Tafsir of Al-Ma'idah 5:19

(O People of the Scripture) is a repetition of the address by way of iltifat (shifting in speech) and a form of gentleness in the invitation. It is said that the address here is specifically to the Jews.

(Our Messenger has come to you, making clear to you) — "making clear" [is done] gradually, as required by the interest of the religious laws and beneficial rulings regarding both the worldly life and the afterlife, accompanied by promises and threats. This object [of the verb "making clear"] is omitted, relying upon its obviousness; for it is known that what the Messenger makes clear is the religious laws and rulings. It is also permissible to treat the verb as intransitive, meaning: he performs the act of clarifying and offers it to you in all matters of religion that you need. As for keeping it transitive while estimating the object as "much of what you used to conceal of the Scripture"—as has been said—this is rejected, despite being a repetition without benefit, by His saying, the Exalted: (at a period of [the] messengers). For the cessation of sending [messengers] and the interruption of revelation necessitates the clarification of religious laws and rulings, not the clarification of what they had concealed.

(At a period of [the] messengers) is connected to "has come to you" in the capacity of an adverb of time, as in His saying, the Exalted: (and followed what the devils recited during the kingdom of Solomon), meaning: he has come to you at a time of a period of the cessation of sending [messengers] and an interruption of revelation, and a greater need for clarification. It is also permitted that it be connected to an omitted element, acting as a state of the pronoun in "making clear" or the pronoun "to you," meaning: he makes clear to you while he is at a period, or while you are at a period. (Of the messengers) is an attribute of the "period," and "of" is for initial origin—a period originating from the messengers, starting from their side. Fatrah is of the measure fa‘lah from fatara (to languish) concerning his work, yafturu futuran, when he becomes stagnant. Its root meaning is the interruption of what one was upon in terms of diligence in work. According to all exegetes, it is the interruption between two messengers.

They differed regarding its duration between our Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and Jesus (peace be upon him). Qatadah said: There were five hundred and sixty years between them. Al-Kalbi said: Five hundred and forty years. Ibn Jurayj said: Five hundred years. Al-Dahhak said: Four hundred and thirty-some years. Ibn Asakir reported from Salman (may Allah be pleased with him) that it was six hundred years. It is said that there were three prophets between our Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and his brother Jesus (peace be upon him); they are those referred to by His saying, the Exalted: (We sent to them two, but they denied them, so We strengthened [them] with a third). It is also said that there were four between them: the three referred to, and one from the Arabs of the tribe of Abs, namely Khalid ibn Sinan (peace be upon him), regarding whom the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: "That is a prophet whose people wasted him." It is not hidden that the three whom the verse pointed to are messengers of Jesus (peace be upon him), and the attribution of their sending to Him, the Exalted, is based on the fact that it was by His command, the Almighty and Majestic—and the verification of this will come, if Allah wills. As for Khalid ibn Sinan al-Absi, Al-Raghib wavered regarding him in his Muhadarat, some did not confirm him, and some said: "He was before Jesus (peace be upon him)," because it was mentioned in a hadith: "There is no prophet between me and Jesus." However, the chronicles affirm him, and he has a detailed story in the books of historical accounts. It is mentioned that his daughter came to the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and believed in him. The Greatest Master (Al-Shaykh al-Akbar)—may his secret be sanctified—engraved a setting for him in his book Fusus al-Hikam, and Al-Shihab confirmed that he (peace be upon him) was of the prophets (peace be upon them) and that he was before Jesus (peace be upon them both). According to this, what is meant by his daughter who came to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), if the report is authentic, is his daughter by way of intermediary, not his direct daughter, as her remaining until that time—with no one mentioning that she was among the long-lived—is very far-fetched. Between Moses and Jesus (peace be upon them) there were one thousand seven hundred years by common report, but revelation did not cease during that time; for it is reported from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that Allah, the Exalted, sent one thousand prophets among the Children of Israel during that period, besides those He sent from others.

(Lest you say) is a justification for the coming of the Messenger with clarification, meaning: out of fear that you might say—as the Basrans estimate—or "so that you do not say"—as the Kufans estimate—apologizing for your negligence in the rulings of religion on the Day of Resurrection: (There has not come to us any bringer of good tidings or warner). And the [previous] religious laws have been erased and their reports cut off. The addition of "min" in the agent is for emphasis in denying the coming. The indefiniteness of "bringer of good tidings" and "warner" is, according to the Shaykh al-Islam, for minimization. The following of "has come to you," etc., with this requires that what was estimated or intended in the previous [part] is the religious laws and rulings—not just any way, but accompanied by mention of the promise and the threat. The fa in His saying, the Exalted: (So there has come to you a bringer of good tidings and a warner) reveals an omitted element after it that acts as its cause; the estimation here is: "Do not apologize, for there has come to you..." This is called the fa al-fasiha (the explanatory 'fa'). The phrasing of the estimated element before it varies: sometimes it is a command or a prohibition, sometimes it is a condition—as in His saying, the Exalted: (So this is the Day of Resurrection), and the poet's saying: "So we have come to Khorasan..." Sometimes it is a coordinated clause, as in His saying: "So it gushed forth." Sometimes one proceeds to estimate speech, as in Al-Furqan in His saying, the Exalted: (So they have denied you). If you wish, you may estimate here also: "So We said: Do not apologize, for there has come to you..." Some scholars of Arabic have stated that the reality of this fa is that it relates to an omitted condition. This does not contradict the implication of speech, because if the omitted element appears, there must be an implication to link it to the preceding, so it is said, for example, in the verse: "And We said," or "So We said: If what you mentioned is true, then we have come to Khorasan." Likewise is our situation here: "So We said: Do not apologize, for there has come to you." Furthermore, it is in meaning the answer to an omitted condition, whether that estimation is expressed or not, because when speech includes two things that are ordered—one upon the other—in a relationship of causality, it is in the meaning of condition and result. Thus, there is no contradiction between the various estimations, and if a contradiction were conceded, they are two facets, one of which they mentioned in one place and the other in another, as has been verified in Al-Kashf. A reference has already been made from afar to the matter of this fa, so remember it. The tanwin in "bringer of good tidings" and "warner" is for magnification.

(And Allah is over all things competent) — So He is able to send messengers in succession, and to send [them] after a period.