Say, "O People of the Scripture..."

(Say, "O People of the Scripture"): This is a shift in address, directing the speech to both groups of the People of the Scripture, intending the generic sense of the term defined by the definite article al-, through the tongue of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace).

Al-Tabarsi chose to view this as an address specifically to the Christians, as the discourse is with them.

(And do not exceed the limits in your religion): This means: do not overstep the bounds. It is a prohibition directed at the Christians against elevating Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him) from the rank of a messenger to the great status they claim for him, and likewise against elevating his mother (peace be upon her) from the rank of the Siddiqah (the truthful) to the status they have invented for her. It is also a prohibition directed at the Jews, assuming they are included in the address, regarding their degradation of him (peace be upon him), and likewise their degradation of his mother from her exalted rank to the falsehoods and heinous speech they have fabricated.

They are mentioned by the title "People of the Scripture" to hint that their own scripture contains that which forbids them from exceeding the limits in their religion.

(Other than the truth): This is in the accusative case as a descriptor of a suppressed verbal noun; that is, "an exceeding [that is] other than the truth," meaning "falsely." Describing it as such serves to emphasize, for as Al-Raghib stated, exceeding the limits cannot be anything but other than the truth. Some researchers, however, have said: "It is for restriction," and what Al-Raghib mentioned is not universally accepted, for exceeding the limits can sometimes be 'other than the truth' and sometimes 'the truth,' such as delving deeply into theological debates.

In al-Kashshaf, it is said that exceeding the limits in religion is of two types: a truthful one, which is to investigate its realities, search for its remote meanings, and strive to obtain its proofs, as the theologians of the people of justice and monotheism do; and a false one, which is to transgress the truth and bypass it by turning away from the proofs and following doubts, as is done by the people of desires and innovations. End quote.

This may be contested, despite the exaggeration it contains in its analogy, because exceeding the limits is to bypass the boundary, and there is no bypassing it as long as one does not depart from the religion. What was mentioned is not a departure from it, so as to be considered an "exceeding of limits."

It is permissible for "other than" (ghayr) to be a state (hal) of the agent's pronoun, meaning: "Do not exceed the limits, while transgressing the truth." Or it could be a state related to "your religion," meaning: "Do not exceed the limits in your religion while it is false, having been abrogated by the mission of Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace)." It is also said that it is a connected or disconnected exception.

(And do not follow the inclinations of a people who had already gone astray before): These are their predecessors and their leaders who had already gone astray from among both groups. It is a command to the Christians—before the mission of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace)—regarding their law.

"Inclinations" (ahwa') is the plural of hawa, which is the falsehood that pleases the soul. The intent is: do not agree with them in their false doctrines, to which nothing invited them except lust, and for which no proof was established.

(And misled many): This means: they misled many people who followed them and agreed with them in the innovations and misguidance to which they were called; or, they caused much misguidance. In this case, the object of the verb is suppressed.

(And have gone astray): This occurred at the time of the mission of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), when the signpost of the truth became clear and the paths of Islam were manifest.

(From the straight path): That is, the intentional, direct path which is Islam. This happened when they envied the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), belied him, and acted insolently toward him. Thus, there is no repetition between "they have gone astray" and "they had gone astray before."

The manifest meaning is that "from" ('an) is related to the latter, though it is permissible for it to be related to all three verbs. "The straight path" signifies the true way, which, with regard to the latter, is the religion of Islam.

It has been said regarding the avoidance of repetition that the first refers to their straying from the dictates of reason, and the second to their straying from what the revealed law brought. Others say that the pronoun in the second "gone astray" refers back to "the many," not to "a people," and the verb is the passive form of the causative; that is, those people misled many, and those many went astray because of their misleading, so there is no repetition.

It is also said that the first "straying" may refer to the straying through exceeding the limits in exaltation or degradation, for example, and likewise with the "misleading." The "straying from the straight path" then refers to straying from the clear aspects of their religion and their complete departure from it.

Al-Zajjaj said: The meaning of the latter "straying" is their straying in the act of misleading; that is, these people went astray themselves and went astray by misleading others, as in His saying: "That they may bear their own burdens in full on the Day of Resurrection and some of the burdens of those whom they misguide without knowledge." This is reported similarly to the first view from Al-Raghib.

It is also permissible that His saying, "from the straight path," is related to "they had already gone astray before," despite the fact that a separation occurred between it and that to which it relates, and it is reiterated, as in His saying: "Do not think that those who rejoice in what they have attained and love to be praised for what they have not done—do not think them safe from the punishment." Perhaps the condemnation of the people, according to the majority's view, is more heinous than their condemnation according to the views of others. And Allah the Exalted knows best His intent.