Tafsir of Al Imran 3:63

(Then if they turn away), meaning: if they turn away from following you and believing in you after these clear verses. This is based on the assumption that the verb is in the past tense (maḍin). It is also possible that it is in the imperfect tense (muḍāriʿ), with one of the two tas dropped for the sake of lightness, its original form being tatawallaw. (Then God is Knowing of the corrupters).

(Meaning: of them or of you). The sentence is, in appearance, the response to the condition (jawāb al-sharṭ), but the meaning pertains to that which follows from His knowledge of the (corrupters)—namely, His punishment of them. Thus, the speech is a threat. The use of the explicit noun in place of the pronoun is an alert to the cause that necessitates the retribution and punishment, which is "corruption."

It is also said that the meaning is that (God is Knowing) of these disputers without right, and that they will not proceed to mubāhala (mutual imprecation) with you because of their knowledge of your prophethood and the established truth of your mission. In this view, upon investigation, the sentence still stands in place of the response, except that it is not a matter of retribution and punishment; rather, the speech is directed toward consoling him—may the blessings and peace of God be upon him—and the subtlety within it is not hidden.

(When he sensed), meaning: when Jesus perceived—by way of the divine light shining upon him—(their disbelief), meaning: its darkness, or his own self. For the realities manifest themselves to those who have reached perfection in various forms according to their states, so they perceive them. It has been narrated from al-Bāz—may his secret be sanctified—that he said: "The night and the day come to me and inform me of what occurs within them." And it is said of some of the gnostics that he observes the deeds of the servants, how they ascend to the sky, and he sees the affliction descending from it.

(He said, "Who are my helpers [in the cause of God]?") while in the state of my calling to God the Exalted, by turning toward the occupation of perfecting one’s own soul and refining its morals until it is fit for the upbringing of the deficient, so that he may help me and assist me in perfecting the deficient and guiding the astray.

(The disciples said), those who have whitened the garments of their existence with the waters of worship, the mallet of spiritual striving, and the sun of contemplation: (We are the helpers of God), meaning: the helpers of those who have passed away in Him and remain through Him, among whom is Jesus—peace be upon him. (We have believed in God), the perfect faith, (and bear witness that we are Muslims), meaning: submissive to your command, for it is the command of God the Exalted. (Our Lord, we have believed in what You revealed), which is that with which You illuminated the hearts of Your chosen ones from the sciences of Your Unseen, (and followed the messenger), in what he manifested of Your commands and prohibitions, hoping that this will lead us to Your love, (so write us among the witnesses), meaning: among those who witness You and witness none alongside You, or those who are present with You, contemplating Your command.

(And they schemed), meaning: those from whom he sensed disbelief, and they conspired with the people of God through the management of the self (nafs). Thus, their scheming was God’s scheming against them, for He is the One who embellished that for them, as the Exalted says: (And thus We have made every nation's deeds seem fair to them). He is the Mākir (Schemer) in truth. This is the meaning of (and God’s scheming) according to some. It is better to speak of the distinction between the two types of scheming, as required by the station of differentiation (farq). Someone once asked, "How does God scheme?" He cried out and said: "There is no cause for His workmanship!" And he began to recite:

I sacrifice myself for You; I was molded for Your passion, My soul disputes not with me for anyone other than You. I love You, not with a part of me, but with my whole, Even if Your love leaves no movement in me. An action from any other than You I deem ugly, but when You do it, It becomes beautiful from You.

(When God said, "O Jesus, I will take you") from the vestiges of contingency, (and raise you to Me) by the attribute of Lordship, (and purify you from those who disbelieve) by occupying your inner heart (sirr) away from observing the "others," or: I will take you away from yourself, seize you from you, raise you above the attributes of humanity, and purify you from your own volition entirely.

It is said that when Jesus—peace and blessings be upon him—sensed their disbelief and knew they had sent someone to kill him, he said to the disciples: "I am going to my Father and your Father in Heaven," meaning: I am connecting with the Holy Spirit and purifying myself from the associations of the world of impurity, "so that I may provide you with the overflow (fayḍ), that your call to the creation after me may be answered." Thus, there was made to appear to the people a bodily form—which was the manifestation of Jesus, the Spirit of God—in the form of the reality of Jesus. They thought it was him, so they crucified it, not knowing that God the Exalted had raised him to the fourth heaven, which is the firmament of the Sun. The wisdom of his being raised to that [level] is that his spirituality refers to Israfil—peace be upon him—and the Messiah shares with him the mystery of "the blowing" (al-nafkh).

Some have said that he was raised to the lowest heaven, explaining the wisdom as being that the effusion of his spirit was through the mediation of Gabriel—peace be upon him—who represents the spirituality of the firmament of the Moon, and that the Moon is in the lowest heaven, and it is a nocturnal sign that corresponds to the inner knowledge (bāṭin) granted to the Messiah—peace be upon him. The Sufis—may God sanctify their secrets—did not consider the view that he revolves around the Throne, because that is the station of the Ultimate Perfection (nihāya). For this reason, none ascended to it except the possessor of the Praised Station—may the blessings and peace of God be upon him—who combined the outer and the inner.

(Indeed, the example of Jesus to God is like that of Adam) in that both are miraculous, outside the circle of habit. Even if they differ in that Jesus—peace and blessings be upon him—was without a male [parent], but from the sperm of a female only; in some parts of it there was the power of "binding" (al-ʿaqd) and in others the power of "being bound" (al-inʿiqād), like other sperms composed of two seminal fluids, in one of which is the binding power and in the other the being bound. As for Adam—peace and blessings be upon him—he was without male or female, [made] from dust; meaning: He formed his mold from that. (Then He said to him, "Be," and he was), a sign of the blowing of the spirit into him and his belonging to the World of Command (ʿālam al-amr) regarding his holy spirit, which did not stir in a womb.

(So whoever argues with you about him), meaning: about the Truth, or about Jesus—peace be upon him—with false arguments, (then say, "Come...") to the end, meaning: call them to the mubāhala in the mentioned manner.

Some of the gnostics said: "Know that the mubāhala of the prophets—peace be upon them—has a great effect. Its cause is the connection of their souls to the Holy Spirit and God’s supporting them with it. It is that which is effective—by God’s permission—in the elemental world. Thus, the elemental world’s being affected by it is like our bodies being affected by our souls due to the accidents occurring upon them, such as anger, fear, thoughts regarding the states of the Beloved, and so on. The reaction of human souls to it is like our senses and our other faculties reacting to the accidents of our spirits. When a holy soul connects to it [the elemental world] or to some of the heavenly spiritual bodies and angelic souls, its effect in the world at the moment of the connective focusing is the effect of what it connects to. Thus, the elemental bodies and the deficient human souls react to it according to what it wills, consistent with that connection. This is why the souls of the Christians reacted to his soul—peace and blessings be upon him—with fear and held back from the mubāhala and requested a truce by accepting the jizya." End quote.

Some have claimed that every soul has an effect, but it differs according to the ranks of the souls and the varying degrees of focus toward the World of Abstraction (ʿālam al-tajarrud). There is much discussion on this, and perhaps the occasion will lead to its verification. Applying what is in the horizons to what is in the souls is evident to those who have surrounded themselves with the knowledge of what we have presented in the first verses. And God the Exalted is the Granter of success.