Al-Jumu'ah: (6) Say, O you...

(Say, "O you who have followed Judaism") meaning, who have Judaized, i.e., became Jews. (If you claim that you are allies of Allah) meaning, His beloved ones—He, the Glorified, did not attribute the "allies" to Himself here, as He did in His saying, "Indeed, the allies of Allah [have no fear]"—Al-Tibi said: To indicate the distinction between the claimant of guardianship (wilayah) and the one whom He, the Almighty and Majestic, specifically designates with it. (Excluding the rest of the people) this is a circumstantial qualifier (hal) from the pronoun referring back to the noun of "inna," meaning: excluding everyone else. (Then wish for death) meaning, then ask Allah, the Exalted, to cause you to die and transport you from the abode of tribulation to the place of honor. (If you are truthful) the consequence of this conditional is omitted because what preceded it points to it; meaning, if you are truthful in your claim and confident that it is the truth, then wish for death. For whoever is certain that he is among the people of Paradise desires to be released into it from this world, which is a reservoir of distress and impurity. The Prophet, may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him, was commanded to say this to them to expose their falsehood, for they used to say, "We are the children of Allah and His beloved ones," and they claimed that the Hereafter was exclusively theirs before Allah, and they said, "None shall enter Paradise except he who is a Jew." It is narrated that when the Messenger of Allah, may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him, appeared, the Jews of Medina wrote to the Jews of Khaybar: "If you follow Muhammad, we shall obey him, and if you oppose him, we shall oppose him." They replied, "We are the children of the Friend of the Most Merciful, and among us is Uzair, the son of God, and the prophets. And whenever prophecy has been among the Arabs, we are more deserving of it than Muhammad, and there is no way to follow him." Thus, this verse was revealed: "Say, O you who have followed Judaism." The use of "in" (if), which is for doubt, alongside "the claim," is intended to indicate that one should not be certain of such a claim due to the existence of that which refutes it. Ibn Ya'mar, Ibn Abi Ishaq, and Ibn al-Sumayqa' read "fatamanu-l-mawt" with a kasra on the waw (fatamani-l-mawt), by analogy to "law istata'na." It is also reported from Ibn al-Sumayqa' that he read it with a fatha, and al-Kisa'i narrated from some of the Bedouin that he read it with a dammah on a hamzah instead of the waw.