Tafsir of Al-Jumu'ah 62:3

Surah Al-Jumu'ah (The Friday Prayer) - Verse 5 (Continuation)

(3) And others from among them [who have not yet believed]...

{And others} is coordinated with {the unlettered ones} (referring to the Arabs). This means He sent [the Prophet] to others among them. The commentators say:

• They are the non-Arabs (the A'jam), meaning any group other than the Arabs. This view is held by Ibn Abbas and a group.
• Muqatil said: They refer to the Successors (Tabi'in) from this Ummah who did not live during the time of the early Muslims.

In essence, the meaning encompasses all opinions: it refers to everyone who enters Islam after the Prophet (peace be upon him) until the Day of Resurrection. Thus, {the unlettered ones} refers to the Arabs, and {others} refers to the rest of the nations.

The word {And others} is in the genitive case because it is coordinated with the preceding genitive noun (referring to the unlettered Arabs).

Alternatively, it can be in the accusative case, coordinated with the accusative noun in the previous verse: {and He teaches them} (Al-Jumu'ah: 2). This would mean: He teaches them, and He teaches others among them—meaning others among the unlettered ones—and makes them part of them, because once they embrace Islam, they become part of that group. All Muslims constitute one Ummah, even if their races differ, as Allah says: {The believing men and believing women are allies of one another} (At-Tawbah: 71).

As for those who did not believe in the Prophet (peace be upon him) and did not enter his religion, they are excluded from the intended meaning of {And others from among them}. Even though the Prophet was sent to them with the call, Allah stated in the first verse: {and purifies them and teaches them the Book and wisdom} (Al-Jumu'ah: 2). Non-believers are not included among those whom the Book and wisdom are taught.

{He is the All-Mighty} (Al-'Aziz) in that He placed in every human being a mark of neediness toward Him and poverty before Him. {The All-Wise} (Al-Hakim) in that He placed in every creature a sign testifying to His Oneness.

His saying, {That is the bounty of Allah; He gives it to whom He wills. And Allah is the Owner of great bounty}:

• Ibn Abbas interpreted this as: It is the bounty of Allah in that He joined the non-Arabs and their descendants with the Quraysh, meaning that if they embrace faith, they are elevated in rank and share the virtue of those who witnessed the Messenger (peace be upon him).
• Muqatil said: {That is the bounty of Allah} means Islam, {He gives it to whom He wills}.
• Muqatil ibn Hayyan said: It means Prophethood is the bounty of Allah, which He gives to whom He wills, and He singled out Muhammad (peace be upon him) for it.

{And Allah is the Owner of great bounty} upon all His creation in this world by teaching the Book and Wisdom (as mentioned previously), and in the Hereafter by magnifying the reward for deeds.

Then, the Almighty set forth a parable for the Jews who turned away from acting upon the Torah and believing in the Prophet (peace be upon him):

{The example of those who were entrusted with the Torah, but then did not carry it, is like that of a donkey carrying books. Wretched is the example of the people who denied the signs of Allah. And Allah does not guide the wrongdoing people.} (Al-Jumu'ah: 5)