Tafsir of Al-Baqarah 2:42

This prohibition, along with what follows it, is conjoined to the totality of the preceding verse, which is His saying, the Almighty: "And believe," and so on. This is similar to what they have said regarding the saying of the Almighty: "He is the First and the Last, the Manifest and the Hidden," where the totality of the latter two attributes—after considering the conjunction—is conjoined to the totality of the former two. It is also permissible to conjoin it to a single sentence from the preceding sentences; however, the suitability of the former is stronger, and its coherence is more complete.

Al-Labs (mixing), with a fatha on the lam, is to intermix. Its verb is not from the pattern of daraba (hitting), and it carries the meaning of obscuration—either through ambiguity or through literal and metaphorical usage. The ba (in bil-batil) is either for the purpose of indicating transition (ta’diyah) or assistance (isti’anah). The alif-lam (the definite article) in "the truth" and "the falsehood" is for the purpose of recognition (’ahd). That is, do not mix the truth revealed in the Torah with the falsehood you have invented and written down. Alternatively, it means: do not make the truth confused, ambiguous, or unclear so that people cannot perceive it due to the presence of falsehood and the mention of it. Perhaps the former is more probable, as it is more manifest and more frequent. It is not the case that making the presence of falsehood the cause for the obscuration of the truth is less appropriate than the reverse; rather, since the blameworthy act is the obscuration of the truth by falsehood—even if the reverse is implied by it, and this [obscuration] is emergent upon that [falsehood]—it deserves the priority that was negated.

"And conceal the truth" is in the jazm mood (jussive) by being conjoined to "do not mix." Thus, there is a prohibition against each of the two actions. Others have permitted it to be in the accusative mood (mansub) on the basis of an implied "that" (an), and in the view of the Basrians, it is a conjunction to an assumed verbal noun. Al-Jurmi narrated that the accusative mood is caused by the waw itself, which, in their view, means "with" (ma’a), and is called the waw of association (jam’) and the waw of diversion (sarf), because the verb is diverted by it from being a conjunction. The intent is: "Let there not be from you any mixing of the truth for those who hear it, nor any concealing and hiding of the truth from those who have not heard it." The intention is to censure their evil deed, which consists of combining two matters, each of which is independently heinous and worthy of cessation, and which serves as a wide path toward misguidance and seduction. Since the mixing pertains to those who heard and the concealing pertains to those who did not, the objection is repelled—the objection that a prohibition against combining two things is only valid if it is possible for them to be separated. In general, there is no mixing of truth with falsehood while simultaneously concealing the truth, because the mixing of truth with falsehood is, in itself, a concealment of it.

The word "truth" is repeated either because the latter is not intended to mean the former, but rather refers specifically to the description of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), or to increase the vilification of what is prohibited, for there is a reproach in explicitly naming the "truth" that is not present in its pronoun. Ibn Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) recited it as "and you are concealing" (wa-taktumuna), which is interpreted as the sentence being in the state of a circumstantial qualifier (hal); that is: "while you are concealing" or "being concealers." There are two opinions regarding the permissibility of a circumstantial clause starting with an imperfect verb being coupled with the waw, and there is no evidence relied upon by those who prohibit it. This state (hal), according to some researchers, is necessary, and the qualification is for the purpose of indicating a cause, as in "Do not hit Zayd, for he is your brother." Based on this, the meaning of concealing the truth is what is necessitated by the mixing of truth with falsehood, not the hiding of it from those who do not hear. It has been permitted that it be conjoined to the sentence of prohibition, according to the school of those who see the permissibility of this, namely Sibawayh and a group, and suitability is not a requirement for the conjunction of sentences.

"While you know" is a circumstantial sentence. The object of "know" is omitted for the sake of brevity; that is, "while you are among those who possess knowledge." It does not befit one who is learned to be characterized by the state that you are in. It is not far-fetched that the omission is for conciseness; that is, "while you know that you are mixers and concealers," or "you know his description, may Allah bless him and grant him peace," or "you know of the Resurrection and the recompense." The intent behind qualifying the prohibition with "knowledge" is to increase the vilification of their state, because proceeding with those heinous actions while possessing such knowledge is more abominable than proceeding with them out of ignorance; for he who knows is not like him who does not know. Ibn ‘Atiyyah permitted this sentence to be conjoined, even if it is declarative, to the preceding sentence of prohibition, even if there is no suitability in reports. In his view, it is a testimony against them regarding the knowledge of a specific truth concerning the matter of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), and it is not a testimony to knowledge in the absolute sense, as they are leagues away from that. The verse is used as evidence that he who knows the truth is obligated to manifest it and is forbidden from concealing it, according to the conditions known to the scholars.