Tafsir of Al Imran 3:101

"And how can you disbelieve": That is, in what state or condition can disbelief occur on your part?

"While to you are recited the verses of Allah": Those which indicate His Oneness and the Prophethood of His Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.

"And among you is His Messenger": Meaning Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, "who teaches you the Book and Wisdom and purifies you" by realizing the truth and removing doubts. The sentence occurs as a circumstantial clause (hal) referring to the pronoun of the addressees in "disbelieve." The intent is to deem the occurrence of disbelief from them as highly improbable, given the presence of deterrents that render it repugnant.

It is said: The intent is to express amazement; meaning, it does not befit you to disbelieve in any state, especially in this state, in which disbelief is more hideous than in other circumstances. It is not intended to deny the occurrence [of the potential for disbelief], as in the verse: "How can you disbelieve in Allah when you were lifeless..." (2:28). It is also said: The intent of their "disbelief" is their performing the deeds of the disbelievers, such as the claims of the Jahiliyyah (Ignorance), so there is no obstacle to the interrogation being for the denial of the occurrence [of such an act]. The first view is more appropriate. The verse contains a frustration for the Jews regarding what they aspired to. The majority hold that this address is specifically for the Companions of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, or the Aws and Khazraj among them. Others have made it general for all believers and the entire Ummah. According to this, the meaning of his—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—presence among them is that his traces and the witness to his Prophethood remain among them, as they endure until the Command of Allah comes. He, Glory be to Him, did not attribute the recitation to His Messenger, peace be upon him, as an indication that each of the two matters is independent in its field, and as an intimation that recitation is sufficient for the purpose, regardless of who the reciter is.

"And whoever holds firmly to Allah": It is either assumed that there is an omitted genitive—meaning, whoever holds firmly to the religion of Allah—and "holding firmly" (al-i'tisam) as a synonym for "clinging to" is a derived metaphor (isti'arah taba'iyyah). Or, one does not assume an omission, and "holding firmly to Allah" is made a metaphor for seeking refuge in Him, Glory be to Him. Al-Tayyibi said: On the first interpretation, the sentence is conjoined to "while to you are recited," meaning: How can you disbelieve while the Quran is recited to you and you are knowledgeable of the state of the one who holds fast to Him, the Majestic and Exalted? On the second, it is a trailing clause (tadhil) to His saying: "O you who have believed, if you obey..." (3:100), because its content is that you only obey them because you fear their evils and plots, so do not fear them; rather, seek refuge in Allah, the Exalted, to repel their evils and do not obey them. Do you not know that whoever seeks refuge in Allah, He suffices him against the evil of what he fears? On the first view, this sentence is brought to deny disbelief with this strong deterrent understood from His saying: "While to you are recited..." etc. On the second, it is for urging [one] to seek refuge. It is possible on the first view that it is a trailing clause, and on the second, a circumstantial clause; so understand that.

"Whoever" (man) is conditional. His saying: "He has [indeed] been guided to a straight path" is the apodosis of the condition. Because it is in the past tense with qad, the speech conveys the certainty of guidance, as if it has already been achieved. It is said: The tanween is for glorification. Describing the path as "straight" is an explicit refutation of those who seek to make it crooked. Although the "straight path" is, in reality, the true religion, and being guided to it is the very act of holding fast to it, yet since the two considerations differ—and the latter title is something that competitors strive for—it was brought in the form of the apodosis to urge and incite, following the method of His saying: "So he who is drawn away from the Fire and admitted to Paradise has attained [his desire]" (3:185). End of quote.

You know that this—despite what it contains—is only needed on the assumption that "holding firmly to Allah" means belief in Him, Glory be to Him, and clinging to His religion, as Ibn Jurayj said. But when the intent is trust in Allah, reliance upon Him, and seeking refuge in Him, as narrated from Abu al-'Aliyah, then the need for this [interpretation] is remote. According to this, the intent of "being guided to the straight path" is salvation and attaining an exit. Al-Hakim al-Tirmidhi narrated from al-Zuhri, who said: Allah revealed to David, peace be upon him: "There is no servant who holds fast to Me, apart from My creation, even if the heavens and the earth were to plot against him, except that I create for him an exit from that. And there is no servant who holds fast to a created being, apart from Me, except that I cut off the causes of the heavens before him and sink the earth from beneath his feet."