Tafsir of As-Saff 61:6

"And when" (wa idh) is either conjoined to the first "when" (idh), governed by its own operative agent, or it is governed by an implied verb that is conjoined to the agent of "O Children of Israel." Perhaps he, peace be upon him, did not say "O my people" as Moses, peace be upon him, did, but rather said: "O Children of Israel," because he does not possess the conventional lineage—that is, the paternal descent among them—or it is an indication that he acted according to the Torah and that he was like them in being from the people of Moses, peace be upon him, humbling himself by implying that he had no followers or specific kin. There is an element of entreaty in this. It is also said that the entreaty lies in what was mentioned due to the veneration it contains, for they used to pride themselves on their descent from Israel, peace be upon him.

"I am the Messenger of Allah to you, confirming what is before me of the Torah": meaning, I am sent by Him, the Exalted, to you, in the state of being a confirmer. Thus, "confirming" (musaddiqan) is in the accusative case as a state (hal) from the hidden pronoun in "Messenger" (rasul), which is its operative agent. "To you" (ilaykum) is connected to it; it is a "loose" prepositional phrase and contains no pronoun that would make it a possessor of a state (dhu-hal). This state was mentioned because it is one of the strongest motivations for them to believe in him, peace be upon him.

His saying, the Exalted: "And bringing good tidings of a messenger to come after me" is conjoined to "confirming," and it is also a motivation for believing in him, peace be upon him, in that the glad tidings of this Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, are present in the Torah, such as His saying, the Exalted, in the twentieth chapter of the fifth book [Deuteronomy]: "The Lord came from Sinai, and dawned from Seir, and appeared from the mountains of Paran, and He came with ten thousands of holy ones; at His right hand were flames of fire for them." And His saying, the Exalted, in the eleventh chapter of this same book: "O Moses, I will raise up for the Children of Israel a prophet from among their brethren like you; I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. And whoever will not listen to the words that that prophet shall speak in My name, I myself will require it of him," and so on. His speech, peace be upon him, implies that his religion is the confirmation of all the Books of Allah and all His Messengers, peace be upon them, both the former and the latter. The clause "who will come" and what follows is an adjective for "Messenger," as is the clause of His saying, the Exalted: "His name is Ahmad."

This glorious name is a proper noun for our Prophet Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. To this refers the statement of Hassan: "May the Lord, and those who encompass His throne, and the righteous, bless the blessed Ahmad." It has been authentically narrated via Malik, al-Bukhari, Muslim, al-Darimi, and al-Tirmidhi from Jubayr ibn Mut'im, who said: The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: "I have names: I am Muhammad, and I am Ahmad, and I am the Gatherer (al-Hashir) whom the people are gathered at my feet, and I am the Eraser (al-Mahi) by whom Allah erases disbelief, and I am the Successor (al-'Aqib) after whom there is no prophet."

The name is derived from the imperfect tense of the first-person singular or from the superlative of "praising" (al-hamidiyyah). It is also permitted that it be derived from "being praised" (al-mahmudiyyah), based on the fact that "Ahmad" has been heard as a superlative form, as in the expression "the return is more praiseworthy" (al-'awdu ahmad). Otherwise, the superlative form derived from the passive participle is not standard.

It was recited as "from after me" (min ba'di) with the opening of the ya. This glad tiding of him, peace be upon him, regarding our Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, is something the miraculous Quran has uttered; therefore, the denial of this by the Christians is a form of raving. Their saying: "If it had occurred, it would have been mentioned in the Gospel," implies a necessity that is rejected. Even if we concede [the premise], we say: It did occur in the Gospel, but the collectors after the ascension of Jesus, peace be upon him, neglected it, deeming what was in the Torah, the Psalms of David, and the books of Isaiah, Habakkuk, Jeremiah, and other prophets, peace be upon them, to be sufficient. It is also possible that they did mention it, but the scholars of the Christians, out of love for their religion or other reasons, deleted it. That is what is said.

