Tafsir of Al-Baqarah 2:103-105

"And if they had believed" In the Messenger of Allah and the Qur'an.

"And feared Allah" By abandoning what they were upon—casting aside the Book of Allah and following the books of the devils.

"A reward from Allah would have been better" It is also recited as mathūbah (like mashūrah and mashūrah).

"If they only knew" That the reward of Allah is better than what they are currently in. They already knew this, but it was their ignorance—due to abandoning action based on knowledge—that blinded them.

If you ask: Why was the nominal sentence preferred over the verbal sentence in the response to "if" (law)? I say: Because it indicates the establishment and permanence of the reward, just as the shift from the accusative to the nominative in salāmun ʿalaykum (Peace be upon you) was done for the same reason.

If you ask: Why was it not said "the reward of Allah is better"? I say: Because the meaning is that some reward is better for them.

It is also possible that his saying "And if they had believed" is a wish for their belief, used metaphorically to express Allah’s desire for their belief and His choosing it for them, as if it were said: "Would that they had believed." Then, the statement "A reward from Allah would have been better" begins as a new sentence.

The Muslims used to say to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) when he would present some knowledge to them: "Rāʿinā (Look after us), O Messenger of Allah," meaning: "Watch over us, wait for us, and be patient with us until we understand and memorize it."

The Jews had a word they used to insult one another in Hebrew or Syriac, which was rāʿīnā. When they heard the believers saying rāʿinā, they seized upon it and addressed the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) with it, intending that insult. Therefore, the believers were forbidden from using it and were commanded to use a word with the same meaning:

"Unẓurnā" (Look at us/Wait for us) From naẓara, meaning to wait for someone. Ubayy recited it as anẓirnā (grant us respite), meaning: "Give us time until we memorize." Abdullah ibn Masʿūd recited it as rāʿūnā, using the plural form to show respect. Al-Hasan recited it as rāʿinan (with tanwīn), derived from raʿn (foolishness/stupidity), meaning: "Do not say a word that could be attributed to raʿn." It is like dāriʿ (one wearing armor) and lābin (one with milk); because it resembled their word rāʿīnā and became a cause for insult, it was characterized as raʿn.

"And listen" Listen well to what the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) speaks to you and presents to you of matters, with attentive ears and present minds, so that you do not need to ask for repetition or request that he "look after you." Or, it means: "Listen with the hearing of acceptance and obedience," and let not your listening be like the listening of the Jews, who said: "We hear and we disobey." Or, "Listen to what you are commanded with seriousness, so that you do not return to what you were forbidden from." This is an emphasis on abandoning that word.

It is narrated that Saʿd ibn Muʿādh heard them saying it and said: "O enemies of Allah, upon you is the curse of Allah! By Him in whose hand is my soul, if I hear it from any man among you saying it to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), I will strike off his head." They replied: "Do you not say it yourselves?" Then this verse was revealed.

"And for the disbelievers" For the Jews who belittled the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and insulted him:

"A painful punishment" The first "the" (al-) is for clarification, because "those who disbelieved" is a genus containing two types: the People of the Book and the polytheists, as in His saying: "Neither those who disbelieved among the People of the Book nor the polytheists..." (Al-Bayyinah: 1). The second is to encompass all good, and the third is to denote the beginning of the limit.

"The good" refers to revelation, and likewise "mercy," as in His saying: "Do they distribute the mercy of your Lord?" (Az-Zukhruf: 32). The meaning is that they see themselves as more entitled to receive revelation, so they envy you and do not want any revelation to be sent down upon you.

"And Allah" Specifies with prophethood:

"Whom He wills" And He does not will except that which wisdom dictates.

"And Allah is the possessor of great bounty" An indication that the granting of prophethood is from His great bounty, as in His saying: "Indeed, His bounty upon you has been great" (Al-Isra': 87).