Tafsir of Al Imran 3:99

Say, "O People of the Scripture, why do you avert"—that is, why do you turn away—"from the way of Allah"—that is, the path leading to Him, which is the religion of Islam—"those who have believed"—that is, in Allah and what has come from Him, or those who have testified to that path and believed in that religion, either in actuality or by a proximate potentiality, meaning they intended it and resolved upon it. It is the object of avert, and the prepositional phrase is placed before it for the sake of emphasis.

"Seeking it"—that is, the path—"to be crooked"—that is, crookedness and a deviation from straightness. When the ‘ayn (the middle letter) is kasrah (voweled with an ‘i’), it is used for religion, speech, and land; an example of this is: "You will not see therein any crookedness or curvature." When it is fathah (voweled with an ‘a’), it is used for the deviation of anything upright, such as a spear or a wall. This is one of the two objects of seeking (tabghūna), for baghā (to seek) takes two objects, one directly and the other via the preposition lam (for), as the linguists have declared. Its direct attachment to the pronoun hā (it) follows the rule of deletion and arrival (i.e., tabghūna lahā), as in the poet’s saying: "Then their youth turned away, then called out: 'Shall I hunt for you a gazelle or a donkey?'"—he intended asīdu lakum (hunt for you). Ibn al-Munir said: It is better to treat the hā as the object without the need to assume a preposition. ‘Iwajan (crooked) is a circumstantial qualifier (hal) acting as a noun for hyperbole, as if they sought for the straight path to be the very essence of crookedness. Al-Tayyibi claimed this is questionable, as the meaning is only sound if ‘iwajan is the object of the verb because it is what they desire, thus the assumption of the preposition is necessary; this requires reflection. It is also said that ‘iwajan is a circumstantial qualifier for the subject of tabghūna, and the discourse regarding it is the same as the previous one. The clause tabghūna is, in any case, either a state (hal) of the pronoun in taṣuddūna (you avert) or of al-sabīl (the path), or it is an independent clause brought forth as an explanation for that aversion.

The majority hold that it was through incitement and temptation among the believers so that their unity would be divided and their religious affairs disrupted, as indicated by what we cited regarding the occasion of revelation. According to this, "the People of the Scripture" refers also to the Jews; expressing them with this title is for the reasons previously mentioned. The repetition of the address and the inquiry is to emphasize the reproach and blame upon them for their shameful deeds and to detail them. If it had been said, "Why do you disbelieve in the verses of Allah and avert from the way of Allah?", it might have been imagined that the reproach was for both matters combined.

It is said that the address is to the People of the Scripture in general, and their averting from the path was through their slander and their changing of the description of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Al-Hasan and Qatadah held this view. From al-Suddi: when anyone asked them, "Do you find Muhammad in your books?", they would say "No," thus averting him from believing in him. This is a condemnation of them for misguidance following their condemnation for being misguided.

It is read taṣuddūna from aṣada.

"And you are witnesses"—a state, either of the subject of taṣuddūna or the subject of tabghūna; the independent clause is contrary to the apparent meaning. That is: How can you do this while you are scholars, knowledgeable of the precedence of the glad tidings of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and informed of the truth of his prophethood? Or: while you are just and upright in the eyes of your people, who trust your words and call upon you to testify in legal cases? This description of yours demands the opposite of what you are doing.

"And Allah is not unaware of what you do"—a threat to them for what they have committed. It is said: Since their disbelief was manifest, it was fitting to mention "witnessing" alongside it in the previous verse, for it applies to what is apparent and known, or what is in its position. Since their averting people from the way of Allah and what accompanies it was through plotting and hidden schemes that might deceive the heedless, it was appropriate to mention "unawareness" alongside it in this verse. Therefore, each of the two verses ends as it does.