I say: The Gospels held by the Christians are four: The Gospel of Matthew, one of the twelve disciples, which he compiled in the Syriac language in the land of Palestine eight years after the ascension of Jesus, peace be upon him, consisting of sixty-eight chapters. The Gospel of Mark, who was one of the seventy, compiled in the Frankish language in the city of Rome twelve years after the ascension, consisting of forty-eight chapters. The Gospel of Luke, who was also one of the seventy, compiled in Alexandria in the Greek language, consisting of eighty-three chapters. The Gospel of John, the beloved of the Messiah, compiled in the city of Ephesus in the land of Rome thirty years after the ascension, consisting of thirty-three chapters in Coptic copies. These are varied, and they contain things that fairness testifies are neither the speech of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, nor the speech of Jesus, peace be upon him—such as the story of his crucifixion, which they allege, his burial, and his rising from the grave to heaven. These are merely histories and biographies containing descriptions of some of the affairs of Jesus, peace be upon him—his birth, his ascension, and the like—and some of his words, peace be upon him, similar to books written about certain great and righteous men. Thus, it does not harm if they omit some of the affairs and words that the Mighty Quran has uttered, such as his speech in the cradle and his glad tidings of our Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.

Moreover, there is that in the Gospel of John which is a glad tiding of that, according to those who are fair-minded and follow the straight path without twisting meanings. In the fifteenth chapter, Jesus the Messiah said: "The Paraclete (al-faraqlit), the Spirit of Truth whom my Father will send, will teach you everything." John also said: The Messiah said: "Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and to him We will come, and with him We will take up Our abode. I have said this to you because I am no longer staying with you. The Paraclete, the Holy Spirit whom my Father will send, will teach you everything and remind you of everything I have said to you. I entrust you with my peace; do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid, for I am departing and returning to you. If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father." He also said: "It is better for you that I go to the Father, for if I do not go, the Paraclete will not come to you. But if I depart, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will rebuke the world concerning sin. I have much more to say to you, but you cannot bear it now. But when he, the Spirit of Truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will tell you all that is to come, and he will make known to you all that belongs to the Father." He also said: "If you love me, keep my commandments, and I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Paraclete to remain with you forever—the Spirit of Truth, whom the world could not receive because they did not know him. I will not leave you as orphans, for I will come to you soon."

The word "Paraclete" suggests praise (hamd), and the certainty that it intends him, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, from his speech, peace be upon him, is something that leaves no room for doubt for those whose eyes Allah has unveiled from the veil of fanaticism. Some Christians have interpreted it as "the Praiser" (al-hammad) and others as "the Praised" (al-hamid), so its meaning contains an indication of his name, peace be upon him, "Ahmad." Some interpreted it as "the Savior" (al-mukhallis), based on the saying of Jesus, peace be upon him: "God will send another Savior." Thus, what was mentioned is not a glad tiding of him, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, under the title of "praise," but it is a glad tiding of him under the title of "salvation," from which one can infer the truth of his messengership, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, even if it is not inferred for what is in the verse here. Some have claimed that the Paraclete refers to tongues of fire that descended from heaven upon the disciples, and they performed signs and wonders. It is not hidden that the description of him as "another" rejects this, as no one had preceded them [in that specific role].

"But when he came to them" —meaning Jesus, peace be upon him— "with clear proofs" —meaning with manifest miracles— "they said: This is clear magic." They point to what he brought, peace be upon him, so the masculine pronoun "this" is used in that regard. It is also said that they were pointing to him, peace be upon him, and labeling it "magic" as an exaggeration. This is supported by the reading of Abdullah, Talha, al-A'mash, and Ibn Wathab: "This is a magician" (sahir). The fact that the doer of "came to them" is the pronoun for Jesus, peace be upon him, is the most apparent, as he is the one being spoken of. It is also said that it is the pronoun for "Ahmad," peace be upon him; when he finished speaking about Jesus, he proceeded to inform them about Ahmad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace—meaning: "But when Ahmad came to these disbelievers with clear proofs, they said..."