Tafsir of Al-Baqarah 2:76-77

Al-Baqarah: (76-77) And when they meet those who...

This section addresses the second category of the reprehensible actions of the Jews during the time of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).

It is narrated from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the hypocrites among the People of the Book, when they met the companions of the Prophet (PBUH), would say: "We believe in what you believe and testify that your master is truthful and his word is true, and we find his description and attributes in our Book."

However, when some of them were alone with each other, their leaders would say to them: "Do you tell them about what Allah has opened up for you [revealed] in your Book concerning his description, so that they may use it to argue against you? If an opponent admits the validity of the Torah and admits that the Torah testifies to the prophethood of Muhammad (PBUH), there can be no stronger argument than that." Consequently, some of them prevented others from admitting this fact to Muhammad (PBUH) and his companions.

Al-Qaffal said: The phrase {Allah has opened up for you} (فتح الله عليكم) is derived from the saying, "So-and-so has been granted insight/success in such-and-such knowledge," meaning Allah has provided for him and made the pursuit of it easy.

There are several interpretations:

1. The Argumentation is Before God: They considered their argumentation based on this matter—that it is in their Book—as argumentation before God. It is like saying, "It is in the Book of Allah like this," and "It is with Allah like this," which mean the same thing.
2. Argumentation Concerning Your Lord: Al-Hasan said: It means, "So that they may argue with you concerning your Lord," because argumentation regarding what Allah has obligated concerning following the Messengers can be described as argumentation concerning Him, as it is argumentation concerning His religion.
3. Argumentation on the Day of Judgment: Al-Asamm said: It means they will argue with you on the Day of Resurrection and when accountability takes place. This would add to your reprimand and expose your disgrace before all creation on the Standing Place, because someone who admits the truth and then conceals it is not like one who persists in denial. Thus, they believed that the revelation of this fact would increase their exposure and shame in the Hereafter.
4. Argumentation for the Sake of Religion and Advice: Al-Qadi Abu Bakr said: When someone presents an argument, their goal might be to gain pleasure from defeating an opponent, or their goal might be religious duty and sincere advice—to cut off the opponent's excuse and establish God's proof against them. Therefore, when they were in private, the leaders told them: "You have informed them about the proof from the Torah that Allah has opened up for you, so now they are able to use it to argue with you based on religious duty and sincere advice." This is because one who mentions proof in this manner might say to his companion: "I have established the proof against you before God, between me and my Lord. If you accept, you have benefited yourself; if you deny, you are the loser and the deprived one."
5. Argumentation in God's Judgment: Al-Qaffal said: It is said, "So-and-so is learned with me (عندي)," meaning in my belief and judgment. Similarly, "This is permissible according to Al-Shafi'i, and forbidden according to Abu Hanifa," meaning in their respective judgments and opinions. Thus, {so that they may argue with you by it with your Lord} means so that you become refuted by those proofs according to God's judgment. Some scholars interpreted the verse {And if they do not bring the witnesses, then those, in the sight of Allah, are the liars} (An-Nur: 13) to mean "in the judgment of Allah and His decree," because if the slanderer does not bring witnesses, the ruling of a liar applies to him, even if he was truthful in himself.

There are two views:

1. Addressing the Believers: It refers to the believers, as if Allah is saying: "Will you not use reason regarding what I have told you about their description, that there is no hope for you in their faith?" This is the view of Al-Hasan.
2. Addressing the Jews Themselves (More Apparent): It refers back to them (the Jews). It is as if, when they were alone, they said to each other: "Do you tell them about something that will result in your being refuted? Do you not use reason that this is not appropriate for your status?" This view is more apparent because it completes the narration about them, so there is no reason to divert it to others.

There are two opinions:

1. The Majority View: The Jews knew Allah and knew that He knows the secret and the manifest, so Allah warns them with this.
2. Encouraging Reflection: They did not know this, so this statement encourages them to reflect and realize that they have a Lord who knows their secrets and what they declare openly, and that they are not safe from punishment due to their hypocrisy.

On both views, this statement is a reprimand to them against hypocrisy and against advising one another to conceal the signs of Muhammad's prophethood. The closer view is that the Jews being addressed were aware of this fact, because a reprimand structured as, "Do they not know X or Y?" is usually directed at someone who does know X or Y, and this knowledge serves as a deterrent against the action. Some said: How do these Jews permit themselves to secretly instruct their brethren to forbid revealing the signs of Muhammad's prophethood when they are not like the disbelievers who do not know Allah or know that He knows the secret and the manifest? Their situation, from this perspective, is more astonishing.

Al-Qadi mentioned that the verse indicates several matters:

1. If Allah is the Creator of the servants' actions, how is it valid for Him to reprimand them for those words and deeds?
2. It indicates the validity of argumentation and reasoning (Nazar), and that this was the method of the Companions and the believers. It was so apparent among the Jews that some said to others what they said.
3. It indicates that proof can be binding (Ilzāmiyyah). Since they admitted the validity of the Torah and its containing evidence for Muhammad's prophethood, it was necessarily incumbent upon them to admit the prophethood, unless they denied one of those two premises, in which case the proof would not be complete.
4. It indicates that the one who commits a sin while knowing it is a sin bears a greater burden of guilt and offense. And Allah knows best.