Tafsir of Al-Baqarah 2:89

(And when a Book from Allah came to them), which is the Qur'an. Its indefinite form is used for glorification (ta'zim), and its description is for honoring (tashrif) and to signal that it is worthy of accepting what it contains and that it ought to be followed, as it is from their Creator and God, the One who watches over their interests. The sentence is a conjunction to [the previous] "(They said, 'Our hearts are wrapped')," meaning: And they denied when there came to them [the Book]...

(Confirming what is with them) of their [own] Scripture—that is, it descended exactly as it was described or in accordance with it. (Confirming) is a second adjective for "Book," and the first was placed before it because describing it as being from Allah, the Exalted, is more emphatic, and its description as "confirming" arises from that. Making it confirm "their Book," rather than "confirming it," is an indication that it stands in the place of reality and the nature of things regarding their Book, as it contains reports about it, rendering it in need of [the Qur'an] for its [own] veracity, and indicating that [the Qur'an] is, by its miraculous nature, self-sufficient and independent of the confirmation of others. In the codex of Ubayy, it is written as (musaddiqan) with the accusative case, and this is how Ibn Abi 'Ablah recited it; in that case, it is a state (hal) from the pronoun established in the prepositional phrase or from "Book," due to its specification by the description which brings it closer to definiteness. The possibility that the prepositional phrase is linguistically related to "came" is remote; thus, it causes no harm, as Sibawayh permitted the occurrence of a state from an indefinite noun without restriction.

(And they were, from before, seeking victory over those who disbelieved). This was revealed regarding Banu Qurayzah and Banu al-Nadir. They used to seek victory over the Aws and Khazraj through the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, before his mission. This was stated by Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with both of them, and Qatadah. The meaning is that they used to ask Allah, the Exalted, to grant them victory through him over the polytheists. As al-Suddi narrated, when war intensified between them and the polytheists, they would bring out the Torah, place their hands over the spot where the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was mentioned, and say: "O Allah, we ask You by the right of Your Prophet whom You promised us that You would send in the end times, to grant us victory today over our enemy," and they would be granted victory. The sin (in yastaftiḥūn) is for seeking (ṭalab), and fatḥ is the meaning of victory, by way of the preposition 'ala, or they are "opening" (yaftaḥūn) for them, from their saying: "He opened upon him" (fataḥa 'alayhi) when he taught him and disclosed it to him, as in His, the Exalted's, saying: (Do you speak to them about what Allah has disclosed to you?), meaning: they inform the polytheists that a prophet will be sent among them and that his time has drawn near. Thus, the sin is superfluous for emphasis, as if they opened [the matter] upon themselves after requesting it, and a thing is more emphatic after it is requested. It is from the category of tajrid (abstraction); they abstracted persons from themselves and asked them for the "opening," similar to their saying: "I hasten" (asta'jilu), as if he is requesting haste from himself. The meaning thus reverts to: "O soul, inform the polytheists that a prophet will be sent among them." It is said that (yastaftiḥūn) means inquiring about him, may Allah bless him and grant him peace: "Has a child been born with such and such qualities?" Al-Raghib and others conveyed this. As for what is said—that it does not take the preposition 'ala—it is not heard of except by mere caprice.

(So when there came to them that which they recognized, they disbelieved in it). He alluded to the aforementioned Book as "that which they recognized" because the knowledge of the one to whom it was sent is knowledge of it, and seeking victory through it is seeking victory through Him. The use of the relative pronoun ma instead of a pronoun is to demonstrate the perfection of their obstinacy. It is possible that it refers to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and ma is sometimes used to refer to the attributes of rational beings. Some have interpreted it as "the Truth," signaling the reason for referring to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, as ma (which is normally for inanimate objects); the intended meaning is the Truth, not the specificity of his purified essence. Their recognition of this was obtained through the evidence of miracles and the conformity to what was described in their Book; for this is like an explicit statement for those firmly grounded in knowledge. Therefore, it cannot be objected that if the description of the Messenger in the Torah were mentioned by name, how could they deny it? For it is mentioned through tawatur (mass transmission). Otherwise, there would be no recognition due to confusion. Furthermore, the objection is fundamentally flawed because the verse follows the pattern of His, the Exalted's, saying: (And they rejected them, while their inner selves were convinced of them), meaning: they denied him despite their knowledge of him, and this is more emphatic in their condemnation.

(And they disbelieved) is the answer to the first ma, and the second ma is a repetition of it due to the length of the discourse, as in His, the Exalted's, saying: (Do not think that those who rejoice in what they have done and love to be praised for what they have not done—do not think them safe from punishment). Al-Mubarrad adopted this view. Al-Farra' said: The second ma and its answer are the answer to the first, like His, the Exalted's, saying: (So if there comes to you guidance from Me, then whoever follows My guidance...) and so on. In both views, His, the Exalted's, saying: (And they were, from before) is a circumstantial sentence (jumla ḥaliyya) with the assumption of a preposition. Al-Zajjaj and al-Akhfash chose the view that the answer to the first is omitted, meaning: "They denied him, for instance." Accordingly, (And they were, from before), along with what is conjoined to it from His, the Exalted's, saying: (So when there came to them)—of the condition and the response—is a sentence conjoined to (when there came to them) after its completion. The first indicates their treatment of the confirming Book, and the second their treatment of the Messenger through whom they sought victory. Some researchers approved this, as it avoids the requirement of [unnecessary] emphasis, and the fa' is used for hierarchical postponement, for the status of the emphatic is after the status of the emphasized. Furthermore, the second view requires the entry of the fa' into the answer of lamma (when), while it is in the past tense, which is very rare, to the point that the Basrans did not permit it. Even if one were to permit its occurrence as superfluous, lamma is not answered by its equivalent; it is not said: "When Zayd came, when Amr sat, he honored him." It is, as you see, a strained construction in their language, while both views are devoid of a great benefit: the explanation of their evil treatment of the Messenger and their necessity of making (And they were) a circumstantial phrase. Abu al-Baqa' chose that (they disbelieved) is the answer to the first and second ma, and there is no omission because their requirements are the same. This is baseless, as is making (Then the curse of Allah is upon the disbelievers) the answer to the first, with what is between them being an interjection. The lam in "the disbelievers" is for recognition, meaning: upon them. The explicit noun was placed in the position of the pronoun to signal that the settling of the curse upon them is because of their disbelief, just as the fa' is to signal its consequence upon it. It is permitted that it be for the genus (the whole class), and they enter into it primarily. It was objected that the implication of the general is equal, so there is nothing "primary" or "first" therein. The answer is that the intended meaning is intentional entry, because the speech was primarily driven regarding them, and this is a form of implied allusion (kinaya). It is turned to when the described person is excessive in that attribute and immersed in it, to the point that whenever it is mentioned, the thought of that attribute comes to mind, like their saying to someone who acquires a vice and persists in it: "When I see you, your insults come to mind, and the insults of everyone who is of your kind." Thus, when the Jews were excessive in disbelief, stubbornness, and concealing the affair of the Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and Allah, the Exalted, condemned them for that, the disbelief became as if it were an inseparable attribute of their mention. This speech became a necessity of their mention and its successor, and they are the people most entitled to enter into it because they were the cause of inviting this statement upon others. Al-Sakkaki placed in this category His saying: "If Allah does not give drink except to the noble, then let the faces of the tribe of Hanbal be given to drink." As you can see, it is in indicating the nobility of the tribe of Hanbal, and there is no concealment in it.