a frequented, beaten path of eloquence. There are places in the Book of Allah that follow this pattern, among them His saying: "Whoever disbelieves in Allah after his belief, except for one who is forced, while his heart is secure in faith, but those who open their breast to disbelief..." This verse is of that type. Since the speech began [with the premise] that their fighting was in accordance with the Will, then, when the speech lengthened and it was intended to clarify that the Will of Allah, just as it was executed in this specific matter—which is the fighting of these [people]—is also executed in every occurring action, which is what is expressed in His saying: "But Allah does what He wills," the mention of the Will's attachment to the fighting was repeated so that it might be followed by the generality of the Will's attachment, so the speech would be proportional and each would be coupled with its likeness. This is a secret that expands the chest and brings comfort to the soul. Perhaps this is better than saying that the first is through an intermediary and the second is through the believers, or vice versa. In the verse is proof that events are subordinate to the Will of Allah, whether they be good or evil, faith or disbelief.
