Tafsir of Al-Baqarah 2:62

(Indeed, those who have believed...) Since the discourse had led to the mention of the warning for the People of the Scripture, it was conjoined with what contains the promise, in accordance with His habit, the Exalted, of mentioning encouragement and warning. By this, the reason for placing this verse and the one before it between the enumeration of blessings becomes clear.

There are various opinions regarding the meaning of (those who have believed) here. It is reported from Sufyan al-Thawri that they are those who believe with their tongues—namely, the hypocrites. The evidence for this is their inclusion in the ranks of the disbelievers, and they are addressed as such rather than by the title of "hypocrisy" to declare that that rank—even if expressed as "belief"—does not benefit them at all, nor does it save them from the pit of disbelief.

Al-Suddi said they are the Hanifiyyun (monotheists) who did not reach the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), such as Zayd ibn Amr ibn Nufayl, Quss ibn Sa'idah, and Waraqah ibn Nawfal; and those who did reach him, such as Abu Dharr, Buhayra, and the delegation of the Negus, who were waiting for the mission.

Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with both of them) said they are those who believed in Jesus (peace be upon him) before the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) was sent. Al-Suddi narrated from his predecessors that they are those who believed in Moses (peace be upon them both) until Jesus (peace be upon him) came, whereupon they believed in him.

It is also said that they are the companions of Salman whose story was related to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). He said to him, "They are in the Fire," and the earth grew dark for him, as Mujahid narrated from him. Then this verse was revealed up to (will not grieve). Salman said, "It was as if a mountain had been removed from me."

It is also said that they are those who follow the religion of Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), whether sincerely or as hypocrites, and the Qadi preferred this. The cause for the disagreement is the Almighty’s statement later: (whoever believes), etc., for that necessitates that the intended meaning of one differs from the intended meaning of the other. The opinion that entails the least difficulty is the first one.

(...and those who were Jews...) i.e., those who entered into Judaism (tahawwadu). It is said hada and tahawwada when one enters into Judaism. Yahud is either Arabic, from hada (he repented); they were named that when they repented from the worship of the calf—and the reason for the specification is that their repentance was the most difficult of deeds, as has passed. Or, it is an Arabized form of Yahudha (Judah), with a dotted dhal and an abbreviated alif, as if they were named after the eldest son of Jacob (peace be upon him). It was also recited as hadu with a fatha on the dal, meaning some of them inclined toward others.

(...and the Christians...) is the plural of Nasran, meaning Nasrani. This occurs in the speech of the Arabs, even if some have denied it, such as in the verse: "You see him, when the evening turns, as a Hanif, and when he wakes up, he is a Nasran (Christian) who is sullen." It is said in the feminine Nasranah, like nadman (companion) and nadmanah, as Sibawayh stated. He cited: "As a Nasranah bowed who was not a Hanif." The ya in Nasrani in his view is for emphasis, just as one says to the red (ahmar) ahmari, indicating that he is deep-rooted in his description. It is said it is to differentiate between the singular and plural, like Zanj and Zanji, or Rum and Rumi. It is also said that Nasara is the plural of Nasra, like Mahra and Mahari, where one of the two yas was dropped, the kasra was changed to a fatha for ease, and the ya was changed to an alif. Al-Khalil held this view. It is a name for the followers of Jesus (peace be upon him), and they were called that because they aided him (nasaruhu), or because they aided one another.

It is said that Jesus (peace be upon him) was born in Bethlehem in Jerusalem, then his mother traveled with him to Egypt. When he reached twelve years of age, she returned with him to the Levant and settled in the village of Nasirah (Nazareth). It is said Nasraya, or Nasra, or Nasranah, or Nasran (and Al-Jawhari favors this), so those who were with him were named after it, or a name was derived for them from it.

(...and the Sabi'un [Sabians]...) They are a people whose path is centered on fanaticism toward the spiritual entities and taking them as intermediaries. Since it was not possible for them to attain closeness to them in their essence or to receive from them directly, a group among them resorted to their temples. The Sabi'ah of the Romans turned to the planets, and the Sabi'ah of the Indians turned to the fixed stars. A group descended from the temples to individuals who neither hear nor see and do not avail anyone of anything. The first group are the star-worshippers, and the second are the idol-worshippers. Both of these groups have various branches that differ in their beliefs and acts of worship. Imam Abu Hanifah (may Allah be pleased with him) says: They are not idol-worshippers; rather, they venerate the stars just as the Kaaba is venerated. It is said they are a monotheistic people who believe in the influence of the stars and acknowledge some prophets, such as John (Yahya) (peace be upon him). It is also said they acknowledge the Almighty Allah, recite the Psalms, worship the angels, and pray facing the Kaaba, or toward the southern horizon. They have taken something from every religion. There is a discussion among the jurists regarding the permissibility of marrying them and eating their slaughtered animals, which should be sought in its proper place. There is disagreement regarding the word: it is said it is non-Arabic; or it is Arabic from saba' (with a hamza), meaning he departed, or from saba (weakened), meaning he inclined, because they departed from the true religion and inclined toward falsehood. Nafi alone recited it with a ya (Sabi'in), either as the original form or as a substitution for ease.

