Tafsir of Al-Jumu'ah 62:3

"And others" is a plural of "other," meaning those who are different. It is a conjunction to "the unlettered" (al-ummiyyin), meaning: and [He sent him] to others among them—that is, from the unlettered, and the "min" (among) is for clarification.

"Who have not yet joined them"—meaning they have not joined them yet, but they will join them. They are those who came after the Companions until the Day of Judgment. It is also permitted that it be a conjunction to the accusative object in "and He teaches them" (wa yu‘allimuhum), meaning: and He teaches them, and He teaches others. This is because when instruction is connected until the end of time, it is all attributed to its beginning; it is as if he—peace and blessings be upon him—is the one who took charge of all that emerged from it. The first [interpretation] is more plausible.

The people mentioned in the verse are his own people—peace be upon him—and the kind of people among whom he was sent. As for those to whom he was sent, it is not addressed here by negation or affirmation, though its affirmation has been addressed in other verses. The specificity of the people does not contradict the generality of the message, so there is no problem in specifying "the others" as being from the "unlettered," meaning the Arabs by lineage.

It is said: The intent of "the unlettered" is regarding [their] illiteracy, so it includes non-Arabs (al-‘ajam). Mujahid explained it this way, as transmitted from him by Ibn Jarir and others. This was countered by the fact that the non-Arabs were not unlettered.

It is also said: The intent is their being attributed to a nation (ummah) in an absolute sense, not in the sense that they could not read or write. This is as you see it. However, it is not invalidated—nor is the interpretation preceding it—by what was extracted by al-Bukhari, al-Tirmidhi, al-Nasa’i, and a group from Abu Hurayrah, who said: "We were sitting with the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—when Surat al-Jumu'ah was revealed. He recited it, and when he reached, 'And others among them who have not yet joined them,' a man asked him: 'O Messenger of Allah, who are these who have not yet joined us?' He placed his hand on Salman al-Farisi—may Allah be pleased with him—and said: 'By Him in Whose hand is my soul, if faith were at the Pleiades, men from these would attain it.'" He—peace and blessings be upon him—indicated by this that they are the Persians. It is known that they are not from the "unlettered," meaning the Arabs by lineage.

Some scholars said: The intent of "the unlettered" is as a counterpart to the People of the Book, because most of them did not concern themselves with reading or writing, as they had no heavenly book whose knowledge would invite them to it. Thus, it includes the Persians, for they had no book, just like the Arabs. Based on this, the interpretation indicated by the Hadith—that "the others" are the Persians—becomes valid. Furthermore, it is a matter of exemplification and restricting [the reference] to some types, based on the fact that some nations also had no book.

It may also be said that "min" in "among them" (minhum) is a nominal form meaning "some," acting as a subject (mubtada’), as is said regarding the verse: "And among the people are those who say..." The plural pronoun refers to "others," and the sentence "who have not yet joined them" is the predicate. Thus, it includes other groups of people who join until the Day of Resurrection, from the Arabs, Romans, Persians, and others. This is how al-Dahhak, Ibn Hayyan, and Mujahid (in one narration) explained it. The Hadith would then be a matter of restriction and exemplification, like the statement of Ibn ‘Umar: "They are the people of Yemen," or Ibn Jubayr: "They are the Romans and the Persians." Contemplate this.

Some claimed that the intent of His saying, "who have not yet joined them," is that they have not joined them in virtue, due to the superiority of the Companions over the Successors (al-Tabi'in) and those after them. The response to this is that the negation in "lam" (not yet) is continuous up to the present and expects realization later. Thus, it implies that the joining of the Successors and those after them in virtue to the Companions is expected to occur, even though they are as they are. They have explicitly stated that no Successor, however great in status, reaches the rank of a Companion in virtue, even if he were not among the inner circle of the Companions.

‘Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak was asked about Mu‘awiyah and ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-‘Aziz, which of them was better. He said: "The dust that entered the nostril of Mu‘awiyah’s horse is better in the sight of Allah than a hundred ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-‘Azizs." For Mu‘awiyah prayed behind the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—and he recited, "Guide us to the straight path," etc., and Mu‘awiyah said: "Amen."

They argued for the lack of [the later generations] joining [the Companions] based on what is authentic from his—peace and blessings be upon him—statement regarding them: "If one of you were to spend the equivalent of Mount Uhud in gold, it would not reach a mudd of one of them, nor half of it," based on the view that the address is to the rest of the Ummah. As for his—peace and blessings be upon him—statement: "My Ummah is like rain; it is not known whether its beginning is better or its end," it is an exaggeration regarding their goodness, like the speaker who says regarding a garment with a good lining: "It is not known whether its outer layer is better or its lining."