Al-Baqarah: (103) If only they had believed...

Know that the pronoun refers back to the Jews previously mentioned. After He detailed the warning against them with His saying: {...no share [in the Hereafter]... and wretched is that for which they sold themselves} (Al-Baqarah: 102), He followed it up with encouragement, combining deterrence (Tahrīb) and enticement (Targhīb), because combining the two is more conducive to obedience and turning away from sin.

As for His saying, {...had they believed...}: Know that after Allah mentioned how {A party of those who were given the Scripture threw the Book of Allah behind their backs} (Al-Baqarah: 101), and then described them as following what the devils recited, and that they clung to magic, He then said: {If only they had believed}, meaning they believed in what they cast behind their backs—the Book of Allah. If you take this to mean the Qur'an, it is permissible. If you take it to mean their own Scripture which confirms the Qur'an, it is also permissible. If you take it to mean both, it is also permissible. What is intended by {and feared Allah} (taqwa) is abstaining from prohibited actions and abandoning commanded duties.

As for His saying, {a reward from Allah is better}: There are several interpretations:

1. The response (the result of the condition) is omitted. The meaning is: If only they had believed and feared Allah, they would have been rewarded. However, the verbal sentence structure was changed to this nominal sentence structure because the nominal sentence indicates the permanence and stability of the reward. If one asks, "Why was it not said, 'The reward of Allah is better'?" We reply: Because what is intended is that some reward from Allah is better for them.
2. It is possible that the phrase {If only they had believed} is a wish for their belief, used metaphorically to express Allah's desire for their belief, as if it were said: "Oh, if only they would believe!" Then, the sentence begins anew: {A reward from Allah is better}.

< { O you who have believed, do not say, "Rāʿinā," but say, "Unẓurnā," and listen. And for the disbelievers is a painful punishment. } >