(...whoever has believed in Allah and the Last Day and done righteousness...) i.e., whoever among these sects produced a belief in Allah the Exalted, His attributes, His actions, the prophecies, and the second life in a fitting manner, and performed righteous deeds as required by the aforementioned belief. This is based on the first of the opinions. Those who hold the last opinion interpret the verse as referring to whoever among them was characterized by pure belief in the Origin and the Return, absolutely, whether by way of steadfastness and continuity—like the belief of the sincere—or by way of initiating and establishing it—like the belief of others among the hypocrites and the rest of the sects. The benefit of this generalization for the sincere is a greater encouragement for the others to believe, by showing that their delay in attaining it does not prevent them from being peers to those predecessors.

Some interpret it as referring to whoever was among them in his religion before it was abrogated, believing with his heart in the Origin and the Return, and acting according to the requirements of his law. Thus, the ruling includes the sincere from the nation of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), the hypocrites who repented, the Jews and Christians who died before the distortion and abrogation, and the Sabi'un who died in the time of their uprightness—if it is said they had a religion. It also includes the Jews and Sabi'un who believed in Jesus (peace be upon him) and died during his time, as well as those among these sects who believed in Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). The benefit of mentioning (those who have believed) despite the previous warning being directed at the Jews is to soothe the pride of the Jews by equating the believers with them, in that being in one's religion before abrogation necessitates reward, while after it, it necessitates deprivation. Just as mentioning the (Sabi'un) is to alert that, despite them being the most manifest of the mentioned in misguidance, they are forgiven if belief and righteous deeds are true of them, then others are so a fortiori. This is understood as "before abrogation" from (and done righteousness), for there is no righteousness in action after it. This aligns with the reason for revelation, especially in the narration that Salman (may Allah be pleased with him) mentioned to the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) the good state of the monks he accompanied, and he said: "They died while they are in the Fire." Then Allah the Exalted revealed this verse. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) then said: "Whoever dies upon the religion of Jesus (peace be upon him) before he hears of me is in goodness, but whoever hears of me and does not believe in me has perished."

That which is appropriate for the generality of the wording—and not diverting it to a specification of (those who have believed and those who were Jews and the Christians) to mean only the disbelievers among them, and specifying (whoever believes), etc., to mean only entering into the nation of Islam—is countered by the fact that it implies the Sabi'un had a religion, and more than one has mentioned that they have no religion worthy of being respected at any time. In Al-Milal wa al-Nihal, it states that the Sabi'ah are the counterparts to the Hanifiyyah, and because of these people’s inclination away from the path of truth and their deviation from the way of the prophets, they were called Sabi'ah. Even if it were granted that they had a heavenly religion and then departed from it, those who passed away from that religion before their departure are not among the Sabi'un. How, then, can the pronoun linking the subject of inna to its predicate be returned to them according to the well-known opinion? And committing to returning it to the collective as a whole, intending to include the aforementioned group among them—of necessity that whoever was from the People of the Scripture acting according to the requirements of his law before it was abrogated is from the collective of those sects by virtue of its inclusion of Jews and Christians, even if he were not from the Sabi'un—is something the threshold of Revelation must be cleared of. Furthermore, there is an obscurity in it which is not hidden, so contemplate.

(Who) is a subject (mubtada'). They allowed that it could be a relative pronoun (mawsula), and the predicate is the sentence of His saying: (for them is their reward with their Lord). The fa entered because the subject includes the meaning of a condition, as in His saying: (Indeed, those who have tempted...). It is also allowed that it is conditional, and there is disagreement regarding its predicate—whether it is the condition, the response, or both. The sentence (whoever believes), etc., is the predicate of inna. If (who) is relative, which is common here, it requires the estimation of a pronoun referring back to them. If it is conditional, it does not require that estimation, as the generalization suffices for it. It is as if it were said: "These and others, if they believe, (for them), etc.," as they said regarding His saying: (Indeed, those who have believed and done righteous deeds, We will not lose the reward of whoever does a good deed).

Some allowed that (who) is a substitute for the subject of inna, and its predicate is (for them is their reward). Abu Hayyan chose that it is a substitute for the conjoined items after the subject of inna, so the meaning becomes correct. It is as if it were said: "Indeed, those who have believed" (from among other than the three sects) "and whoever has believed" (from the three sects) "(for them), etc." The three pronouns were carried according to the meaning of the relative pronoun, just as the singular in the relative clause is according to its wording. In Al-Bahr, it is stated that these two interpretations are not valid except by parsing (who) as a subject. As for parsing it as a substitute, it only supports the carrying according to the wording, so understand.

Then, the intended meaning of "reward" is the recompense they were promised for belief and righteous deeds. Attributing it to them and their exclusive possession of it is merely by the promise, not by necessity/obligation as Al-Zamakhshari claimed to maintain his I'tizali (Mu'tazilite) view. But naming it "reward" implies that it will not be defaulted upon. This is supported by His saying: (with their Lord), pointing to the fact that it is not lost because it is with a Kind, All-Knowing [Lord]. It is linked to what (for them) is linked to, and it is possible that it is a state (hal) from (their reward).

(And no fear will there be upon them, nor will they grieve) is a conjunction to the sentence (for them is their reward). A discussion on its like has passed at the end of the story of Adam (peace be upon him), which makes repetition here unnecessary.