Tafsir of Al Imran 3:79

(It is not for a human being that Allah should give him the Book, the judgment, and the prophethood, and then he would say to the people: "Be worshippers of me instead of Allah.")

This is an exoneration of the Prophets of Allah—peace and blessings be upon them—following the exoneration of Allah the Exalted from the attribution of what the People of the Book falsely ascribed to Him. It is also said that it is a refutation and a rebuttal to the worshippers of ‘Isa (Jesus), peace be upon him.

Ibn Ishaq and others narrated from Ibn ‘Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, that he said: Abu Rafi‘ al-Qurazi said when the scholars of the Jews and the Christians of Najran gathered before the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), and he invited them to Islam: "Do you wish, O Muhammad, that we worship you as the Christians worship ‘Isa ibn Maryam?" A man from Najran, a Christian known as al-Ra’is (the Chief), said: "Is that what you want from us, O Muhammad?" The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) replied: "I seek refuge in Allah from worshipping other than Allah or commanding the worship of other than Him; it is not for that which I was sent, nor is that what I was commanded." Thereupon, Allah the Exalted revealed this verse.

‘Abd ibn Humayd narrated from al-Hasan, who said: It reached me that a man said: "O Messenger of Allah, we greet you as we greet one another; should we not then prostrate to you?" He replied: "No, rather honor your Prophet and recognize the right of those to whom it is due, for it is not fitting that one should prostrate to anyone other than Allah the Exalted." Then [this verse] was revealed.

Ibn Abi Hatim narrated that there were groups of Jews who would make people worship them instead of their Lord by distorting the Book of Allah from its proper place. So, [the verse] "It is not for a human being..." was revealed.

The meaning of "It is not" (ma kana) is: It is not correct; it is also said: It is not fitting; and it is said: It is not permissible for anyone. He used the word "human being" (bashar) to draw attention to the cause of the ruling, for humanity is incompatible with the command which the disbelievers attributed to those noble ones, peace be upon them.

An and the verb that follows form the subject (ism) of kana, while the predicate (khabar) is displaced [at the beginning of the sentence]. For the meaning to be sound, one must observe the connection of the conjunction (thumma - then), for if one were to remain silent regarding it, the [literal] sense would not be correct, since Allah has indeed given many humans the Book and its counterparts. The verb is conjoined to the accusative of an using thumma to emphasize this statement; for if this [saying] is negated after a lapse of time, then its negation without such a lapse is even more appropriate and fitting. It is as if it were said: "This great endowment is not compatible with this statement at all, even if it were to occur after a delay in this bounty."

Hukm (judgment) means wisdom (hikmah), the meaning of which has preceded. ‘Ibad (worshippers) is the plural of ‘abd (worshipper/slave). The judge (al-qadi) said: Here it refers to the act of worship (‘ibadah). He did not say ‘abid (slaves) because that refers to ‘ubudiyyah (slavery/bondage), which is not forbidden to be directed toward other than Allah. This is why it is said: "These are the ‘abid (slaves) of Zayd," and it is not said: "His ‘ibad (worshippers)." The prepositional phrase that follows is connected to an implied word functioning as an adjective, meaning: "worshippers who are [devoted] to me." Min duni Allah (instead of Allah) is connected to the word "worshippers" because of the verbal meaning it contains. It is also permissible for it to be a second adjective, or a state (hal), to specify the indefinite noun through description, meaning: "transcending Allah" in both association and isolation, as al-Jubba’i said, for the transgression is definitively realized in both. This endowment in the verse is literal according to the first two narrations, and metaphorical according to the last narration, as is not hidden.

(But [instead]: "Be rabbaniyyin [devout scholars of the Lord]...")

This is an affirmation of what was previously negated, namely the statement governed by an. It is as if it were said: "It is not for that human being to say that, but he says: Be rabbaniyyin." The verb here is also in the accusative case, conjoined to the previous one. It is also permissible to read it in the nominative based on the meaning, for it has the sense of: "He does not say..." It is said: It is correct not to posit the verb [of saying] at all, based on the meaning of "Do not be people who say that, but rather be rabbaniyyin."

‘Ali (may Allah honor his face) and Ibn ‘Abbas interpreted Rabbani as a jurist-scholar (faqih ‘alim); Qatadah and al-Suddi as a wise scholar (‘alim hakim); Ibn Jubayr as a wise, pious person; and Ibn Zayd as one who manages the affairs of the people. These are similar statements. It is an Arabic word, not Syriac, according to the correct view. Abu ‘Ubaydah claimed that the Arabs were unfamiliar with it, but it is attributed to al-Rabb (the Lord), like Ilahi (divine). The alif and nun are often added in attributive adjectives for intensification, like Lahyani for one with a great beard, Jumani for one with abundant hair, and Raqbani meaning thick-necked. It is also said that it is attributed to Rabban, a descriptor like ‘atshan (thirsty), meaning one who nurtures.

(...because you have been teaching the Book and because you have been studying [it].)

The ba is causal and connects to "be," meaning: "Be such because of your perseverance in teaching the Book and your studying of it." The requirement is that knowledge should not be separated from action, for neither is considered without the other. It is said: It is connected to Rabbaniyyin because it contains a verbal meaning; and it is said: It is connected to an implied word that serves as its adjective. Dirasah (study) is repetition; it is said "he studied the book" meaning he repeated it. It also refers to reading and repeating. The repetition of bima kuntum serves to signal that each of the continuity of teaching and the continuity of reading is independent. The notification of kana as a present-tense verb denotes the attainment of Rabbaniyyah. The teaching of the Book is placed before its study either due to its abundant superiority over it, or because the first address is for their leaders and the second for those below them. It is also said: because the object of teaching is the Book—meaning the Quran—and the object of study is jurisprudence (fiqh), though this contains a far-fetched meaning, even if the words of some of the predecessors suggest it.

Nafi‘, Ibn Kathir, Ya‘qub, Abu ‘Amr, and Mujahid read it as tu‘allimuna, meaning "you are scholars." It is also read as tudarrissuna (with a shaddah) from tadris (teaching), and tadrusuna from idras (to cause to be studied), which shares the same meaning. The occurrence of af‘ala with the meaning of fa‘ala is common. It is also permissible for the famous recitation to carry this meaning as well, provided the intent is "you teach it to the people."