Tafsir of Al-Ma'idah 5:62

(And you see many of them), meaning from among those Jews, as has been narrated from Ibn Zayd. The address is to the Master of those addressed (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), or to anyone capable of address and sight. The vision is visual; it is also said to be of the heart (insight). His saying (hastening toward sin and transgression) is in the position of a state (hal) for "many," which is described by the prepositional phrase; it is also said to be a second object for "see."

Hastening (musara'ah) is to initiate something with speed. The preposition "in" (fi) is preferred over "toward" (ila) to indicate their rootedness in what they hasten toward, like the rootedness of an object contained within its container, and its encompassing of their deeds; an indication of this has already passed.

The intended meaning of "sin" (ithm) is the forbidden. It is also said to mean lying absolutely, or specifically lying by their saying, "We believe," for it is either an informative statement or an utterance containing information regarding the attainment of the quality of faith for them. The specificity has been argued for by His saying that comes later: "concerning their saying of sin," though you know that it does not necessitate that. It is also said that it means disbelief; this is narrated from al-Suddi, and perhaps the motivation for specifying it as such is that it is the perfect example of it. The intended meaning of "transgression" ('udwan) is oppression or exceeding the limit in acts of disobedience. It is also said that "sin" is that which is peculiar to them, and "transgression" is that which extends to others. The speech is driven to describe them by their evil deeds after describing them by their evil beliefs.

(And their consuming of the illicit), meaning the forbidden absolutely. Al-Hasan said: it is bribery in judgment. Explicitly mentioning it, despite its inclusion in the preceding, is for the sake of exaggeration in vilification.

(How evil is that which they have been doing), meaning how evil is the thing they do—these matters. "What" (ma) is an indefinite noun described by an adjective, occurring as a tamyiz (specifier) for the hidden pronoun of the subject in "evil" (bi'sa). The object of dispraise is omitted, as we have indicated. It is also permissible to consider "what" (ma) as a relative pronoun acting as the subject of bi'sa. Combining the forms of the past and the future is to indicate continuity.