Tafsir of At-Tawbah 9:10

His statement, Glorified be He: “They do not observe toward a believer any bond of kinship or covenant,” condemns them for the absolute lack of regard for the rights of the believers’ covenant. This is unlike the first instance [in the previous verse], due to the presence of “among you” in that one, and “believer” in this one; thus, there is no repetition, as stated in al-Madarik.

It is said: It is an explanation of what they are doing, and it implies that the blame and evil are specific to this action of theirs, and not others.

It is also said: The first is general regarding all those who violate, while this is specific to those who “sold” [the signs of Allah for a small price], namely the Jews and the Bedouins whom Abu Sufyan gathered and fed to seek their aid in fighting the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. Based on this, the [reference to] “signs” includes both the Quran and the Torah. In this view, however, there is a disconnection of pronouns and an abandonment of the apparent meaning. Al-Jubba’i restricts this [verse] to the Jews, and there is much to be said about that.

“And those”—meaning those described with the bad attributes enumerated—“are the transgressors,” those who have exceeded the furthest limit of injustice and wickedness.