You are the best nation...

(You are the best nation) is a new statement initiated to establish the believers firmly upon what they are, in terms of their agreement upon the truth and their invitation to virtue; thus it is said. It is also said: It is a continuation of the first address in His saying, the Almighty and Exalted: (O you who have believed, fear Allah as He deserves to be feared). After this, various addresses to the believers followed, consisting of commands and prohibitions, and interspersed among them were mentions of those whose faces will brighten and those whose faces will darken, along with some of their conditions in the Hereafter. Then, the discourse returned to the first address, inciting them toward submission and obedience.

As for kāna (you were), it is an incomplete verb. In its origin, it does not imply anything other than existence in the past, without indicating cessation or perpetuity. It is sometimes used for eternity, as in the attributes of the Almighty, such as: (Allah has ever been, over all things, Knowing). It is also used to denote the necessity and inseparability of a thing, such as: (And man has ever been, most of anything, prone to dispute). Some grammarians held that it indicates cessation according to its usage, like other incomplete verbs, but the correct view is the first one. According to it, the verse does not imply that those addressed are not the best nation now. It is said: The meaning is "You were" in the knowledge of Allah Almighty, or in the Preserved Tablet, or among the nations—that is, in their knowledge [of you], you were as such. Al-Hasan said: The meaning is "You are the best nation," but this was objected to on the grounds that it requires the addition of kāna, and it is not added at the beginning of a sentence.

(Brought forth for mankind): meaning, brought to light, and the subject is omitted because it is known. (For mankind): is connected to it. It is said [it is connected to] "the best nation," and the sentence (brought forth) is an adjective for "nation," or, as others say, for "best." The first is preferable.

Regarding who is addressed: It is said to be the Companions of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, specifically; this is the view of al-Dahhak. Others say it refers to the Emigrants among them, which is one of two reports from Ibn Abbas. In another, it is general for the nation of Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. This is supported by what Imam Ahmad reported with a hasan (good) chain from Abu al-Hasan (may Allah honor his face), who said: The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: "I have been given what no prophet was given: I was aided by terror, I was given the keys of the earth, I was named Ahmad, the earth was made a purifier for me, and my nation was made the best of nations." Ibn Abi Hatim reported from Abu Ja’far (may Allah be pleased with him) that the verse refers to the family of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Ibn Jarir reported from ‘Ikrimah that it was revealed concerning Ibn Mas’ud, ‘Ammar ibn Yasir, Salim the freed slave of Abu Hudhayfah, Ubayy ibn Ka’b, and Mu’adh ibn Jabal.

The manifest view is that although the address—even if specific to the believers who witnessed the revelation or to some of them—its ruling is fit to be general for all. This is indicated by the words of ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), as narrated by Qatadah: "O mankind, whoever is pleased to be of that nation, let him fulfill the condition of Allah Almighty therein." By this, he pointed to His saying: (You enjoin the good and forbid the wrong). For although this is a new statement explaining why they are the best nation, or a second adjective for "nation" as is said, it implies a condition. What readily comes to mind regarding "the good" is acts of obedience, and regarding "the wrong" are the sins prohibited by the Sharia.

Ibn al-Mundhir and others reported from Ibn Abbas regarding the verse that the meaning is: You enjoin them to testify that there is no god but Allah and to acknowledge what Allah has revealed, and you fight them over it. "There is no god but Allah" is the greatest of good, and you forbid them the wrong; the wrong is denial, which is the most egregious of wrongs. It is as if he, may Allah be pleased with him, applied the absolute to the perfect instance; otherwise, there is no evidence for this restriction.

(And believe in Allah): Belief in Him, the Almighty, is intended as belief in all that which it is obligatory to believe in. For belief is only counted and deemed worthy of being called "belief" when one believes in Allah Almighty in truth, and the truth of belief in Allah is to encompass everything that must be believed in. If one falls short in any part of it, one has no belief in Allah at all. The context demands this, as it is an insinuation against the People of the Scripture, implying that they do not believe in all that is obligatory to believe in, as indicated by the subsequent negation of belief from them, despite the knowledge that they are believers in a general sense. Furthermore, the context is one of praise for the believers for being (the best nation brought forth for mankind). This sentence is conjoined to the previous one, which provides the reason for this excellence. If "belief" did not mean all that is obligatory, it would not be a praise, and thus not fit as a reason; the conjunction demands it.

The belief was delayed after the enjoining of good and forbidding of wrong—despite its precedence over them in existence and rank—because belief is shared among all nations, whereas enjoining good and forbidding wrong are more apparent in indicating this [specific] excellence. It is also possible to say they were placed before it for emphasis, and that the discourse was directed toward them, while the mention of belief is like a completion. It is also possible that this is to alert one to the fact that the utility of enjoining good and forbidding wrong in religion is more apparent than what is contained within belief in Allah, as it is the duty of the prophets, upon them be peace. If it were said that they were placed before or after for emphasis, and to link it to His saying, the Almighty: (And if the People of the Scripture had believed, it would have been better for them), it would not be far-fetched. That is, if they had believed as they ought to, that belief would have been (better for them) than what they possess of leadership in this world—to ward off killing and humiliation—and the Hereafter—to ward off the abiding punishment. It is said: If the People of the Scripture had believed in Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, it would have been better for them than belief in Moses and Jesus only, upon them be peace. It is said: The thing being compared against is their current state of disbelief; thus the "better-ness" is only from the perspective of their [own] assumption, and therein is a form of mockery towards them. This sentence is conjoined to (You are the best nation) and linked to it, in the sense of: And if the People of the Scripture had believed as you have believed, and enjoined good as you have enjoined, and forbidden wrong as you have forbidden, (it would have been better for them). (Among them are believers) like ‘Abdullah ibn Salam and his brother, and Tha’labah ibn Shu’bah.

(And most of them are the defiantly disobedient): i.e., those who depart from the obedience of Allah Almighty. He expressed disbelief as fisq (defiance/disobedience) to indicate that they have departed from what their Book mandated. It is said: To signal that they are, among the disbelievers, in the position of those who are disobedient, because of their departure into the foul state, which is more hideous and detestable among them.