Tafsir of Al-Ma'idah 5:113

(They said, "We wish to eat from it")—meaning for the sake of seeking blessing (tabarruk). It is also said: for the sake of enjoyment and need. The "wish" (irada) is either in its apparent meaning or it implies love, meaning: "We love that." As it has been said, the statement is a preamble or an excuse and an explanation of what prompted them to ask; that is, "We do not intend by this request to remove our doubt regarding His, Glory be to Him, ability to send it down, nor regarding the truthfulness of your prophethood, such that it would impair faith and piety, but rather we wish..." or "Our intent is not to challenge you with miracles, but our intent is what we have mentioned."

("And that our hearts may be reassured")—through an increase in certainty, as Ata said.

("And that we may know")—with the knowledge of witnessing and observation, according to what we have previously established.

("That you have told us the truth")—meaning that you have truly told us the truth regarding the claim of prophethood. It is also said: that God Almighty answers our supplications. It is also said: regarding everything you have claimed in general.

("And we may be among its witnesses")—in the presence of those among the Children of Israel who did not witness it, so that the believers among them may increase in reassurance and certainty through our testimony, and so that their disbelievers may believe because of it; or, [we will be] among those who witnessed it with their own eyes, rather than those who heard the report. It is also said: [we will be] among those who bear witness to God Almighty in His Oneness and to you in your prophethood.

("And we may be...")—"upon it" (‘alayha) is linked to "witnesses" (al-shahidin), if the alif-lam (the) is taken as a definite article, or it is linked to an omitted predicate explained by "among the witnesses" if it is taken as a relative pronoun (alladhina), allowing for the explanation of that which does not act upon the operator. It is also said: it is linked to it, and in this is the precedence of that which is within the scope of the relative clause and the preposition, both of which are prohibited. It is narrated from some grammarians that precedence is permissible in the case of the adverbial phrase, and from some that it is permissible unconditionally. It is also permitted that it be a circumstantial state (hal) from the pronoun in "we may be," meaning: "devoted to it."

It is also recited: ("ya‘lam" / it is known) in the passive voice, and ("ta‘lam wa takun" / you may know and you may be) with the ta, with the pronoun referring to the hearts.