Tafsir of Al Imran 3:48

"And He will teach him the Book" is a conjunction connected to "He gives you glad tidings" (يُبَشِّرُكِ), meaning: Indeed, Allah "gives you glad tidings of a Word," and He will teach this newborn—who is expressed by the term "the Word"—"the Book." The length of the separation does not negate this, as it is an interruption that does not cause harm. Alternatively, it is a conjunction connected to "He creates" (يَخْلُقُ), meaning: likewise, Allah creates what He wills, "and He teaches him." Or, it is connected to "He will speak" (يُكَلِّمُ), in which case it is in the position of a circumstantial state (hal), with the implied meaning: "He gives you glad tidings of a Word, speaking to the people and teaching the Book." Or, it is connected to "distinguished" (وَجِيهًا).

It is also permitted that the sentence is a new inception (musta’nafah) not included in the time of the angels' speech, peace be upon them. The waw (and) acts as an inception marker and occurs at the beginning of speech, as affirmed by grammarians. Therefore, there is no need, as al-Shihab said, for the interpretation that it is conjoined to a previous inception sentence, which is "And when the angels said...", nor is there a need for an implied element. There is no problem in this conjunction, as the scholar al-Nahrir stated. Similarly, it should not be claimed that the waw is extra (za’idah), as Abu Hayyan suggested. These are various ways of parsing, differing in priority. The strangest thing I have seen is what al-Tabrisi reported from some, that it is a conjunction connected to the sentence "We reveal it to you" (نُوحِيهِ إِلَيْكَ); indeed, anyone with a sound taste would hardly find this palatable.

"The Book" (الكتاب) is a verbal noun meaning "writing," i.e., He teaches him the art of handwriting. This was stated by Ibn Abbas, and Ibn Jurayj held this view as well. It is reported from him that he said: "Allah the Exalted gave Jesus, peace be upon him, nine parts of writing, and gave the rest of humanity one part." Abu Ali al-Jubba’i held the view that it refers to some of the books that Allah the Exalted revealed to His prophets, peace be upon them, other than the Torah and the Gospel, such as the Psalms and others. Many have held the view that the al (definite article) in "the Book" is generic, and the intended meaning is the genus of divine books; however, the narrated tradition (al-ma’thur) is the first view. The statement that the intended meaning of "the Book" is the genus, but incorporated within two individuals—the Torah and the Gospel—and then considering the subsequent waw as extra/interpolated, and that what follows is a substitution or an explanatory apposition, is absolute nonsense.

The people of Medina, Asim, Ya’qub, and Sahl read it as yu’allimuhu (He teaches him) with a ya, while the rest read it with a nun (nu’allimuhu - We teach him). It is said that based on this, some of those parsing views are not sound unless an implied verb of speech is assumed, i.e., "Indeed, Allah gives you glad tidings of Jesus and says: 'We will teach him,'" or "distinguished, about whom it is said: 'We teach him the Book.'"

"And the Wisdom" (وَالْحِكْمَةَ), meaning jurisprudence (fiqh) and the knowledge of the lawful and the prohibited; this was stated by Ibn Abbas. It is also said: all that he was taught of religious matters. It is also said: the traditions (sunan) of the prophets, peace be upon them. It is also said: correctness in speech and action. And it is also said: mastery of the rational sciences. Discussion on this has already preceded.

"The Torah and the Gospel" are mentioned specifically—on the assumption that "the Book" covers them—due to their abundant virtue and the loftiness of their status above others. As for his being taught that, it is said: by inspiration (ilham), or by revelation (wahy), or by divine granting of success (tawfiq) and guidance to learn. It has been verified that when he, peace be upon him, grew up—and in al-Dahhak’s narration from Ibn Abbas, when he reached seven years of age—his mother sent him to be taught. However, the reports are consistent that he began to ask the teacher, whenever he mentioned anything to him, about that which kept the teacher silenced and unable to utter a word. This supports the view that his knowledge was purely a divine gift and a lordly bestowal. The Gospel was mentioned because it was known to the prophets and scholars, and it was a certainty for them that it would be revealed.